Архив рубрики: Здоровье Америка

The busy box that is your brain is hard at work all day long—and it doesn’t quit when you’re asleep. Not only does your brain fill your slumber with dreams, it also goes right on solving the problems that plagued you during the day, often coming up with solutions by the time you wake up.

The idea of sleeping on a problem and seeing if you can get some clarity in the morning is a common one, but is it scientifically sound? A growing body of research says yes.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

The latest piece of evidence that sleeping on a problem actually works comes courtesy of a small study recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience. A group of 25 people did a memorization task while wired up to an electroencephalograph (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) so the researchers could monitor which portions of their brains lit up as they worked. Everyone then took an afternoon nap, with brain sensors still in place.

The researchers were looking for sleep spindles: bursts of..

You don’t need 20/20 vision to clearly see the benefits of daily contacts, eye doctors agree. Compared to monthlies, daily lenses “have a pretty big advantage,” says Dr. William McLaughlin, an optometrist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “They’re more comfortable, more convenient, and you’ll have better eye health if you’re using a fresh lens every day. They’re absolutely the way to go.”

Here’s a look at why daily lenses beat out monthlies—plus how to put the higher price tag into perspective.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

They counteract bad habits

Daily lenses are an “easy yes” for people whose contact hygiene could use a tune-up, says Dr. Neal Guymon, an optometrist in Idaho known as Dr. EyeGuy online. That includes those who sleep in their lenses (which deprives oxygen from the eyes, just like “sleeping with a paper bag over your head,” he says), don’t clean their cases regularly, slack on subbing in new contact solution, and forget to switch into a new pa..

In eagerly awaited results from a new study, the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly reports that a pill its scientists developed causes people who are overweight or obese, but not diabetic, to lose significant amounts of weight.

The drug, called orforglipron, differs from Lilly’s injectable drug, tirzepatide (which is approved as Mounjaro to treat diabetes and as Zepbound to treat obesity and some forms of obstructive sleep apnea). While tirzepatide targets two hormones, GLP-1 and GIP, orforglipron just targets GLP-1. Lilly and other companies that make similar medicines have been racing to create oral weight-loss drugs, since weekly injections are not always appealing to patients.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

The trial included more than 3,100 overweight or obese adults who had an obesity-related medical problem but not diabetes. Those taking the pill daily for almost a year and a half lost 12% of their body weight on average, or 27 pounds. People taking a placebo lost just ove..

When you’re trying to comfort someone trapped in an avalanche of anxious thoughts, it’s best to prioritize “presence over advice,” says Jaime Fleischer, director of therapy at Headspace, “and connection over correction.”

Too often, people try to rush their friend into feeling better, dismiss or minimize their concerns, or offer unsolicited advice, all of which can exacerbate the person’s already heightened emotions. It’s better to focus on being calm, compassionate, and nonjudgmental, and brainstorming ways to support your anxious friend.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

We asked experts to share the worst things you can say to someone with anxiety—plus what actually helps them.

“Just calm down.”

If you want to stay on an anxious person’s good side, don’t tell them to calm down. It’s infuriating in part because it minimizes their experience and implies they have control over something that’s largely involuntary. “I’ve never met an anxious person who hasn’t tried every trick in the..

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Tuesday that it will start winding down mRNA vaccine development efforts under a federal health agency focused on developing medical countermeasures to address public health emergencies.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

mRNA vaccines have been credited by public health experts with saving millions of lives during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many infectious disease experts have stressed that years of research have shown the shots are both safe and effective. But HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic, claimed in a statement accompanying HHS’s announcement that “data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu.”

The move, which HHS said comes after “a comprehensive review of mRNA-related investments initiated during the COVID-19 public health emergency,” will involve canceling and de-scoping various contracts under the Biomedical Advanced ..

Nearly 60 people have become sick and two have died in an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in New York City. Health officials there issued an alert on July 30 warning residents of Central Harlem who have flu-like symptoms to see a health care provider immediately.

Legionnaires’ disease is a form of pneumonia caused by the bacteria Legionella. (The bacteria and the disease get their name from the first outbreak at an American Legion convention in Philadelphia in 1976.) The bacteria tend to grow in water, including cooling towers that service buildings in the summer, as well as air conditioning systems, hot tubs, and decorative water displays like fountains. About 6,000 cases are reported in the U.S. each year, and about 200 to 800 of these occur in New York City.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

The likely sources of the current outbreak are cooling towers, the New York City Health Department said on Aug. 4, which helps to control the temperature of cooling systems like refrigerati..

AI chatbots have become a ubiquitous part of life. People turn to tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot not just for help with emails, work, or code, but for relationship advice, emotional support, and even friendship or love.

But for a minority of users, these conversations appear to have disturbing effects. A growing number of reports suggest that extended chatbot use may trigger or amplify psychotic symptoms in some people. The fallout can be devastating and potentially lethal. Users have linked their breakdowns to lost jobs, fractured relationships, involuntary psychiatric holds, and even arrests and jail time. At least one support group has emerged for people who say their lives began to spiral after interacting with AI.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

The phenomenon—sometimes colloquially called “ChatGPT psychosis” or “AI psychosis”—isn’t well understood. There’s no formal diagnosis, data are scarce, and no clear protocols for treatment exist. Psychiatrists and re..

AI chatbots have become a ubiquitous part of life. People turn to tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Copilot not just for help with emails, work, or code, but for relationship advice, emotional support, and even friendship or love.

But for a minority of users, these conversations appear to have disturbing effects. A growing number of reports suggest that extended chatbot use may trigger or amplify psychotic symptoms in some people. The fallout can be devastating and potentially lethal. Users have linked their breakdowns to lost jobs, fractured relationships, involuntary psychiatric holds, and even arrests and jail time. At least one support group has emerged for people who say their lives began to spiral after interacting with AI.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

The phenomenon—sometimes colloquially called “ChatGPT psychosis” or “AI psychosis”—isn’t well understood. There’s no formal diagnosis, data are scarce, and no clear protocols for treatment exist. Psychiatrists and re..

Thousands in southern China have been infected with a mosquito-borne illness in the past few weeks, in what’s considered one of the most notable outbreaks of the disease since it was first detected in the country nearly two decades ago.

The latest outbreak of chikungunya has infected more than 7,000 in the southern Chinese city of Foshan, with sporadic cases in other neighboring cities and municipalities in Guangdong province.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

So severe is the outbreak that a vice premier visited a massively affected district in the city last week and “urged efforts to curb imported cases and prevent the spread of Chikungunya both within and outside affected regions,” according to state-run news organization Xinhua. The rapid rise of infections in the province also prompted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue a travel warning to caution visitors earlier this month.

Read More: Why Mosquitoes Are So Dangerous Right Now

Local officials are no..

At least eight people along the Gulf Coast have died and 22 others have been infected in what local health officials are warning is a rise in cases involving “flesh-eating” bacteria.

The Louisiana Department of Health issued an alert last week saying that there had been 17 cases of Vibrio vulnificus in the state so far this year. All of those patients were hospitalized, and four died.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

“This represents a higher number of Vibrio vulnificus cases and deaths than are typically reported,” the department said. “During the same time period over the previous 10 years, an average of seven Vibrio vulnificus cases and one death were reported each year.”

Meanwhile, health officials in Florida have reported 13 cases this year, as of July 24. Four of those cases have resulted in death.

Public health experts have generally attributed the rise in cases to climate change.

Here’s what to know about the bacteria.

What is Vibrio vulnificus?

Vibrio vulnificus is a t..