Архив рубрики: Здоровье Америка

If misery loves company, so does anger. It can feel downright delicious to vent to your loved ones about life’s annoyances, big and small.

You may think it’s healthy to rant about that annoying work assignment or rude comment, but research suggests otherwise. Venting “is the worst thing you can do” when you’re mad, says Brad Bushman, a professor of communication at the Ohio State University who studies the topic. It’s “adding more fuel to the fire.”

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For a long time, psychologists believed in “catharsis theory,” or the idea that it’s better to release negative emotions than hold onto them. But back in 2002, Bushman published a study that questioned that logic. He demonstrated that when people expressed anger, such as by hitting a punching bag, they only got more irate and aggressive. That’s not good, because research suggests anger is linked to a variety of mental and maybe even physical health problems.

Dissecting a frustrating conversation or soci..

Until recently, clinical depression treatments have fallen into just two categories: psychotherapy and antidepressant medications. But this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the first app-based treatment for major depressive disorder, which just became available for use this summer.

The app, called Rejoyn, is cleared as a supplement to currently approved therapies and works by using specifically designed tasks on a smartphone app to rewire neural signals. The idea is to tap into the brain’s circuits so depressive signals and pathways don’t spiral into the debilitating emotional episodes typical of clinical depression.

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The evolution of a depression app

Dr. Dennis Charney, now dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, first got the idea for Rejoyn when studying prisoners of war years ago. He and his colleagues were focused on learning about resilience and what makes certain people better than others at coping with traged..

If you’ve been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, you probably have shortness of breath during physical exertion. Regular exercise may seem intimidating, but it’s actually a powerful medicine to improve how you feel when you’re active.

COPD is a progressive lung condition occurring in several forms, in which structural changes obstruct airflow, making it harder to breathe. It’s often caused by long-term exposure to tobacco smoke, chemical pollutants, and mineral, wood, or metal dusts that irritate the lungs; examples include emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Around 16 million people in the U.S. have COPD, and anxiety about gasping for air leads many to avoid physical activity altogether. But inactivity can drive a downward cycle that worsens breathlessness and the overall condition.

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With exercise, “people can do more with less shortness of breath,” says Dr. Carolyn Rochester, professor of medicine and director of Yale Un..

NEW YORK — U.S. health officials on Wednesday recommended that people 50 and older get a shot against bacteria that can cause pneumonia and other dangerous illnesses.

The recommendation was made by a scientific advisory panel and then accepted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The decision lowered—from 65—the minimum recommended age for older adults to get the shot.

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“Now is a great time to get vaccinated against pneumococcal disease in preparation for the winter respiratory season,” CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen said in a statement Wednesday night.

The advisory committee voted 14-1 to make the change during a meeting earlier in the day in Atlanta. The guidance is widely heeded by doctors and prompts health insurers to pay for recommended shots.

Pneumococcal shot recommendations are sometimes called the most complicated vaccination guidance that the government issues. The CDC currently recommends shots for children younger than 5 and..

Once, years ago, I found myself in an ice-cold bath with no memory of walking to the bathroom or running the tub. Another time, I terrified my friend by leaving our hotel room in the middle of the night—then pounding on the door, demanding to be let back inside. Both times, I awoke in the middle of these bizarre incidents. I had been sleepwalking.

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Sleepwalking, technically known as somnambulism, is as fascinating as it is freaky. It’s a type of parasomnia, an umbrella term for unusual behaviors that occur during sleep, such as night terrors and “sexsomnia,” when people engage in sexual activity without waking up. Habitual sleepwalking is uncommon: a 2016 research review estimated that only 1.5% of adults had done it in the previous year. But almost 7% of adults have sleepwalked at some point in their lives, according to the same study.

The nighttime possibilities are varied and weird. A 2024 study in the Journal of Sleep Research showcased a range o..

I’m at a mall in Rockville, Md., but instead of enjoying the comfort and convenience of a one-stop shopping experience, I go to a place called Capital Cryo, looking to get some voluntary pain. Soon, the tall cryotherapy tank is filling with a cloud of super-chilled gas: evaporated liquid nitrogen, one of the coldest substances on Earth.

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“Okay,” the technician says. “Get in.”

Being a newbie, I gape at the temperature display: -205°F. Wearing only my underwear, I step in, and my skin temperature plummets, making my skin tingle. My adrenaline surges and breath speeds up, more reactions to the shocking freeze. After three minutes, tingling turns into aching. What started as cold has shifted to pure pain. Just in time, the technician stops the machine.

While dressing, I catch a wave of relief, a chariot of well-being I will ride the rest of the day. I wonder if it’s purely psychological—or maybe I’m experiencing hormesis, when the body adapts to stress ..

Weight-loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound are transforming the health of millions of people—and a new study hints that even more could benefit from the drugs’ other effects on the body.

A study published recently in the journal Addiction shows that people with substance-use disorders who take these weight-loss drugs are less likely to experience opioid overdose or alcohol intoxication compared to those not taking the medications. The findings add to a growing list of other health benefits researchers are studying related to the medications, which target hormones called incretins that affect not just appetite, digestion, and diabetes, but also heart health, sleep, and the brain circuits connected to satisfaction and reward.

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The latest study explored the link between opioid and alcohol substance-use disorders and the new class of modern weight-loss drugs. These target either glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) hormone, or glucose dependent insulinotropic ..

Somewhere between 60 and 70 million Americans have digestive conditions like inflammatory bowel disease, acid reflux, chronic constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, and hemorrhoids. Some of these will need to be treated through medication and possibly even surgery. But others can improve by making a few daily tweaks to your lifestyle.

Even if you’re not experiencing any GI symptoms right now, certain habits can help ensure your gut stays in tip-top shape. Below, five gastroenterologists offer their advice on the single best thing you should do every day to improve your digestive health.

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1. Eat the right foods at the right time

Most experts agreed: The No. 1 thing you can do to take care of your gut health is eat the right foods.

A balanced diet is crucial for building good bacterial flora in the gut, says Dr. Harpreet Pall, a pediatric gastroenterologist and chair of pediatrics at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. “The intestines contain bi..

WASHINGTON — Millions of people with private health insurance would be able to pick up over-the-counter methods like condoms, the “morning after” pill and birth control pills for free under a new rule the White House proposed on Monday.

Right now, health insurers must cover the cost of prescribed contraception, including prescription birth control or even condoms that doctors have issued a prescription for. But the new rule would expand that coverage, allowing millions of people on private health insurance to pick up free condoms, birth control pills, or “morning after” pills from local storefronts without a prescription.

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The proposal comes days before Election Day, as Vice President Kamala Harris affixes her presidential campaign to a promise of expanding women’s health care access in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to undo nationwide abortion rights two years ago. Harris has sought to craft a distinct contrast from her Republican chal..

Endocrinologists are used to people not knowing what they do. Patients often assume that, for example, Dr. Rasa Kazlauskaite spends her days focused on the “love hormones,” like testosterone and estrogen. She reminds them that we all have a variety of hormones and hormone-producing glands with important jobs—including the pituitary gland, which oversees everything from growth to metabolism, and adrenal glands, which produce the stress hormone cortisol.

Plus, endocrinologists treat conditions like diabetes, thyroid disease, polycystic ovary syndrome, and even osteoporosis. “We also help people figure out the causes of increased weight and help them lose weight and improve their metabolism,” says Kazlauskaite, who’s the director of the diabetes technology program at Rush University Medical Center. In other words: Endocrinologists encounter a wide variety of symptoms all day, every day. Here are some surprising ones that concern them the most, even though patients don’t usually recognize..