February 20, 2019 at 02:05PM by CWC You can find a ton of shoes and sneakers that you can wear all day without getting a number of miscellaneous body aches. For some reason, though, comfortable boots—that aren’t (unintentionally) ugly or orthopedic looking—are harder to come by. Such practical shoe unicorns do exist, however—it just requires, pardon the pun, a little legwork to find them. How to spot a pair? There a few features to keep in mind while shopping for comfortable boots, according to Miguel Cunha, DPM, founder of Gotham Footcare. The first is shock absorption. Some products and brands will let you know whether their boot has this feature. If not, look for things like rubber soles and try bending the shoe—if it bends in the middle of the sole this mean it doesn’t have shock absorption and is generally not great for foot support, he tells me. Dr. Cunha also says that despite what you (I) may think, a completely flat boot is not ideal for your foot health. “I recommend avoiding boots that are completely flat as they will contribute to pronation and collapse of the arch which may contribute to planter and posterior heel pain, shin splints, knee pain, and back pain,” he explains. Something else to keep in mind, according to Marion Parke, DPM, a podiatrist turned shoe designer is that “our feet tend to swell throughout the day and you want to provide some room for that. When it comes to shoes millimeters count.” To
Month: February 2019
Identifying your “hard” and “soft” emotions could be the secret to banishing your anger
February 20, 2019 at 02:01PM by CWC Real talk: Trying to decipher my emotional landscape sometimes feels like a full-time job. I’m at least a little bit tangry (that’s tired-angry) at all times, but other not-so-great feelings are constantly sliding into my mental DMs, too. Were they invited? No. Do I have to deal with them anyway? Yep. And according to Ellen Hendriksen, PhD, of the Savvy Psychologist podcast, one of the most accessible ways to carefully shepherd these negative emotions out of center stage in your brain is by categorizing them as either “hard” or “soft.” According to a 2007 article published in the journal Personal Relationships, hard emotions include anger and aggravation, while the soft variety includes sadness, hurt, and other forms of vulnerability. As Dr. Hendriksen explains it in a recent episode of the podcast Relationship Advice, hard emotions often rush in to mask your soft emotions, which can be harder to sit with. “It’s uncomfortable to feel that softer emotion,” she says. “No one likes to feel ashamed, no one likes to feel hurt. So we get mad because that feels better.” But learning to dig through that hard emotion to discover its soft core may be key to vanquishing the bad vibes at their source. A look at three studies of how participants expressed these type of capital-F Feelings during interpersonal conflict (published in the aforementioned journal) found that those who reported experiencing hard emotions tended to have more negative forms of communication. On the other hand, people who tapped into soft emotions instead experienced
False allegations of sexual assault are rare—so why do so many people still accuse victims of lying?
February 20, 2019 at 01:35PM by CWC Since the #MeToo movement took hold in the mainstream in late 2017, more people than ever have been bravely—and publicly—sharing their past experiences of sexual harassment, assault, and abuse. Their stories have played a major role in bringing such crimes and transgressions out of the shadows, highlighting a particular insidiousness within our society. But they’ve also uncovered another ugly truth: the fact that, in many cases, victims are met with skepticism or flat-out disbelief when they come forward. The most obvious example of this involves Christine Blasey Ford, who spoke out last fall about a long-ago sexual assault she says she experienced at the hands of Brett Kavanaugh, who’s now a Supreme Court Justice. A poll taken after her testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee showed that 48 percent of Americans believed her (while 49 percent of Americans believed Kavanaugh was “the target of a politically motivated smear campaign). Then, of course, there’s R. Kelly, who has been accused of sexual abuse and assault against women and underage girls since the mid-’90s. (He continues to deny all accusations.) Although he may be about to face a grand jury in response to another flood of claims, many of his fans still attest that his accusers must be lying. The thing is, falsified sexual violence reports are rare. A 2010 meta-analysis found that only 2 to 10 percent of rape allegations are false. (That number would likely be even lower if it took into account the estimated
All you need to upgrade your strength training workout is to slow the eff down
February 20, 2019 at 01:29PM by CWC When you think of a typical strength training routine, you probably envision a long list of exercises to get through—and a time-consuming one at that. But what if I told you there’s a method that only requires a couple 20-minute sessions a week? The only catch: Everything is done at a snail-like speed. Lifting weights—or doing bodyweight exercises—in slow motion might seem odd, but the technique is a fitness go-to for actress Jane Seymour (who you probably remember from Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, or her more recent guest appearances on Jane the Virgin). “It’s very, very slow weight lifting,” she said in a recent interview with Closer Weekly. “You only do 20 minutes twice a week. I notice a huge difference when I do it. Each exercise you do, you do it to fatigue so your whole body starts shaking,” she added, per Fox News. This form of training isn’t anything new. It’s actually been around since the early ’80s when it was developed by researcher Ken Hutchins. What started as something safe and effective for women with osteoporosis quickly turned into a more mindful way of working out everyone can enjoy: Since you’re moving at a slower speed, you’re able to put more focus on your form and control. In turn, all that extra tension in the muscles could be an effective method of toning and building strength. Don’t be fooled, though: Just because you’re moving slower and exercising for a shorter period of time doesn’t mean
If you’ve got DD+ boobs, these are the best sports bras for running, Pilates, CrossFit, HIIT, and more
February 20, 2019 at 01:14PM by CWC Shopping for a sports bra for big boobs can often feel, in the wise words of my queen Hilary Duff, like waiting for rain in a drought: useless and disappointing. Just when you feel like you’ve found something supportive enough to carry you through a trampoline class or a long run, you realize it makes you look like you’ve either got a uniboob—or it’s so low cut that it leaves you feeling like you’re flashing everyone in the room. And say you’ve got one that makes your girls feel good, often that comfort comes at the price of finding something that’s also actually cute. It’s not all bad news, though. As clothing becomes more inclusive and brands offer more and more options for women of all different body types, the hunt for the perfect sports bras for big boobs can be rewarding. To make things slightly easier, we asked our most active Well and Good staffers from the DD+ set to share their picks for the best sports bras for big boobs. All eight of these selects have been tried, tested, and approved by the Well and Good team, who swear by ’em for keeping the ladies in place—no matter what workout they’re testing. Best for boxing: Reebok Hero Power Bra, $55 Photo: Reebok “If every scientist put their heads together and figured out how to make a sports bra that made your boobs freeze in space and time, it would be this.” —Ali Finney, senior
Scientists Just Found A Strong Link Between Lupus & Gut Bacteria
February 20, 2019 at 01:02PM A new study, published in Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, shows that lupus is strongly linked to imbalances in the gut microbiome. Continue Reading… Author Gretchen Lidicker | Life by Daily Burn Selected by iversue
Irritated? These postures are the equivalent of an eye roll, according to a body language pro
February 20, 2019 at 12:54PM by CWC “Don’t roll your eyes at me,” is a phrase I’ve heard probably a zillion times in my life. Because, real talk: I have an eye-rolling problem. If someone tells me to “put away my laundry,” or about a “great!” (read: terrible) guy they’re dating who I explicitly expressed my disproval of—I’m going to roll my eyes. Can’t help it. But as science confirms, it isn’t my fault. The hard-to-control (sorry, sorry) reflex is, literally, your brain trying to get as far away as possible from the ridiculousness at hand. “The brain and body don’t lie: Behaviors like eye rolling happen immediately,” says Lillian Glass, PhD, author and body language expert. “It’s your neurology talking, so when something is very offensive or ridiculous or doesn’t make sense, you eye roll as a way of disconnecting. This stems from your limbic system, the middle of your brain that controls your emotions.” So your brain signals to your eyes to roll up because you’re trying to recoil from what’s being said to you. “It’s the extreme of looking away,” says Dr. Glass. “You are trying to literally look away from something distrusting or distasteful being presented to you.” Makes sense. “You are trying to literally look away from something distrusting or distasteful being presented to you.” —Dr. Lillian Glass The thing about eye rolling is that there’s much more to it than your eyeballs rolling back into your head—it manifests itself in various other ways through your body
OK, TMI: I have sex dreams about my boss, my friends, and others I *don’t* want to sleep with
February 20, 2019 at 12:31PM by CWC The only thing worse than starting your day with a blaring alarm is blinking open your eyes to the realization that said wake-up call interrupted a wildly inappropriate dream. (Fine, the alarm is definitely worse, but immediately feeling filthy, ashamed of, and confused by your subconscious is also hardly the best way to start a day.) While the contents of dreams rarely make sense, when your psyche serves up a sexy scenario featuring your boss/friend/any other equally awk companion, it can leave you feeling bothered…hold the hot. When I spoke to two sexperts to see if these dreams (or more accurately, nightmares) are actually cause for concern, they assured me there’s no reason to feel dirty. Just like so many other innocuous TMI topics, repugnant romps while snoozing is nothing if not normal. “Our dreams are basically a mixtape of our feelings and our experiences, so it would make sense that people you encounter a lot end up in your dreams,” says sex-positive psychologist Liz Powell, PsyD. “Sometimes our sex dreams are about people or activities that we actually want; sometimes they’re just mixed up parts of things we ran into recently.” Unless you’re practicing lucid dreaming on a normal basis, you have little control over what you dream. So if you’re feeling yourself (and I mean, ahem, feeling yourself) before dozing off, your mind could attempt to meet your needs while you sleep. “Because our brain doesn’t necessarily work logically when we’re dreaming, sometimes it’ll just
All hail Rihanna, the queen of self-love and empowerment
February 20, 2019 at 11:59AM by CWC While it may not generate as much buzz as the latest diet craze or workout, a big part of wellness is empowering yourself—and others. And when it comes to self-love and empowerment, no one does it quite like Rihanna. There may have been a time when Rihanna had the singular job description of pop star. Now, she’s a mogul (talk about work work work work work). Not only has she single-handedly sparked a revolution to make the beauty industry more inclusive, she’s doing the same with the fashion industry, too. (Plus, she’s gave us “Umbrella.” And “Pon de Replay.” And basically every great song ever.) On her birthday, let’s take a moment to celebrate this icon, shall we? 1. She made diversity in makeup a must for every brand. The launch of Fenty Beauty, which includes 40 different foundation colors, led to widespread change in the beauty industry—raising to bar to a higher, more inclusive standard. (Now, other brands like Smashbox and CoverGirl have joined the 40 shades club.) Rihanna didn’t just slap her name on a makeup line; she perfected it and made sure people with a very wide variety of skin tones were well-represented. 2. Her size-inclusive lingerie is empowering more women to feel sexy. Rihanna is sexy, plain and simple, so launching a lingerie line wasn’t exactly off-base for her. But what made the launch of Savage X Fenty so great was its wide range of sizes offered. The collection’s bra sizes range
Anxiety might be the sneaky culprit behind your middle-of-the-night bathroom trips
February 20, 2019 at 11:41AM by CWC Ugh, how annoying is it when your bladder forces you out of your warm cocoon of blankets in the middle of the night courtesy of a sudden urge to pee? Really annoying—like, maybe the most annoying, even. But here’s a new thing for you to think about the next time it happens and you inevitably can’t fall asleep after letting nature take its course: The underlying reason for this may have less to do with your nighttime water-drinking habits and more to do with your mental health. It turns out there’s actually a name for waking up to urinate more than once a night: nocturia. While there are many potential causes—including “obesity, Parkinson’s disease, insomnia, and heart failure,” says sleep expert Michael Breus, PhD—one thing people don’t typically take into account is what’s going on in their head. “Often our sleep is disrupted due to stress, anxiety, and even dips in blood sugar, or having gone to bed too late. Basically, anything that induces a stress response in the body.” —Ellen Vora, MD “We assume we woke up because we had to pee. While that may be the case at times, oftentimes your full bladder is an innocent bystander, and not necessarily the reason you woke up,” says board-certified psychiatrist Ellen Vora, MD. “Often our sleep is disrupted due to stress, anxiety, and even dips in blood sugar, or having gone to bed too late. Basically, anything that induces a stress response in the body.” If you’re stressed