Month: July 2019

July 26, 2019 at 07:43AM by CWC When team Well+Good found out that I was going to be interviewing aspiring astronaut Abigail Harrison—otherwise known as “Astronaut Abby”—they had a lot of questions, ranging from “what does an astronaut’s workout routine look like?” to, I kid you not, “Are aliens real?!” While we’ll likely have to wait until the Area 51 raid (did you get your ticket yet?) to find out about that last one, Harrison did take the time to break down exactly what it takes for astronauts to get their bodies ready for space. The 22-year-old founder of The Mars Generation recently graduated from Wellesley College, and is on a journey to become one of the first humans on Mars. But that journey—particularly from a physical standpoint—won’t be easy. Going into outer space, it turns out, isn’t exactly great for your body, which means there’s a whole lot of physical prep and planning required for becoming an astronaut. “Not only do astronauts have to be the top of the line when it comes to their experience, research, and academics, but they also have to be really physically fit and capable,” says Harrison. “It’s a very highly-demanding physical job—both the job itself and training for it is physically demanding, but also, space exploration places a large wear and tear on the body.” She explains that the longer you’re in space, the more compounded the effects on your person—which include muscle and bone density loss, cardiac changes, and fluid shifts that can effect

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July 26, 2019 at 06:55AM by CWC Perusing the drugstore aisles for beauty products is one of my favorite activities. There is a seemingly endless number of things to oggle at, from this $7 toner to this $10 blush that looks identical to my personal iconic fave. But there’s one section in particular that—even as a beauty editor—always overwhelms me: the sunscreen aisle. While I know for sure which SPF product I should be slathering on my face every day (… dozens of dermatologists have recommended Elta MD UV Clear ($32) to me over the years, so that’s the one I tend to stick with), deciding what to protect my body with is a whole other story. From sprays to creams to foams, there are so many different options—and it usually takes me at least 15 minutes to decide which to buy and toss into my beach bag. To make the choice slightly easier, I consulted Dhaval Bhanusali, MD, of Hudson Dermatology and Laser to see which SPF product he reaches for during a drugstore visit. “If you are active, breaking a sweat, et cetera, I really like the Neutrogena Hydroboost Gel SPF Lotion ($10). It’s light and absorbs pretty quick so you don’t have that sticky feeling,” he says, adding that since compliance is such a major factor when it comes to putting on sunscreen, he tends to recommend things that patients actually like applying, and this Neutrogena product fits the bill. Plus, he says, “it does really well—even

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July 26, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC I’ve tried at-home waxing exactly once—and the attempt ended with tears, wax all over my bedsheets (don’t ask), and spotty patches of hair patterned up and down my aching legs. It wasn’t a pretty sight. I soon reconciled with my razor with newfound passion. Now that I’m a (little bit) older and (a little bit?) wiser, however, I’m wondering if the hair removal technique is worth the effort, especially now that we’re in the thick of summer.  First, I ask Joshua Zeichner, MD, a dermatologist based in New York City about the skin effects of waxing on a regular basis. “When using a waxing kit to remove hair, it is important to remember the process affects not only hair, but also the skin,” he tells me. “The process of waxing can damage the [skin’s] barrier, leading to lots of hydration and inflammation.”  To be 100 percent sure you’re caring for your skin, there’s a few things you can do both before and after grabbing your waxing strips and getting down to business. ad_intervals[‘410734_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘410734_div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7520022-3’);}); } }, 100); What to do before at-home waxing: Check your body for any sores or raw areas. Those with active eczema, psoriasis, or infections should skip this hair removal method. If everything looks okay, carefully cleanse and dry the targeted area. (Note: Skip the exfoliator.) What to do after at-home waxing: “After, cleanse again to remove any residual wax from

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July 26, 2019 at 02:00AM by CWC The time and energy we collectively (and individually) spend feeling guilty adds up considerably. According to one poll of 2,000 British people, the average amount of time spent feeling guilty is six and half hours a week. Another survey of 2,000 American parents found that they feel an average of 23 pangs of guilt every week about decisions they’ve made. And researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that between 60 to 70 percent of 450 undergraduate students they surveyed scored high in guilt proneness, meaning they actually anticipate feelings of guilt before they even do anything. Given this pervasiveness of the feeling, it’s important to learn how to deal with guilt so it stops infiltrating our lives. Unfortunately though, there’s no cut-and-dry answer (if only!), and that’s largely due to guilt culture and the psychological implications of of the emotion and sensation. Anthropologist Ruth Benedict first defined the term “guilt culture” in the 1940s when studying cultural differences between Americans and Japanese. She concluded that US guilt culture characterizes “good” and “bad” by how our internal conscience feels. The guilt regulates behavior and maintains order. And, at least to some extent, that finding helps explain how we’ve been conditioned to feel guilty—in America and elsewhere. ad_intervals[‘390455_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’] = setInterval(function () { if (ads_ready) { clearTimeout(ad_intervals[‘390455_div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’]); googletag.cmd.push(function(){googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-7435403-3’);}); } }, 100); Experiencing some level of guilt is normal and common, clearly, so why is it that we

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