There are 4 unique stress ‘personalities’—and knowing yours can help you better combat it

September 12, 2019 at 02:00PM by CWC I discovered something new about myself today: I am a “reluctant pacer.” If you’re thinking, “WTF does that mean?” you’d be forgiven as I, too, would have had no clue prior to a lengthy and fascinating deep dive into a new quiz launching today from NYC-based women’s wellness center Tia. It centers around a concept the company’s chief medical officer Stephanie McClellan, MD, has termed “stress signatures.” Based on a combination of bench research and clinical practice, Dr. McClellan has found that women tend to fall into one of four categories (or “stress signatures”) when it comes to how their brains and bodies respond to chronic stress: the vigilant sprinter, the vigilant pacer, the reluctant sprinter, and the reluctant pacer. The 82-question quiz, which feels similar to a Myers-Briggs test, presents a range of statements like, “I retain fluid when I’m stressed” or “I like to start my day with intense exercise,” and has you choose whether that is never, rarely, sometimes, usually, or almost always true for you. At the end, you are matched with your stress signature and sent via email recommendations on what that means and lifestyle things to help with it. The goal is to help women more effectively manage their stress, Dr. McClellan tells me. “The point of outlining the stress signatures is so that women can recognize these broad-stroke clinical guidelines and actually intervene in a way with intention, whether it’s the food they eat, or their sleep

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Checks+Balanced: How a 27-year-old freelancer in San Fransisco finances her wanderlust to travel the world

September 12, 2019 at 01:00PM by CWC Even in a world where questions about menstrual cups and the ins and outs of sex are completely (and blessedly) normal, somehow the ever-ubiquitous use of money remains a touchy subject for many. People want to live their healthiest life ever, but—#realtalk—it can add up. Have you ever wondered how your colleague who makes less than you do (or so you think) can afford to buy a $5 matcha and a $12 chopped salad every day? Or how your friend’s budget allows her to hit up $34 fitness classes three times a week? It’s enough to make anyone want to ask, “Ummm, excuse me. How do you afford that?!?” That’s where Well+Good’s monthly series Checks+Balanced comes in. By lifting the thick, tightly drawn curtain to expose how much women of varying income brackets spend on wellness, we’re spreading transparency and hopefully providing some inspo that’s possible to copy. Because no matter how much you make, it’s possible to cultivate healthy habits that work within your budget. This month, meet Michelle, a 27-year-old living in San Francisco who prefers the freelance life to a full-time gig largely because of the flexibility to travel it affords her. Check out how she juggles her responsibilities as a contract-based project manager, fitness trainer, and travel blogger. (She has great tips for how to travel cheap!) Keep reading to see her spending habits.  Here, a 27-year-old fitness trainer and freelance project manager living in San Francisco shares her creative tips for financing her world travels. Graphic: Well+Good Creative

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The 3 telltale signs it’s time to find a new shampoo, according to hair experts

September 12, 2019 at 12:00PM by CWC Out of all my personal care products, shampoo somehow gets picked last in dodgeball. As in: I almost could care less about which product I’m using to clean my hair with, as long as it’s getting all of that gunk/dirt/sweat off of my scalp. So I basically switch shampoos whenever my bottle runs out. This is a mistake. As we’ve learned, your hair can actually get used to the shampoo you suds up with, and you should pick certain ingredients based on your particular hair type’s needs. Regardless—your strands can actually tell you when they want (or need, really) a new shampoo. If you listen to them, kinda like if you read your daily horoscope, you can learn some stuff. “I’m a firm believer in switching between shampoos to keep a  healthy balance between clarifying your scalp and not quite stripping all of the essential oils off of your hair,” says celebrity hairstylist Michelle Cleveland of Hair Addict Salon. So an actual shampoo wardrobe isn’t such a bad idea. Curious if it’s time to go shopping? Look for the three telltale signs, below. 1. You’ve got gunk: Sounds gross, but after a while, your shampoo won’t be able to do its job at 100-percent, because as mentioned, your hair gets used to the one you use. “A good sign that your shampoo has stopped working is when you still feel build-up after freshly washing your hair,” says Cleveland. “This means your shampoo has stopped

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You’re totally being judged for your swearing habit—but it can work in your favor

September 12, 2019 at 01:00AM by CWC Ever let an F-bomb slip in front of your boss and immediately feel mortified about how they’re now perceiving you? Do they think you’re crass? Out of control? Rude? Unprofessional? Perhaps they have some other reaction that still paints you in an unflattering light? As someone who curses quite a bit around my friends but rarely (purposely, at least) in front of those not within that inner circle, I experience this anxiety spiral every now and then because I’m, in fact, not a robot, and sometimes I use parts of my vocabulary among company not meant to hear it. It’s not that I’m ashamed to be someone who uses curse words, but when I say one of those four-letter terms in certain settings, the result feels like showing up to a black-tie event in a Halloween getup, having confused it for a costume party: embarrassing and kind of cringeworthy for everyone around. Do people really care, though? According to linguistic experts, it really depends context. “Swearing is a complex human behavior, one very dependent on contextual variables: who, what, where, when, why,” says psychologist Timothy Jay, PhD, a world-renowned cursing expert (yes, really). Linguist Kirk Hazen, PhD agrees: “Change a variable, and you change perception of swearing. Any curse word can be used for camaraderie, for insult, or for intensification,” he says. “[How it’s perceived] all depends on who is doing the talking and who is doing the listening.” The experts say several

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The most effective way to warmup for a workout will take you straight back to elementary school recess

September 12, 2019 at 12:00AM by CWC When I got onto the treadmill last night to start my Peloton-guided HIIT run, I expected the usual warm-up moves that would get my muscles lubed up for sprints… like high knees or butt kicks. I definitely didn’t expect to… skip. But that’s just what Peloton tread instructor Andy Speer had me (and the countless other runners following along with him) do. And so there I found myself, smack in the middle of a gym at rush hour, skipping on the treadmill while the people next to me were most definitely giving me the side-eye. As silly as it seems, though, skipping’s got some serious street cred. “Skipping is a great movement to prepare the body for running,” says Leanne Pedante, certified running coach and head of training program for Stride. “Skipping forces the body to practice sharp, efficient muscle actions that you need when you run fast: knee drive, propulsion, core control, and arm drive. And skipping drills increase flexibility in the hamstrings, glutes, and shoulders, while warming up other key muscles like your quads and calves.” So yeah, skipping’s legit. While it may just feel like you’re prancercising (do click on the YouTube link if you’re not familiar—you certainly won’t regret it), skipping is doing your bod a whole lot of good in priming it for mobile, sleek, efficient movement… aka running. Also, let me tell you: It’s not as easy as it felt when we were kids. According to Pedante,

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Here’s what the proposed ban on e-cigarettes means for CBD vaping

September 11, 2019 at 11:12PM by CWC During an Oval Office briefing on Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced that the administration will propose a ban on flavored e-cigarettes. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will institute the policy within the next couple of months, reports CNN, but the question of what that will mean for brands selling vaporizers filled with CBD or vitamin cartridges (rather than those filled with tobacco and nicotine) remains to be seen. The administration’s promise comes in response to the more than 450 possible cases of lung illness associated with e-cigarettes in the U.S. alone—six of which have now proved fatal. While medical professionals have yet to establish a definitive cause of the sickness (which manifests in symptoms like shortness of breath, pneumonia, fever, fatigue, and more), one theory posits that the vitamin E infused in vaping liquids could be causing the illness. It’s important to note, however, that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) investigation has not yet linked every case of illness with a single substance. Still, since many of the affected patients reported using liquids that contain cannabinoid products like cannabidiol (or CBD, a non-psychoactive element of the cannabis plant) and tetrahydrocannabinol (or THC, the plant’s intoxicating chemical), the question of whether the ban will extend to these types of products as well is a good one. And while we won’t know the answer definitively until the FDA releases the new guidelines

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