November 01, 2019 at 11:00PM by CWC One of my earliest and most embarrassing bedfellows couldn’t part with two things: The Smashing Pumpkins album Siamese Dream (but why?) and dad-like white tube socks. Clearly ours was a very pasty affair, and I’ve kind of been Team No Socks in Bed ever since. But here’s something that’ll knock your socks…back on. Keeping your feet all toasty actually might actually be the key to increasing your sexual pleasure. No, really—there’s some research on this! According to one study by the University of Groningen, couples who wore socks while getting, um, intimate were much more likely to achieve orgasm. And the Socks Versus Sockless disparity is real: the probability of reaching the orgasm soared to 80 percent from 50 percent. That’s a 30 percent climax difference, you guys. But why is this? Mind you, I exclusively wear Christmas socks, so I’m having a real hard time imagining all those screenprinted reindeer setting the mood. Well, there’s twofold things! See, keeping your feet warm is a way to improve blood flow, and if your tootsies are ice-cold, blood can’t rush as quickly to your, um… relevant parts. But neuroscience professor Gert Holstege, who led the research, also found that sock and sex connection is especially important for women. Since women tend to build up arousal when they’re feeling a sense of internal and external comfort, a pair of fuzzy socks can act as a stabilizing base. And hey, it’ll help you sleep better post-orgasm! Now, if you’re very
Day: November 1, 2019
A beauty product formulator says your skin-care routine should only take 5 minutes
November 01, 2019 at 10:00PM by CWC There’s no question that the Internet is a great place for discovering beauty advice, but there’s one problem: All of the tips, tricks, and product recommendations out there can often make it seem like your skin-care routine needs to be 20 steps and two hours long. But I am happy to report that that is simply not the case. According to cosmetic chemist Lalita Vedantam (… if you’re a skin-care nerd like I am, her Instagram is well worth a follow), all you really need for an effective skin-care routine is five minutes and five basic products: a cleanser, a light moisturizer, an active serum, a heavy moisturizer, and (of course) sunscreen. Here, she lays out the quick, easy routine that anyone can squeeze into their day—plus a few affordable products that can help make it happen. View this post on Instagram Hi friends, Let's talk about how to achieve a good skincare routine in 5 minutes. We're all pretty busy and it's not always easy to find time for a 30 min skincare routine. I've put together 5 steps that I feel are essential in your skincare routine. Step 1 – A cleanser that will not strip your natural oils from your skin. This means it can be either water-based or oil-based. If your skin feels clean and supple, it's probably a good cleanser for your skin type. Step 2 – Apply moisturizer on
The best thing you can do for your spine is just hang
November 01, 2019 at 09:00PM by CWC In yoga, teachers will tell you that having an open heart starts with having an open spine, which means moving through elaborate yoga backbends and spinal stretch twists. But if you feel more at home at the gym than at the studio, Will Torres, founder of Willspace, says that all you need to have an open back (and, by extension, an open heart) is to hang. By hang, he means finding the nearest tree branch or pull up bar and holding your entire body up with just the grip of your hands. “Hanging has many benefits,” says Torres. “It stretched the spine, improves the other is grip and forearm strength, and helps with shoulder health.” You’re not just stretching, in other words. Your full body gets involved in a strengthening and lengthening combo. “Everyone knows and feels that they have tension in the shoulders, in the elbows, in the back. And what hanging does is use your body weight to start creating more space between the joints,” Torres explains. “So you create more space and strength in the elbows, in the shoulders, and between the ribs of the rib cage. Also, gravity pulls you away from the anchor point on the bar, so you’re creating space between the vertebrae of the spine.” When you come down from the bar, you have more room between each of the lego-like pieces that make up your spine. Over time, Torres say you’ll feel yourself sitting up
7 healthy muffin tin breakfast recipes for people who like to sleep in
November 01, 2019 at 08:00PM by CWC Baking a week’s worth of breakfasts in one day is a great way to do yourself a big favor. And while fluffy blueberry baked goods certainly fit the bill, muffin tins don’t get enough credit for their versatility. Whatever your eating plan, there’s a muffin tin breakfast recipe that’s right for you. Just one hour in the kitchen will yield a whole week (or more!) of protein-rich, fiber-full breakfasts that will keep you full until lunch. Let’s eat. 7 muffin tin breakfast recipes for every single diet Photo: My Keto Kitchen keto: chocolate Breakfast muffins Keto-eaters, I’ve granted your wish: to eat chocolate for breakfast. Almond flour, butter, and cocoa powder come together in a recipe that’s, um, basically morning dessert. Mediterranean diet: EGG MUFFINS With bell pepper, kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, and olive oil, this recipe combines the best ingredients of the Blue Zones for five-bite egg muffins. These also happen to be gluten-free and loaded with protein to give you that up-and-at-’em morning attitude. Curious about the Med diet? Here’s what a dietitian thinks: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGnyqti9wsw] Low-fodmap: GREEK EGG MUFFINS In a similar style as the Mediterranean breakfast, you’ll just sprinkle feta and tomato in the bed of each muffin hole, pour egg over top, and bake. It literally couldn’t be easier. Photo: Getty Images/yipengge Vegetarian: BAKED OATMEAL CUPS I kid you not: you can bake oatmeal (and ICYMI, you can also toast it). Blogger Amanda Finks behind The Wholesome Dish
5 Ways To Make Your House Smell Like Fall (aka Pumpkin Spice)
November 01, 2019 at 07:05PM Teas, candles, and incense to make your sanctuary smell like fall. Continue Reading… Author Emma Loewe | Life by Daily Burn Selected by CWC
Couples With These 3 Qualities Are Better Equipped For Nonmonogamy
November 01, 2019 at 06:00PM In case you’re curious… Continue Reading… Author Kelly Gonsalves | Life by Daily Burn Selected by CWC
Sea-level rise threatens 300 million homes by 2050—here’s the most important thing you can do to stop it
November 01, 2019 at 05:13PM by CWC Newly released data reveals the catastrophic effect of rising sea levels, painting a stunning picture for the future of the planet. Estimates produced by Climate Central, a science organization based in New Jersey, more than triple previous projections for sea-level rise by 2050. In little more than 30 years, water threatens to overtake highly-populated cities like Shanghai, mainland China’s commercial capital, and Alexandria, Egypt’s second-largest city with unparalleled historical significance. The common narrative around such climate reports too often skews toward cutting down use of plastic straws, swapping your car for public transportation, and watching your electricity usage. These choices for personal responsibility make a measurable impact, but they fall short of enlisting people with the power to make the biggest difference of all: elected officials. It’s our job as inhabitants of the planet to vote for candidates who prioritize its health—those who will create policy that regulates the use of carbon emissions, for example. “People in the U.S. and across the world need to know that carbon emissions play a key role in determining how fast or slow sea levels rise,” says Scott Kulp, PhD, senior computational scientist at Climate Central who helped author the study. “The more we reduce greenhouse gas pollution, the more time coastal communities will have to plan and respond to this threat.” “For coastal cities, sea-level rise is an existential threat. It’s truly above politics.” —Scott Kulp, PhD Concern over sea levels rising should inundate political differences,
How reading my favorite books helped me finally manage my morning anxiety
November 01, 2019 at 04:00PM by CWC I am not, by any means, a morning person. I’m actually the polar opposite—mornings crush me. Ever since my earliest days in undergrad, I’ve struggled with acute morning anxiety. At my best, I’ll wake up and internalize all my worries, mentally running through my to-do list over and over again until, well, I actually do it. But at my worst? It’s not very pretty. Think: crying spells, panic attacks, and/or emergency phone calls to my therapist to talk me out of another mental spiral. This is what my mornings were like for years. Waking up was a roll of the dice—I never knew what I was going to feel. It came to a head one morning while I was showering before work in mid-July. As I shampooed my hair, I just couldn’t stop fretting. The anxious thoughts kept rolling in about, quite literally, everything: my career path, my sister in Boston, my dog in New Jersey, how I could possibly make it through another hectic day, etc., etc. As I stepped out of the shower, I knew I needed to get out this headspace ASAP before my brain completely sabotaged the rest of my day. So on a whim, I grabbed the book on my bedside table and just read, in my towel, for 15 minutes. And you know what? It helped. A lot. The deluge of thoughts and feelings of panic had dwindled almost entirely. My thoughts re-focused. It was as if,
Google just got into the step-tracking game for $2.1 billion
November 01, 2019 at 03:04PM by CWC Google has announced that it will acquire active tracker company Fitbit for $2.1 billion, according to a statement Friday. In a press release, senior vice president of devices and services Rick Osterloh, said the mega-corporation will use the acquisition to expand its Made by Google wearables while investing more in Wear OS and Google Fit. “Google aspires to create tools that help people enhance their knowledge, success, health and happiness,” said Osterloh. “This goal is closely aligned with Fitbit’s long-time focus on wellness and helping people live healthier, more active lives.” But of course, the purchase does raise questions of privacy, which both Google and Fitbit quickly addressed. In a separate press release issued by Fitbit, the company guaranteed to protect user privacy: “Fitbit will continue to put users in control of their data and will remain transparent about the data it collects and why. The company never sells personal information, and Fitbit health and wellness data will not be used for Google ads.” For Google, the acquisition marks the next phase toward winning the 10,000-steps race against the Apple Watch. Existing Google Fit apps could become more seamlessly integrated with Fitbit products like the Versa. Only time will tell if Google has what it takes to overtake Apple as the maker of the world’s best-selling wearable. Here’s our favorite fitness tech of 2019 and what a cardiologist wants you to pay attention to on your Apple Watch. Continue Reading… Author Kells McPhillips | Well
6 telltale signs you’re an empath (in case you’re not already feeling those vibes)
November 01, 2019 at 03:00PM by CWC Ever feel like your best friend’s breakup is making you ache? Or that the excitement radiating off your sister because she got a promotion is your excitement? Positive or negative, highly emotional events that aren’t even yours, but those of other people, often leave you feeling exhausted. If these telltale traits of being an empath ring true to you, you probably have no problems accessing empathy so strong, you can put yourself in someone else’s shoes to a startlingly realistic effect. But being an empath through and through calls upon a stronger and more continuous thread of empathy than one that’s situational for the most part. In her book, Thriving as an Empath: 365 Days of Self-Care for Sensitive People, psychiatrist Judith Orloff, MD, describes empaths as highly sensitive individuals who “filter the world through their intuition and have a difficult time intellectualizing their feelings.” Basically, empaths take in the emotions of others. And, fun fact, for those of you concerned about being self-absorbent, so to speak: Being an empath is actually opposite to being a narcissist. Narcissism hinges on thinking only of oneself, with a complete disregard to empathy, whereas for empaths, this is clearly not an issue. But what exactly should you look out for if you feel—like really feel—you may be an empath? Clinical psychologist Carla Marie Manly, PhD, shares some clear signs below. 1. You feel like a sponge to other people’s feelings No matter the emotion at hand,