March 16, 2020 at 11:00PM by CWC With travel restrictions being introduced worldwide in attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19, the message has never been clearer: now is the time to stay put, stay healthy, and practice social distancing. Remaining at home isn’t an option for everyone, though. For some, traveling during COVID-19—either for work or for a family emergency—is simply a necessity. In early March, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a travel advisory cautioning anyone considering domestic travel within the United States to consider how necessary it really is. “Your risk of exposure to respiratory viruses like COVID-19 may increase in crowded settings, particularly closed-in settings with little air circulation, if there are people in the crowd who are sick,” reads the CDC website. “This may include settings such as conferences, public events (like concerts and sporting events), religious gatherings, public spaces (like movie theatres and shopping malls), and public transportation (like buses, metro, trains).” Still, life goes on. And you may find yourself needing to book a flight to see a loved one, fulfill something that’s required of you at work, or take off for some other emergency. Should that be the case, first head to the CDC’s website to read through its six-item travel checklist included in the advisory (which will tell you whether you really need to travel). Then, if you’re still sure you need to get on that plane, ride the subway, or hop a bus to another city or state, make
Day: March 16, 2020
The case for limiting your exposure to the news, according to a psychologist
March 16, 2020 at 10:00PM by CWC I’m absolutely fixated on the daily news right now, so much so that I’m waking up several times in the night to refresh my feed, checking Instagram more often than ever to discover news I might have missed, and playing pretty much an endless stream of podcasts related to COVID-19. My behavior feels healthy to me because information helps me feel empowered. But reading and watching the news causes stress for some people—especially right now. As those who follow me on social media—and therefore have unwanted exposure to a sudden influx of reposted news through my feed—have pointed out, overexposure can have deleterious effects. For many, it seems, too much news is bad news. In these troubled times, then, is it wise for some—if not most—of us to turn off news alerts, limit access to social media, and just generally minimize exposure to the media? Avoiding overexposure right now absolutely has the power to reduce unnecessary stress, according to clinical psychologist Aimee Daramus, PsyD. “Things are stressful enough without thinking about it all day,” she says. Los Angeles-based psychologist Sarah Neustadter, PhD not only agrees but actually says it’s critical to our mental health that we stay away from the news as much as possible. “We don’t need to know about every single death that has happened in our state or in the world,” she says. “We can spend this time however we want; it’s a rich opportunity to stay positive in the
7 overnight hair masks that will revive dry, dull strands
March 16, 2020 at 09:00PM by CWC The world can be divided into two camps: People who could spend hours in the shower, and people who get in and out as quickly as possible. I fall into the latter (correct) camp; however, my laziness in regards to getting regular hair cuts means that my strands need some sort of deep conditioning treatment now and then (ya know: so I don’t look like someone who took a straightening iron to my head while it was still wet). After putting off a haircut for a week too long, or in the dead of winter when it’s just so dry outside, sometimes regular old conditioner just won’t cut it. Enter, overnight hair masks. You get to sleep (a favorite pastime) while these work, making them perfect for both very busy people and very lazy people. “Overnight masks are such a secret weapon. Every hair type benefits, however the ones that will see the biggest change will be the drier, coarser hair types. The longer you leave it on, the more effect it has,” says Kristen Shaw, celebrity hairstylist. Benefits of using an overnight hair mask include: shinier hair, less breakage, softer hair, frizz reduction, detangling, and less time spent contemplating your life choices in the shower. Applying an overnight hair mask is basically foolproof. “Take a shower at night and shampoo your hair. Towel dry it, put the mask on, comb it through and you can either just clip it up, or put
Probiotics are cool and all, but have you heard about postbiotics?
March 16, 2020 at 08:36PM by CWC At this point, gut health has been *the* topic of conversation in the wellness world for a while. We all know about drinking kombucha and eating foods high in probiotics for optimal gut health, and if you’re really deep in the scene, you might even have extensive thoughts about the mind-gut connection. However, I have a new topic in the land of gut health that you probably haven’t heard of yet: postbiotics. Related to prebiotics and probiotics, postbiotics are essentially the endgame goal of all your gut health efforts. “When you take prebiotics or probiotics, people don’t realize that at the end of the day, the hope is to get some postbiotics. The entire point is about postbiotics,” says gastroenterologist Will Bulsiewicz, MD, author of the upcoming book, Fiber Fueled. So why should we care about the latest and greatest “biotic” compound to come up in the wellness world? We asked Dr. Bulsiewicz to share the 411 on postbiotics and why they’re so important. What are postbiotics and how are they different from pre- and probiotics? Before we continue, here’s a quick gut health refresher. Probiotics, Dr. Bulsiewicz says, are live microoraganisms (typically bacteria or yeast) that benefit the body by boosting the immune system, reducing inflammation, helping with digestion, and improving mood. They live in your gut, but there are also foods that contain probiotics, such as yogurt, pickled veggies, and miso. (You can obviously also find them in supplement form.) Prebiotics, meanwhile,
The strength-boosting sequence that’ll help you master the yoga headstand
March 16, 2020 at 07:00PM by CWC You may be able to twist your way into a bird of paradise with the best of them, but mastering the yoga headstand is a whole different ballgame. Unlike many moves in the practice, which solely rely on flexibility, balancing on your head requires some serious strength. And if you’ve ever attempted it for yourself without any prep—and wound up toppling over onto the person on the mat next to you—you know that holding a headstand isn’t quite as simple as just deciding to do it and kicking up into the pose. There are a few key muscles responsible for getting you—and keeping you—in the position. “The trapezius and deltoid muscles in your shoulders protect the head and neck, and the latissimus dorsi, which is in the back of your core holds you up,” says Kajuan Douglas, founder of Merge New York, a yoga studio in New York City. “Core muscles like the obliques, rectus abdominis, and transverse abdominis get you up and help you balance, and the biceps and triceps have to be strong to provide a supportive base.” How to get strong enough to do a headstand In order to get started in a headstand practice, then, the first step is strengthening these muscles. To help you do that, yoga pro Jess Penesso, founder of The Sweat Method, suggests cycling through the below movements that will work your core and hip flexors while also stabilizing your shoulders. 1. Medicine ball plank-to-pike:
The 11 sex personality types are like love languages for intimacy—here’s how to learn yours
March 16, 2020 at 06:00PM by CWC People are interested in having sex for many different reasons and the definition of “great sex” varies from person to person (and changes over time). And when two people in a relationship want different things out of sex, open communication is the key to finding out what the other wants. To help couples discuss and work through their differences, licensed sex therapist Vanessa Marin defined several unique sex personality types. “The idea of it is to help open up a conversation between partners so they can understand themselves better, understand each other better, and figure out how to have the kind of sex that’s going to feel really amazing and fun for both of them,” she says. Marin says she got the idea to define sex personality types from working with some of her clients. “I realized that two people could be talking about their sex life together, but it really felt like they were talking about completely different things,” she says. “I started thinking a lot about what is it that we’re looking to experience with sex as humans, how we define great sex, and that means to each of us.” Marin’s model includes 11 different sex personality types. Of course, one person might may feel aligned with two or three of the sex personality types—but Marin says that typically there’s a primary motivator that explains what they’re looking to get out of sex. When two people in a relationship know each
A runner and registered dietitian shares what an average day of eating looks like for her—peanut butter cups included
March 16, 2020 at 05:00PM by CWC There’s a lot of confusion around food for runners and what the heck to eat when your workout of choice involves lengthy long runs. Does being a runner mean having spaghetti every night? (Gotta carb-load, right?) Is coffee before a run a good idea? And where does protein come in? It’s questions like these that registered dietitian and Cook, Eat, Run author Charlie Watson, RD is used to answering on a regular basis. Watson works with clients who have all sorts of healthy eating Qs, but she loves to help runners figure out what to eat. “My main philosophy is to eat real food,” Watson says. She’s all about eating whole grains, nuts, fruit, and vegetables to get the nutrients she needs—many of which are shelf-stable and easy to stock up on for meal prep. Charlie likes to do her runs in the morning, before work. “I work in a busy hospital as a dietitian where I’m on my feet most of the day, so I’m usually too tired to run in the evenings,” she says. “I get up at 5 a.m., run for about an hour or so, then do strength workouts in the evening twice per week.” Here, she shares what a day of eating looks like for her on an average day. Her meals aren’t meant to be thought of as a “diet plan”—you may have different nutritional needs than she does—but it’s a fun, voyeuristic look at what mealtime
How to maintain human connection (and fight loneliness) when working from home for the foreseeable future
March 16, 2020 at 04:00PM by CWC As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, one common response to a national directive to practice social distancing has put many workers on an “indefinite” WFH-status. As a new, albeit temporary, reality is setting in, a common objective is emerging: We all need to figure out how to be less lonely working from home. Clinical psychologist Aimee Daramus, PsyD, says there’s a basic biological reason we’re all deep in our feelings about the stay-home intentions. “The need for others is built deep into the brain,” says Dr. Daramus. “We have cells in the brain called mirror neurons that help us empathize. Without mirror neurons, we can’t love. With them we can feel love, compassion, and we can feel pain at seeing another person in pain.” When you’re not seeing other people, your own mirror neurons are companionless and they (and you) get pretty darn lonely, working from home or otherwise. Human connection is also important from a physiological standpoint: New research published in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Review has connected flying solo for long periods of time with the onset of inflammation in the body. The review of 30 past studies on how loneliness, social isolation, and inflammation are interconnected indicated that, among other things, social isolation is associated with C-reactive protein, which is usually released into the blood after tissue injury. Eventually, that causes the C-reactive protein to be converted into fibrin-based blood clots—a type of inflammation. “Emotional pain shares some neurological pathways
Meet the toy my partner and I use when we’re too lazy to have sex
March 16, 2020 at 02:00PM by CWC Gone are the days when every vibrator looked like either like a purple penis or an oversize microphone. Now, not only can you find vibrators in amorphous and varying geometric shapes, but you can also find vibrators that resemble rings, giant eggplant emojis, pickles, and even baby chickens. (Whether or not vibrators should be shaped like baby chickens is a discussion for another day, though). As a sex writer who tests and reviews vibrators for a living, none of these varieties really surprise me, per se. I’m now open-minded to any and game to try all of them, so the day the Hot Octopuss Pulse Duo, which looks like a vibrating spaceship, got delivered, I didn’t think too much of it. But, my partner definitely felt differently. My partner, who has a penis, was excited about the opportunity this new toy provided us: to use it together. Like the love child of a Fleshlight and a rumbly vibrator, the Pulse Duo is often called the world’s first “guybrator” or male vibrator. But the toy isn’t just for men. Rather, it can be enjoyed by anyone with a penis (regardless of their gender identity) or a strap-on for solo or partnered sex. In fact, Julia Margo, COO of Hot Octopuss calls it a couple’s vibrator. Graphic: W+G Creative Shop now: Hot Octopuss Pulse Duo, $199 The Pulse Duo is slightly larger than but similar in shape to a toilet-paper tube. The spherical toy is
A neurology expert shares the 5 ways she avoids brain fog
March 16, 2020 at 01:00PM by CWC Brain fog—that feeling of not being able to concentrate, or blanking out on random little things, like what you had for dinner the night before— is annoying at best and alarming at worst, especially if you experience it on a regular basis. Lisa Mosconi, PhD has made a career out of studying women’s brains, especially when it comes to cognitive health and preventing Alzheimer’s disease. She’s the director of the Women’s Brain Initiative and associate director of the Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College, and her new book XX Brain is full of all sorts of science-backed research related to keeping the brain healthy in both the long and short term (which is where brain fog comes in). In terms of what causes brain fog, Dr. Mosconi says there are a whole host of reasons. “Quite often, people experience brain fog when they’re exhausted or tired, as fatigue can be a direct cause,” she says. She adds that for women, hormones play a role, too: You’re more likely to feel brain fog right before your period or when going through hormonal changes such as menopause. Here, Dr. Mosconi shares some tips she takes to avoid brain fog, touching on these reasons as well as others. Keep reading for her tips. How a neurology expert avoids brain fog 1. staying hydrated “Staying hydrated is really important for preventing brain fog,” Dr. Mosconi says. “Most people don’t realize that the brain is 80 percent