March 01, 2019 at 06:00AM by CWC I have not experienced every sensation available in the human experience, but I imagine persistent exhaustion—one I most definitely have felt—is up at the top of the list of the most terrible feelings. To paraphrase a prolific poet of my generation (memes in general), being an adult means telling everyone how tired you are all the time. I relate so hard. What’s crazy though is that I frequently get seven to eight hours of sleep…sometimes more. Yet I still have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, and I feel fatigued during the day. This is by no means a unique experience. According to the UK NHS, feeling tired all the time is so common, it has its own freaking acronym: TATT (tired all the time). And a recent Well+Good survey of nearly 1,500 people about sleep habits found that and 92 percent of respondents feel fatigued more than one day per week. But—plot twist!—on average, the people surveyed were getting seven hours of sleep, i.e., very close to the amount recommended by the CDC. So what gives? Why are we all so exhausted if we’re getting the right amount of sleep? Le major sigh. The main culprits behind fatigue—aside from, you know, not getting enough sleep—all have common denominator of disrupting your quality of sleep. In other words, you could be logging the right quantity of sleep, but not the right quality. Here, licensed psychologist and sleep-health expert Shelby Harris, PsyD, breaks down common
Category: 2019 Health
I went on a mission to make friends at the gym—here’s what I learned
March 01, 2019 at 05:15AM by CWC Whether you’re swinging kettlebells at boot camp or getting in formation to Beyonce at dance cardio, typically everyone heads into the studio, does their thing for an hour, and then goes home without so much as a high-five to the person on the mat next to them. Which is too bad, because for someone who’s looking to expand her squad, post-college—and who prefers not to hang out with coworkers after 6 p.m.—making new friends can be harder than perfecting a push-up. I decided to make it my mission to try and make one friend at a class. Hoping that there’s more camaraderie in boutique fitness than meets the eye, I decided to make it my mission to try and make one friend at a class. So, over the course of a week, I did everything from a recess-inspired gym class (remember how easy it was to make friends in school?) to an out-there group mindfulness exercise. How easy was it to bond with new a BFF? Here’s what I learned about looking for (platonic) love at the gym. Photo: Stocksy/Jovo Jovanovic Get there early I kicked things off at Throwback Fitness in New York City, which incorporates grade-school games into the class. And you know what that means: team activities. Tip number one for making friends at your next class: Get there early. I learned right away that having 10 minutes or so to try and strike up a conversation is crucial. As soon as I walked into the studio, it was very clear that
We got Google to share its most-searched spring fashion trends—here are the ones you can start wearing now
March 01, 2019 at 04:28AM by CWC Before you @ me for talking about spring fashion trends, March 20, also known as the first day of spring, is less than three weeks away. It’s still definitely wintering outside, but the days are getting longer and with that additional sunlight comes the promise of warmer weather and transitional dressing. When it comes to the latter, there’s good news: Some of the top searched spring fashion trends, according to Google, are ones that you can start mixing into your wardrobe now. I reached out to the ultimate search-engine and asked it to pull data on its most-searched trends for spring. While I could have predicted that retro sneakers (hi, Gigi Hadid x Reebok!), headbands (via every single street style star on Instagram), and tones of pink, would have piqued interest of shoppers all over the country, there were others that surprised and intrigued me enough to re-evaluate my own wardrobe for the season to come. Check out all the top spring fashion trends below in order of search volume. 1. Fringe Photo: Stocksy/GIC The fringe trend has expanded for spring, surpassing its Americana roots and settling comfortably in sportswear and after-hours staples alike. Our picks H&M Sweatshirt with Fringe, $28 Zara Fringed Pareo Skirt, $40 Jacquemus Capri Fringed Bouclé Midi Skirt, $635 2. Tie-dye Photo: Stocksy/Leandro Crespi From Proenza Schouler, R13, and more, tie-dye hit the spring runways in full-force, infiltrating everything from tailored suiting looks to oversized athleisure hoodies. Add a bit
There are 3K audio workouts on Aaptiv—but these are the 10 best ones
March 01, 2019 at 04:01AM by CWC I dipped my toe in the audio fitness fad with extreme trepidation. As in, *shakes head*, there’s no way, no how that a pre-recorded coach shouting at me through my earbuds could replace the heart-pumping joy of dropping in to a boutique studio class. Wow, was I wrong. Within a week of queueing up my first-ever treadmill workout on Aaptiv—an on-demand fitness app that offers almost every sweat modality, from boxing to HIIT—I wouldn’t shut up about it. Seriously, I became the company’s unofficial PR rep who blurted out my undying love for the app both to those who asked (like my charitable friends) and those who didn’t (my humble apologies, cashier(s) at Trader Joe’s). I’m not alone in my fanfare: All-in-all, the app creates heart-pumping content for 200,000 members in 20 countries across the globe. My mom, my sister, my cousin, two of my friends, and a few colleagues are now among them—so I’ve compared notes with a small pool of fellow-obsessives. While no, I haven’t done all 3,000 classes available on the app, I have sweated through enough to know which ones emerge supreme—at least, IMO. Below, I’ve rounded up 10 of the best-of-the-best with the hope that you, too, will be psyched to gush about your latest digitally-led strength training session to anyone in earshot. (And if you don’t have an account yet, consider hopping on their free trial.) Behold, the 10 best Aaptiv workouts to queue up for your
Ever wake up from a dream feeling super angry? It happens, but doesn’t have to derail your day
March 01, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC Feeling irritated and agitated isn’t necessarily an uncommon occurrence for me—it’s something I attribute to my very unchill, George Constanza-like nature. But even as someone who harbors strong opinions about things as seemingly benign as black coffee and low ponytails, I’m still able to recognize that the random anger and frustration I feel toward friends and family after waking up from particular dreams is irrational and uncalled for. But I also don’t think I’m alone. Think about it: You’ve definitely had dreams in which your parents, say, shared you’re their least favorite child; or maybe your partner hit on someone right in front of you; or maybe your BFF told your deepest, darkest secret to your crush. Any number of dreams can push your subconscious buttons to an extent that makes you feel angry upon waking up. And even when you can’t recall the exact narrative of what happened in your dream-verse (not all dreams are lucid, after all), whatever transpired left a sour taste in your mouth—or, more precisely, on your mood. Aside from having to contend with the immediate sensation of annoyance upon waking up, getting out of bed with a grumpy mind-set doesn’t really set up your day for success. But since dream rage can plague truly anyone, I tapped a couple of experts for advice on how to keep the snoozy negativity from putting a damper on your day. 3 tried-and-true methods for not letting your dream-anger hangover ruin your day. 1.
This J-beauty moisturizer is the only thing that’s kept my winter skin hydrated
March 01, 2019 at 02:00AM by CWC While some products in my skin-care regimen never change—like the Biologique Recherche P50 toner ($67) and Neutrogena Hydroboost Hydrating Serum ($23)—I typically keep the rest in rotation in order to explore the wide world of beauty products. If a facial cleanser runs out, I’ll try another brand. Same with everything else, from my body lotion to my face cream. Sure, I use a facial moisturizer twice a day, but I’m forever testing out a new product. But now that my skin’s been introduced to the brand-spankin’ new Tatcha Dewy Skin Cream ($68), I’m never switching face creams again. As the newest concoction from the J-beauty brand Tatcha—a brand already beloved by many—the moisturizer takes the star ingredients from its famous Dewy Skin Mist ($48) and inserts them into a cream that’s all about bestowing your face with legit dewy skin. It’s got Japanese purple rice, soothing botanical extracts, a Japanese algae blend, and hyaluronic acid, each working to gently plump and hydrate your skin. Fun fact: Purple rice used to be forbidden in ancient Japanese culture because it was reserved for the rich and noble. It’s a key skin booster because it contains a potent antioxidant that protects your complexion from pollution. Photo: Tatcha “The active ingredients in the cream help replenish ceramides, protect the skin from stress, replenish the moisture reservoir, and help to retain hydration,” says Tatcha founder Victoria Tsai. “The formula took about a year and a half to develop—we
The truth about how much genetics have to do with your fertility
February 28, 2019 at 01:40PM by CWC As an early 30-something, I recently started noticing a shift in conversation topic among my peers. Where we once talked about which bars to try on Saturday night and how to find an affordable apartment that isn’t cockroach-infested, long talks now center on career aspirations, finding a life partner, and if we want kids—and if so, exactly how long we can wait to start “trying.” While my friends’ reasons for not having kids at the moment vary (some people are still paying down student loans; other people might not have found the right partner), one thing I hear consistently across the board goes something like this: “My mom got pregnant with me on her first try and she was 39, so I feel like I can wait.” Or alternatively: “My mom had a really hard time getting pregnant, so I should probably start early.” Long story short, it seems like a common assumption that our mothers’ ease (or difficulty) with fertility predicts our own. But is there any truth to this? I asked the experts to do some myth-busting for me. Is fertility genetic? Kind of. Hate to break it to you, but just because your mom got pregnant naturally on her first try as a 40-something doesn’t mean you necessarily will have the same luck. “Every egg and sperm combination is different, so in that respect, fertility is somewhat random and hard to predict,” says Lynn Westphal, MD, FACOG, chief medical officer
Trainers say this is the most-missed body part during workouts
February 28, 2019 at 01:30PM by CWC I like to think I’m pretty well-rounded in my workouts and that I leave no limb behind. I run, which obviously targets my whole body, and I do a wide variety of strength training to zero in on my legs, arms, abs, and—of course—my peach. But then, after a shower the other night, I was slathering on lotion and realized I was giving one very notable body part a bad case of FOMO: my back. I spoke with a fitness trainer and learned that you’re truly missing out if you’re not working out your back because it’s a key part of your bod. “We live in a world that keeps us constantly pulled forward, between activities like driving and spending hours hunched over a desk,” says Chavanne Scott-Hellner, certified trainer, Fitness Together owner and operator, and performance and optimization coach. “So, overall, back exercises set you up for a better brain-body connection.” After all, your back houses your all-important spine, which of course is in charge of your posture. If you don’t strengthen it, it’ll be easier to give in to the rounded shoulders-kinda life. “By strengthening the back muscles through exercise, it helps your overall alignment and also allows the back to take the strain off of the chest muscles—which is important because the chest and back muscles collectively support and strengthen the spinal column,” says Scott-Hellner. So with a stronger spinal column, it’s then much easier for your brain to communicate with
How to know if writing gratitude journals (or failure résumés) is right for you
February 28, 2019 at 01:01PM by CWC There’s no “wrong” way to journal. Whether you employ the bulleted format or put pen to paper to track your fitness gains, kudos to you for making time for your thoughts. Lately, two styles of journaling (that appear to be polar opposites) have gained in popularity among those who relentlessly record the minutiae of their daily lives. On one hand, we have gratitude journals, in which you jot down everything that makes you feel #blessed. On the other, “failure résumés,” in which you recount every time you stumble. Considering the significant differences, I started to wonder which method actually works better for your mental health. Neeraj Gandotra, MD, the chief medical officer at Delphi Behavioral Health, believes that both styles can be effective tools to improve your mental health, but learning when and how to use them is key. “Both get down to the issue of gaining insight for yourself,” he told me over the phone. “This is the point that I think is most important: The purpose of both exercises is to gain insight, because you cannot make any changes in your life unless you actually understand what’s going on.” Below, Gandotra breaks down the function of each so you can break out that brand-new notebook (and glitter pens!) and get to it. Gratitude journal or failure résumé? Here’s how to find out which is best for you. Photo: Getty Images/Peathegee Inc When to spell out everything you feel blessed for in your
The pro-approved ways to sculpt your jawline at home
February 28, 2019 at 12:53PM by CWC I’m well aware of how to go about sculpting various limbs. For your arms, it’s all about embracing the push-up and perhaps dabbling in boxing. For legs, I’d recommend all the lunges. For that peach? Plenty of squats. When it comes to the face, and more specifically, the jawline, however, there are other exercises (AKA treatments you can do at home) that do the job. Keep on scrolling for all of the intel for how to chisel your jawline both at home or through treatments at the derm’s office. Photo: Getty Images/ iStock Gua sha Sometimes, all it takes to lift and sculpt is a mere crystal—AKA your gua sha tool. “Gua sha is an ancient traditional Chinese medicine treatment where the skin is scraped to intentionally create transitory therapeutic petechiae one (which looks like bruising),” says Lamees Hamdan, MD, physician and founder and CEO of beauty brand Shiffa. “This has positive anti-inflammatory and immune protective effects for the body and the area being treated.” To sculpt your jawline, it takes time and effort using the thin facial tool (which is usually made out of a crystal). It may look like a simple piece of stone, but it works to “contour and refine the face,” says Dr. Hamdan. “Gua sha releases muscular tension, which tends to give you a pinched, angry look, and it helps circulation and to lift the skin. With use, your skin looks visibly plumped, and it glows.” Typically, the tool has