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Daily Edition • Thursday, Sept 24
SPONSORED BY
Daily Edition • Thursday, Sept 24
SPONSORED BY
We have more health data at our fingertips than ever before, but even so, some of the most telling measures of health are also the simplest — like the sitting-rising test. It’s as straightforward as it sounds, but it can also be deceptively difficult. Research has linked the ability to sit down on the floor and get back up (without using your hands) to a longer lifespan. If you’d like to test it out for yourself, here’s our deep dive on how to do it, how to score it, and what the research shows.
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Health Tech
Your Sleep Tracker May Not Tell the Whole Story
Andrey Matveev/Unsplash
Wake-Up Call: Sleep trackers are nearly as common as pajamas when it comes to bedtime attire. Nearly half of American adults have used one, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. While wearables claim to offer insights into how well and how long we sleep, new research indicates they aren’t sharing the complete picture of what’s actually happening when we hit the hay.
The Study: Researchers monitored 107 study participants in a sleep clinic for eight nights. Each wore a research-grade actigraphy device on their wrist while also undergoing polysomnography. While actigraphy tracks movement, polysomnography (considered the “gold standard” of sleep tests) measures brain waves, breathing, and eye movement to determine when people are awake or asleep.
The Takeaway: There were some discrepancies between the results of actigraphy and the results of polysomnography, suggesting wearable sleep trackers aren’t completely accurate. The wearable overestimated total sleep time and sleep efficiency (how long people are actually sleeping while in bed), but underestimated how much time they stayed awake by about 15 minutes.
Keep in Mind: Wearable sleep trackers may do a better job of detecting sleep patterns over time, but they’re less accurate when it comes to more complex metrics.
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Sponsored
What Your Sweat Is Really Trying To Tell You
Courtesy: Vita Coco
If your shirt is damp after a walk or workout, that sweat is more than a summer annoyance. It is your body quietly flagging that you are losing both water and electrolytes.
Thank you for supporting our sponsors! They help us keep All Healthy free.
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Cognitive Health
When Does Healthy Eating Become Too Strict?
Priscilla Du Preez/Unsplash
You Should Know: Wellness content on social media about “optimizing” your health has never been more popular, and much of it promises that eating the right foods can fix just about anything. It should be no surprise, then, that a new study found that popular TikTok and Instagram videos often reflected themes associated with orthorexia nervosa, an unhealthy fixation on eating only “pure” or healthy foods, along with rigid food rules. Orthorexia isn’t an official eating-disorder diagnosis, but many dietitians and eating disorder specialists now recognize it as a form of disordered eating that may require treatment.
Going Deeper: Australian researchers analyzed 300 popular TikTok and Instagram videos that were tagged with healthy eating hashtags. They rated 68% of the info as misleading or deceitful: About two-thirds pushed “clean” eating, and nearly 30% listed out strict food rules. What’s more, most creators had no formal qualifications, although qualified creators shared accurate info far more often than unqualified ones.
Takeaway: Wanting to eat well and improve your health is great, but the line gets crossed when food takes over your thoughts and eating anything “imperfect” leaves you feeling anxious or guilty.
Bottom Line: When food rules start running your life, a dietitian or doctor can help. And it’s always important to check who’s giving the nutrition advice.
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Personal Growth
“Stinkfluencers” Are Skipping Showers in Hopes of Better Dates
Tanner Marquis/Unsplash
The Trend: Move over looksmaxxing. A new crop of “stinkfluencers” is promoting “pheromone-maxxing” — skipping showers, ditching deodorant, wearing sweaty clothes, and otherwise letting body odor linger in hopes of becoming more sexually attractive. The idea has spread across social media as a supposed dating hack.
What People Are Saying: Pheromone-maxxers base their logic on evolution, though it’s a misunderstanding of science. Animals use pheromones — chemical signals that trigger specific responses in members of the same species — to communicate things like mating status and territory. So why wouldn’t humans’ natural scents work the same way? Well, humans lack the physiological ability to receive pheromones, which, contrary to popular belief, do not always have a smell. Not to mention, scientists have yet to identify a specific pheromone in humans.
What to Know: Human body odor can influence how we perceive one another, but that’s not the same thing as a pheromone that innately triggers attraction. So far, there’s no solid evidence that accumulating deliberately skipping showers will make you more desirable. And truthfully, it might have the opposite effect you’re looking for.
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Quick Picks
Fast After 50 — How (and why) intermittent fasting may work differently for women over 50.
Can You Slow Down Aging? — See how this clinically tested combo from Shaklee targets all 12 hallmarks of aging.*
Brain Gains — 3 months of exercise produced measurable changes tied to mood and brain health in middle-aged adults.
Fiber Season — These seasonal foods make it easier to add more fiber without overhauling your diet.
Exercise Snacks — A few minutes of movement deliver more health benefits than researchers once thought.
*Indicates a brand partnership
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What We're Cooking
Peach Compote Yogurt Bowl
Courtesy: Better Plates
Serves: 1 | Cook Time: 13 Minutes
This easy peach compote comes together in minutes with ripe peaches, honey, lemon juice, vanilla, and cinnamon. Simmer the fruit until soft and juicy, then spoon it over creamy Greek yogurt. Finish with raspberries, pumpkin seeds, and coconut flakes for a fresh, satisfying bowl with 27 grams of protein.
By clicking, you are agreeing to receive a daily recipe from Better Plates.
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This, Not That
Make Breakfast Easier to Win
THIS
NOT THAT
Ivana Cajina/Unsplash, Nick Harsell/Unsplash
This: Keep one default breakfast ready Not That: Improvising every morning while half-awake
Mornings are not always the best time for creativity. Keep one reliable breakfast on deck: eggs and toast, yogurt and fruit, overnight oats, a smoothie, or a breakfast burrito you can reheat. A boring plan beats skipping breakfast and pretending coffee has macros.
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Sponsored
A Small Footwear Tweak That Can Boost Daily Steps
Here’s something you may not know: even a slight change in arch support can influence how long you feel like staying on your feet. If your sandals or slip-ons are basically flat, you might be working harder with every step.
Vionic’s new Larissa ballet flat offers built-in stability and cushioning in an everyday style, while select shoes are marked down by as much as 55% during the sale.
Thank you for supporting our sponsors! They help us keep All Healthy free.
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HEALTHY HABIT
Make Fruit Frictionless
Fruit is much more likely to get eaten when it’s ready to go. Wash berries, slice melon, cut citrus, or put apples somewhere obvious as soon as you get home. “Prepared” does not have to mean complicated. Sometimes it just means edible without a project.
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Final Thought
A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.”
