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Daily Edition • Tuesday, May 12

Your Favorite Snack Could Be Messing With Your Focus

A variety of snacks including pizza, popcorn, chips, meats, and tomatoes on a table with hands reaching for food.

Andrej Lisakov/Unsplash

Food Focused: Ultra-processed foods have racked up quite a reputation for being bad for your heart and waistline. But new research published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring suggests they may also be affecting your ability to focus, and the effect shows up even if the rest of your diet is fairly solid.

The Study: Researchers analyzed data from more than 2,000 Australian adults aged 40 to 70 and tracked their dietary habits and cognitive performance. People who ate more ultra-processed foods scored lower on attention tests than those who ate less of them. Attention scores dipped for every 10% increase in ultra-processed food calories, while scores estimating future dementia risk increased. Crucially, those links remained even after accounting for the overall eating of the participants.

The Takeaway: The food processing itself appears to matter, not just the absence of better foods. Cutting back on your most processed staples, especially sugary drinks and packaged deli meats, which research has shown is particularly problematic for cognitive health, may be worth considering.

Keep in Mind: This study captured a snapshot in time, so it can't prove that ultra-processed foods directly cause cognitive changes; it only shows that the association is worth paying attention to.

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The Gift They’ll Actually Open Twice

Three colorful Apple gift cards displayed against a gradient background, with "Gift Card" text above.

Courtesy: Apple

Some gifts celebrate the moment. The best ones are still pulling their weight even months later.

When a grad is setting up their first apartment, starting a new job, or figuring out a routine that looks nothing like the one they had last year, they don't need another decorative item. They need options.

Apple Gift Card covers the practical and the fun: iCloud storage when their phone fills up, Apple Music for the commute that's about to become their life, apps that help them stay organized, Apple TV for the nights they finally get to sit down, Apple Arcade for the breaks in between. Products and accessories, too, plus third-party subscriptions.

Available from $15 to $200 in physical and digital formats.

👉 Visit Apple Gift Card for a gift that keeps working.

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Mindfulness

The Brain Science of Sensory Toys

A hand squeezing a piece of light blue foam against a plain background.

Giorgio Trovato/Unsplash

You Should Know: NeeDoh — a gel-filled fidget toy in cartoonish shapes like ice cubes and gumdrops — has gone viral. It's out of stock almost everywhere, which has led to TikTok subgenres dedicated to “NeeDoh hunts.” Slime, kinetic sand, putty, and stress balls have all had similar trendy moments — the interesting question is why these textures keep sucking us in.

Going Deeper: Sensory neuroscientists in The Conversation note that the body has neural circuits for processing pressure and texture, and those circuits loop back to brain regions involved in emotional regulation and planning. Studies of stress-ball squeezing in adults show activation in those areas, which may help explain the calmer, more-focused feeling people get from these objects. The brain also seems to want the hands to be occupied. When fingers have something to do, they're less likely to take up skin-picking or nail-biting.

Takeaway: For adults working through anxiety or trying to focus on a task, squishing is an easy way to redirect restless hands.

Bottom Line: The NeeDoh may be sold out, but any soft, squeezable object can scratch this neurological itch.

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Cognitive Health

Why Are So Many Young Adults Having Strokes?

A healthcare professional measuring blood pressure using a sphygmomanometer on a patient's arm.

A.C./Unsplash

The Trend: We tend to think of strokes as an older person’s problem. But now, young people are having them more than most people realize — research shows stroke rates climbed by as much as 15.7% among adults ages 18 to 44 over the past decade. So what’s behind this rise?

What People Are Saying: Researchers point to rising rates of high blood pressure and high cholesterol as major drivers — with obesity and diabetes increasingly appearing in younger adults — while a more sedentary lifestyle may also be adding to these risks. Vaping and ADHD medications may be a contributing factor for some people, though experts don’t believe they're the main driver. Hormonal birth control is also getting a closer look, as a recent study found combined oral contraceptives tripled stroke risk in women ages 18 to 49.

What to Know: Most of these risk factors for stroke are treatable and reversible — getting a routine checkup and learning your blood pressure and cholesterol numbers is the clearest starting point. And if you’re on hormonal birth control and have other vascular risk factors, it’s well worth having a frank discussion with your doctor.

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Quick Picks

Under the Radar — This overlooked blood pressure number reveals hidden heart risk.

Locked Up — How can you treat a “frozen shoulder”?

Stocking News — People are saying these sneakers feel like comfy socks.*

Too Much of a Good Thing — Here are 9 signs you may be overtraining.

Bounce Back — Relieve muscle cramps with these 11 electrolyte-rich foods.

^*Indicates a brand partnership

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This, Not That

Brew the Better Cup

Teapot filled with amber tea, lemon slices and a spoon beside it, with a blurred outdoor background.

THIS

Bottle of Jaz Tea on a rustic wooden surface. The label features vibrant colors and includes the text "te helado de..."

NOT THAT

Patrycja Jadach/Unsplash, Alimentos Fotogenicos/Unsplash

This: Loose-Leaf or Bagged Tea
Not That: Bottled Sweet Tea

Bottled teas often contain as much sugar as soda — sometimes 25–40 grams per bottle. Brewing your own tea keeps things simple: water, tea leaves, maybe a squeeze of lemon. If you want sweetness, add a touch of honey or fruit. You get antioxidants and hydration without the sugar overload.

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What We're Cooking

Scandinavian Sandwich

A plate with dark bread topped with shrimp, cucumber slices, a boiled egg, and garnished with dill and lemon slices.

Courtesy: Simply Recipes

Serves: 2 | Cook Time: 15 minutes

This recipe makes four Nordic open-faced sandwiches — enough for two generous servings, with extra toppings left over for snacking on crackers later in the week. Shrimp, cucumber, hard-boiled egg, and fresh dill are tossed in a creamy lemon mayo that binds everything together, then piled onto a thick, sturdy slice of rye bread that holds it all up. It comes together quickly with simple ingredients for a filling yet light summer snack.

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Here’s How To Soften Your Summer

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer — and the return of backyard dinners, porch hangs, and long weekends with nowhere urgent to be. Caminos hemp-derived THC gummies are designed for different kinds of downtime, whether you’re easing into a social afternoon with Sparkling Pear “Social” or settling into a slower evening with Watermelon Lemonade “Bliss.” Think of it as a more intentional way to match the mood of the moment.

See The Flavors

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HEALTHY HABIT

Walk the First Minute Slowly

At the start of any walk, go slower than you want to. Let your body ease into the movement before picking up pace. It improves comfort and reduces that rushed, tense feeling.

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Final Thought

Horses graze in a vast, grassy landscape with winding rivers and gentle hills under a soft, overcast sky.

The second half of a man's life is made up of nothing but the habits he has acquired during the first half.”

– Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Possessed

Cuvii/Unsplash