Author: 8okaybaby@gmail.com

My best friend messaged me on Facebook Messenger. It wasn’t urgent, so I swiped the notification away, making a mental note to reply later. Ten minutes later, Facebook sends another notification. “Reminder: [My friend] sent you a message.” This is clingy, even for Facebook. And it’s not the only app increasingly desperate for any crumb of attention.In just the last couple months, I’ve personally gotten dozens of what I can only call desperation notifications. Push alerts from apps that don’t really need anything, but would really like it if I gave them some attention anyway. These include, but are not…

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This trend was only apparent in participants under 60 years old, and was especially strong in participants with diabetes.When the researchers looked closer at the individual sugar substitutes, they found that higher intake of six of the seven—aspartame, saccharin, acesulfame-k, erythritol (the least consumed), sorbitol (the most consumed), and xylitol—was also tied to faster cognitive declines, particularly memory and verbal fluency. Tagatose was the only exception.What this means for youUltimately, this study suggests that consuming sugar substitutes over an extended period of time is associated with worse cognitive health. Importantly, this association doesn’t necessarily signify that sugar substitutes cause cognitive…

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Written and medically reviewed by Colleen Renee, MSN, APRN, FNP-CBoard-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner / February 11, 2026 A few years ago, a woman in her mid-forties sat across from me and said something I’ve since heard hundreds of times:“I don’t feel sick… I just don’t feel like myself anymore.” She wasn’t depressed. She wasn’t unmotivated. She wasn’t overwhelmed by life in a way that felt new or unusual. She was simply exhausted in a way that sleep, coffee, and discipline no longer touched. She told me she had already done what she was “supposed” to do. She cleaned up her…

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It’s not even spring yet but two days of warm weather have seen hay fever sufferers in misery as tree pollen runs wild. It feels like the season starts earlier and hits harder every year. But can this be true?Rebecca Seal, journalist and author of Irritated: The Allergy Epidemic and What We Can Do About It, explains that more people are developing allergies such as hay fever now than ever before. “In the early-mid 1800s the first researchers to look into hay fever found it very hard to find subjects to study because hay fever was so rare, whereas nowadays…

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Trauma can evoke a lot of complex emotions, including feelings of anger. In fact, research has shown that anger, irritability, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often occur together. Common in this condition, anger is one of the hyperarousal symptoms of PTSD, and it may affect relationships with people around you. It’s important to know that the anger of people with PTSD can become so intense that it feels out of control. When that happens, you may become aggressive toward others or even harm yourself. That doesn’t always happen, however, and not everyone with PTSD lashes out angrily. Below, learn more about…

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We may earn a commission from links on this page. I’ve been tracking my sleep and recovery with the Oura ring for nearly five years now, and today I’ll share with you several of my favorite and most-overlooked features—including one feature you should turn off, and one feature you can use even if your subscription is expired.  Turn off blood oxygen sensing to save batteryThe Oura ring uses significantly more battery with blood oxygen sensing turned on. It may make sense to use this feature if you have a specific health concern, but most of us don’t need it on…

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VMI Sports Dubai Chocolate Protolyte is back for one final restock after selling out. Get 24g of whey isolate with that viral pistachio-kunafa flavor before it’s gone for good. Limited stock available now. Hurry! VMI Sports just brought back Dubai Chocolate Protolyte for one final restock after the flavor sold out following its viral launch. This limited edition protein powder captures the exotic, indulgent taste of the Middle Eastern chocolate sensation that’s been dominating social media, delivering pistachio-infused, kunafa-inspired decadence in a clean, macro-friendly formula. If you’re already familiar with VMI Sports Protolyte, you know this formula delivers 24g of…

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I wasn’t worried—until my doctor asked if I was sitting down.Earlier that week, I’d gone in to follow up on an abnormal Pap smear. I’d put screening off for a few years during the pandemic. She took a few small biopsies, but it didn’t feel urgent. In the past, any abnormal results I had soon cleared up. I’d even had a LEEP, a common procedure to remove precancerous cells from the cervix, in my 20s and moved on with my life.When she called with the biopsy results, I expected, at worst, a small inconvenience. Another procedure. A light chiding for…

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