walking, cycling and more green spaces not only cut air pollution but also improved mental health.

“Although the studies included were from different parts of the world – eg China, the US, Germany – and varied in sample size, study design and measures of depression, the reported associations were very similar.”

The studies analysed took account of many factors that might affect mental health, including home location, income, education, smoking, employment and obesity. But they were not able to separate the potential impact of noise, which often occurs alongside air pollution and is known to have psychological effects.

more than 90% of the global population lives with air pollution above WHO-recommended levels

People exposed to an increase of 10 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) in the level of PM2.5 for a year or more had a 10% higher risk of getting depression.

The data analysed in the new research linked depression with air pollution particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres (equivalent to 0.0025 millimetres and known as PM2.5)

Other research indicates that air pollution causes a “huge” reduction in intelligence and is linked to dementia. A comprehensive global review earlier in 2019 concluded that air pollution may be damaging every organ and virtually every cell in the human body.

the finest particulates from dirty air can reach the brain via both the bloodstream and the nose, and that air pollution has been implicated in increased [brain] inflammation, damage to nerve cells and to changes in stress hormone production, which have been linked to poor mental health,” Braithwaite said

“You could prevent about 15% of depression, assuming there is a causal relationship. It would be a very large impact, because depression is a very common disease and is increasing.” More than 264 million people have depression, according to the WHO.

Depression and suicide linked to air pollution in new global study Cutting toxic air might prevent millions of people getting depression, research suggests

After diagnosis, 40 percent of cancer patients report developing significant distress that can include serious worry, panic attacks, depression, and PTSD, or posttraumatic stress disorder

But, if you take a supplement containing 1,250 milligrams, your body seems to realize that’s too much—and so, clamps down on absorption at the intestinal lining level, and you end up absorbing less than half.

It needs to be fully repealed, because the first step out of the gate for Obamacare is a step in the wrong direction and that is for government control over every aspect of health care, so it’s hard to fix the system that they have put in place without ending that premise that government ought to be running and controlling health care.

5.2 Metformin[edit] Reduced serum levels of vitamin B12 occur in up to 30% of people taking long-term anti-diabetic metformin.[71][72][73] Deficiency does not develop if dietary intake of vitamin B12 is adequate or prophylactic B12 supplementation is given. If the deficiency is detected, metformin can be continued while the deficiency is corrected with B12 supplements.[74]

How this phenomenon translates into absolute, rather than relative, risk, however, is a bit thorny. A large study published in 2018, for instance, found that among women who had children between 34 and 47, 2.2 percent developed breast cancer within three to seven years after they gave birth (among women who never had children, the rate was 1.9 percent). Over all, according to the American Cancer Society, women between 40 and 49 have a 1.5 percent chance of developing breast cancer.

Be careful of excess coffee consumption – it’s very destructive to the adrenal glands

and prevailing breezes, and protection from winter storms

Pedestrian/cycle connections

San Antonio

improvement of soil health should be a priority agenda in India’s agricultural policy. We need steps to check wind and water erosion of soils. We need innovative technologies to minimise physical degradation of soils due to waterlogging, flooding and crusting. We need to improve the fertility of saline, acidic, alkaline and toxic soils by reclaiming them

People who frequently consume artificially sweetened drinks biologically look 5-10 years older compared to those who don’t

If eating more realistic fake meat was about health, the offerings would be far lower in salt content, contain fewer calories and have a bit less dietary fat. None of them do, because the point was never to live up to the marketing of healthier eating. It was to simply act as a smooth replacement for the meat we worried about eating in our day-to-day lives

Most of us don't truly understand how to feed ourselves in a way that doesn’t leave us susceptible to life-threatening illnesses

excessive amount of salt in one's diet has been linked in several different ways to heart disease

Heart disease and cases of type 2 diabetes are on the rise, no matter where you look, and research has suggested that cutting red meat and processed meats (like bologna and other deli meats) might help people facing these conditions

In fact, when you start to compare all of these offerings to their meat-based counterparts, you realize it’s the same story no matter what brands you’re talking about — you might possibly save a few calories or carbs, but you'll probably get way more salt.

Perceptions of workplace discrimination are also associated with poor mental health for women.39

In 2017, Canadians were on waiting lists for an estimated 1,040,791 total procedures. Often, wait times are lengthy. For example, the median wait time for arthroplastic surgery (hip, knee, ankle, shoulder) ranges from 20 weeks to 52 weeks. In the British National Health Service, cancelations are common. Last year, the National Health Service canceled 84,827 elective operations in England for nonclinical reasons on the day the patient was due to arrive. The same year, it canceled 4,076 urgent operations in England, including 154 urgent operations canceled two or more times. Times of high illness are a key driver in this problem. For instance, in flu season, the National Health Service canceled 50,000 “non-urgent” surgeries. In Canada, private insurance is outlawed (as it would be under Sanders’ proposal). In 2017, “an estimated 63,459 Canadians received non-emergency medical treatment outside Canada.” In Britain, private insurance is permitted—but it is an additional cost to the taxes that British citizens pay for the National Health Service. Escaping the system is an option for the wealthy, or for those who are willing to forego other expenditures to get the care they want or need.

A “single-payer” health system is a government-controlled health care system. Government is the “single-payer.” In most versions of single-payer, most private health insurance is either outlawed or restricted, and most public health programs are absorbed into the single, national health insurance program.

ObamaCare, is the product of a Conservative Think-Tank. 60% of citizens get private insurance from their employers, 15% receive Medicare (65 and older), and the federal gov’t funds Medicaid for low-income families (the allocation to this fund has been declining).

United States and its Health care:      The gov’t has some government-run programs and private insurance.

Health care spending was 12.4% of GDP in 2016. That is approximately $7,919.00 per person. There were 11.6% of people who skipped prescriptions because of cost.

Mandate: The gov’t mandates that everyone buy health insurance, funding comes from payroll taxes.

Health care spending was 11% of GDP in 2016. Approximately $4,600.00 per person. 7.8% of patients skipped prescriptions because of cost. The life expectancy was 85.5 years in 2015.  

2-Tier: The gov’t pays two-thirds, and the private sector pays one-third.  

Health Care spending was 10.6% of Canada’s GDP in 2016 and 10.5% of patients skipped prescriptions because of cost.

Single-Payer: The gov’t taxes its citizens to pay for health care.

Single-Payer, 2-Tier, and Mandate systems.

Research from Chelsea and Westminster Hospital has found that placing art in the NHS trust has helped to improve patient wellbeing, decrease hospital stays and reduce anxiety, depression and pain.

When researchers at Johns Hopkins gave psilocybin to healthy participants with no history of hallucinogen use, nearly eighty percent reported that their experiences "increased their current sense of personal well-being or life satisfaction 'moderately' or 'very much'"—effects that persisted for more than a year.‌

Similarly, while psilocybin has shown potential as a treatment for depression and anxiety, physicians could also prescribe the drug to promote the well-being of healthy individuals.

 Knowledge gained from material sense is figuratively represented in Scripture as a tree, bearing the fruits of Knowledge and Truthsin, sickness, and death.

To find a cure for what ails America, Chetty will need to understand all of this wild variation. Which factors foster opportunity, and which impede it? The next step will be to find local interventions that can address these factors—and to prove, with experimental trials, that the interventions work

Reporting on a study at Queensborough Community College, also in the CUNY system, Sheila Beck notes that the library’s reserve textbook collection is “heavily used,” however, staffing and other concerns have prompted librarians to consider “less labor intensive and less costly alternatives.“ Beyond textbook reserves, academic librarians can help students to locate required course readings in other ways: older editions of their required textbook, pre- or post-prints of articles in institutional repositories, articles or other texts in databases subscribed to by the library, or readings that may be in the public domain or otherwise available on the open web.

She's since learned her allergies and asthma are conditions she's had since childhood that have nothing to do with her weight, and her migraines are hormonal. She's now on meds for these conditions.

patients in groups like these have been shown to have significantly better outcomes for an array of conditions, including diabetes and depression, than similar patients not in groups.

healthy community norms are particularly evident in certain places with strong outcome-to-cost ratios, like Sweden

she has concluded that a key motivator for healthy behavior is feeling integrated in a community where that behavior is commonplace

They had been told that the insulin that their son was supposed to be taking for his Type 1 diabetes was poison, Solis testified. Timothy Morrow, a herbalist based in Torrance, Calif., had instead told them to rub lavender oil on the boy’s spine and prescribed herbal medicine that he claimed would cure Lopez for life.

burden of dementia

A 2015 clip about vaccination from iHealthTube.com, a “natural health” YouTube channel, is one of the videos that now sports a small gray box.

The HMO Act of 1973 changed that premise. It authorized for-profit IPA-HMOs in which HMOs may contract with independent practice associations (IPAs) that, in turn, contract with individual physicians for services and compensation. By the late 1990s, 80 percent of MCOs were for-profit organizations, and only 68 percent or less of insurance premiums went toward medical care.

Nixon signed into law, the Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973, in which medical insurance agencies, hospitals, clinics and even doctors, could begin functioning as for-profit business entities instead of the service organizations they were intended to be. 

a group of teachers created a program through Baylor University Hospital where they would agree to pre-pay for future medical services (up to 21 days in advance). The resulting organization was not-for-profit and only covered hospital services. It was essentially the precursor to Blue Cross.

Since U.S. businesses were prohibited from offering higher salaries, they began looking for other ways to recruit new employees as well as incentivizing existing ones to stay. Their solution was the foundation of employer-sponsored health insurance as we know it today.

Because health benefits could be considered part of compensation but did not count as income, workers did not have to pay income tax or payroll taxes on those benefits. Thus, by 1943, employers had an increased incentive to make health insurance arrangements for their workers, and the modern era of employer-sponsored health insurance began

High-quality protein The reason why animal proteins are generally considered “higher quality” when it comes to building muscle is down to the type of amino acids they contain. Amino acids, in particular one called leucine, are thought to be key to driving muscle protein synthesis. In general, animal proteins have a higher proportion (9%-13%) of leucine than plant proteins (6%-8%). Plus, animal-based proteins usually contain all nine essential amino acids whereas most plant-based proteins are missing one or more of these amino acids. There are exceptions such as maize protein, which boasts a 12% leucine content, and quinoa, which has a full complement of all essential amino acids. So it may be that certain plant proteins are just as effective as so-called “higher-quality” animal proteins. We can potentially increase the “quality” of a plant-based proteins by fortifying them with extra leucine, combining different sources to make sure the food has all essential amino acids, or simply increasing the recommended amount of a plant protein source. As a note of caution, the latter option could require as much as 60 grams of certain plant proteins (for example seven large potatoes) – a dose that some people may struggle to consume. The search continues for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly source of protein that can offer similar muscle-building potential to animal proteins. But based on currently available evidence, vegan bodybuilders will have to pay particular attention to their diets to achieve the same results.

Climate change food calculator: What's your diet's carbon footprint?

Climate change: Which vegan milk is best?

Slaughter-Free Milk Is Great for Cows, But Not the Environment

An inconvenient truth If you’re keen on your flat whites, yoghurts and cheeses, the truth behind conventional dairy production is not an easy one to face. Most people perhaps are not aware that to produce the milk we desire, cows are kept almost continually pregnant, with calves taken away from their mothers within 24 hours so that milk can be harvested for human consumption – a process that leaves both mother and baby deeply distressed and bellowing for each other for days. Palmer (and animal welfare groups) estimates between 400,000 and 800,000 of male calves (known within the industry as ‘bobby calves’) are sent to slaughter, as is a significant portion of females and while a cow has a natural life expectancy of 20-30 years, most dairy cows are slaughtered around the four-to-five-year-mark once their milk dries up.

Dairy cows add substantial amounts of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. In some places they contribute to the conversion of natural habitat to agricultural land due to the increasing demand for feed crops such as corn, alfalfa and soy. Dairy operations can also be significant contributors to water pollution and soil degradation when manure and feed crop production are poorly managed. Farmers can significantly reduce environmental impacts through the use of better management practices and technologies. Climate change Dairy production has a considerable effect on climate change due to emissions of greenhouse gases such as methane, nitrous oxide, and carbon dioxide. In the US, the greatest sources of these emissions in milk production include feed production, enteric fermentation and manure management. Air Airborne emissions of ammonia can damage downstream habitats, resulting in the loss of species diversity. The output of particulate matter and odor from on-farm activities can negatively impact air quality. Water Dairy operations can consume large volumes of water to grow feed, water cows, manage manure and process products. Additionally, manure and fertilizer runoff from dairy farms can pollute water resources. The increased nutrients in local waterways contribute to the growth of algae, which reduces oxygen for aquatic plant and animal life. Habitat Currently over two-thirds of the world's agricultural land is used for maintaining livestock, including beef and dairy cows. One-third of the world's land suffers desertification due, in large part, to deforestation, overgrazing and poor agricultural practices. In some circumstances, dairy cows can contribute to healthy habitats through well-managed grazing. Soil Health Livestock farming is one of the main contributors to soil erosion around the world. Turning forests into pasture or feed crop production areas, overgrazing and soil impaction from cattle’s hooves can lead to extreme loss of topsoil and organic matter that could take decades or centuries to replace. On the other hand, well-managed manure application and grazing can improve the soil health of pastures and crop lands. Animal Health and Welfare Improper handling of dairy cows decreases the productivity of cows due to stress and ill health, and leads to increased greenhouse gas emissions. Disease in cattle can limit export options, pose supply risks and contribute to production inefficiencies.

The Secret To The Inuit High-Fat Diet May Be Good Genes

What Would Happen if You Only Ate Meat?

FYI: What Would Happen If I Ate Nothing But Meat?

Dairy and EggsIf you eat dairy, eggs or both, your protein options are a lot more extensive. Eggs are said to be among the most bioavailable sources of protein in the human diet. According to a 2004 review in the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, egg has a biological value of 100, second only to whey, with a value of 104. One large egg has 6 g of protein. Milk, with 8 g of protein per cup, has a biological value of 94, making it another high-quality protein source. Other protein-rich milk products include: Cottage cheese: 15 g per 1/2 cup Yogurt: 10 g per cup Greek yogurt: 22.5 g per cup Including eggs and dairy in your vegetarian diet also offers more protein powder options: Whey: 22 g per 28-g serving Casein: 26 g in a 30-g serving Egg: 24 g per 32-ounce serving

Plant-based protein powders are often more concentrated sources of protein. Using these in smoothies or to stir into oatmeal will help you get more protein than you could from whole foods alone. Some choices you have when choosing a plant-based protein powder include: Pea protein: 21 g per 28-g serving Hemp protein: 12 g per serving Pumpkin seed protein: 18 g per serving Brown rice protein: 22 g per serving Soy protein: 22 g per serving

Seitan (made from wheat gluten): 25 g in 3.5 ounces Tofu (made from soybeans): 9 g in 3.5 ounces Garbanzo beans: 15 g per cup Quinoa: 8 g per cup, cooked Lentils: 18 g per cup, cooked Hempseed: 9.5 g in 3 tablespoons Almonds: 8 g in 1/4 cup

This research supports the idea that the more fruit and veg you eat the better – at least, up to 10 portions (800g) a day.

Many countries - including Germany, the Netherlands and New Zealand - recommend five portions a day. Some others - including Canada and Japan - recommend seven or more. France goes as far as recommending 10 portions of fruit and vegetables a day. In Australia, they say the emphasis should be on eating more vegetables than fruit and recommend five portions of vegetables and two of fruit per day.

In his letter, Sir Tim outlined three specific areas of "dysfunction" that he said were harming the web today: malicious activity such as hacking and harassment problematic system design such as business models that reward clickbait unintended consequences, such as aggressive or polarised discussions

is a waterborne bacterial disease, caused by the leptospiro bacteria. It rarely spreads from person to person and can be treated with common antib

Now, as part of my regular practice, I spend about five minutes out of each hour exercising with this package. This almost always reveals things to me that change at least the slant of my approach during the next hour, and often stimulates a relatively significant change in my short-range plans.

This a harrowing story made even sadder by the grim reality of the statistics.

I used to be comforted by their cheering words, by the hours they spent at my bedside, and by their conversation.

So if you are tired during the day, check that you’re giving yourself the opportunity to get 7 to 9 hours.

So if you are tired during the day, check that you’re giving yourself the opportunity to get 7 to 9 hours.

anxious

Davis and col-leagues (3) provide useful new data that enhance our un-derstanding of the effects of hospitalists on health sys-tems. In their study of a voluntary hospitalist system at alarge rural nonteaching hospital in Mississippi, theyfound that patients cared for by hospitalists had adjustedhospital stays that were 25% shorter, and costs that were12% less, than patients cared for by nonhospitalist inter-nists. For patients in the highest severity group, these sav-ings were even greater. Annualized, the authors extrapo-late that the hospitalists would have saved $2.5 millionhad they cared for all of the internists’ patients. As withprior studies that found similar reductions in resourceuse (4 –7), these substantial savings were achieved with-out diminishing quality or patient satisfaction. Nor wasthere evidence of cost shifting: hospitalists’ patients wereno less likely to be discharged to home (instead of anotherinstitution such as a skilled nursing facility) than werepatients of primary care internists. We can now state withconsiderable confidence that hospitalists markedly de-crease inpatient costs and lengths of stay with no compro-mise in quality or patient satisfaction.

Meditation can not only provide a welcome counterweight to this work with abstractions, it also cultives 10 qualities of character (Pali: paramis) that are useful during the practice of programming.

Polls show that doctors are trusted by the public more than politicians, which means it’s hard for public policy to shape the healthcare system unless medical associations sign off on it.

“It’s about embracing the inscrutable nature of human interactions,” says Chang. Evidence-based medicine was a massive improvement over intuition-based medicine, he says, but it only covers traditionally quantifiable data, or those things that are easy to measure. But we’re now quantifying information that was considered qualitative a generation ago.

“Our biggest opportunity is leaning into that. It’s either embracing the qualitative nature of that and designing systems that can act just on the qualitative nature of their experience, or figuring how to quantitate some of those qualitative measures,” says Chang. “That’ll get us much further, because the real value in health care systems is in the human interactions. My relationship with you as a doctor and a patient is far more valuable than the evidence that some trial suggests.”

Duffy points to the increase in health care interactions online and adds that he would like to see a pervasive culture of in-person care as last resort. “If every organizational decision, technology decision, process decision — assuming all the payment stuff, that’s kind of ticket of entry, transpires — if you view in-person as last resort, that will help pull systems across the country to a more consumer-forward Uber-like experience,” he says

As with other forms of value-based health care, patient-centered care requires a shift in the way provider practices and health systems are designed, managed, and reimbursed. In keeping with the tenets of patient-centeredness, this shift neither happens in a vacuum, it driven by traditional hierarchies in which providers or clinicians are the lone authority. Everyone, from the parking valet and environmental services staff to c-suite members, are engaged in the process, which impacts hiring, training, leadership style, and organizational culture. Patient-centered care also represents a shift in the traditional roles of patients and their families from one of passive “order taker” to one of active “team member.” One of the country’s leading proponents of patient-centered care, Dr. James Rickert, has stated that one of the basic tenets of patient-centered care is that “patients know best how well their health providers are meeting their needs.” To that end, many providers are implementing patient satisfaction surveys, patient and family advisory councils, and focus groups, and using the resulting information to continuously improve the way health care facilities and provider practices are designed, managed, and maintained from both a physical and operational perspective so they become centered more on the individual person than on a checklist of services provided. As the popularity of patient- and family-centered health care increases, it is expected that patients will become more engaged and satisfied with the delivery of their care, and evidence of its clinical efficacy should continue to mount.

Poor health literacy is a silent and ubiquitous health care issue, and the field of neurosurgery is particularly prone to the consequent adverse effects. Failure to address low health literacy has several detrimental health and economic consequences, and numerous policies have been initiated to address these. Better facilitating patient understanding of neurosurgical disease, treatment options, and care surrounding the operative period may have a positive impact on the health care economy and ultimately achieve improved outcomes for patients.

Deyo et al. (8) demonstrated a reduction in the adverse impact of inadequate health literacy in the neurosurgical field. The impact of an interactive videodisc program that informs patients of their treatment options for back surgery on patient outcome and surgical choices was evaluated. The program helped facilitate decision making and ensured informed consent. It also reduced surgery rates for patients with herniated disks. The authors of this study also implemented the use of patient-oriented multimedia to augment comprehension and advocated a similar strategy for other clinicians. Further commitment is needed to put health literacy at the forefront of improving health care and reducing health expenditures, especially in neurosurgery.

Paasche-Orlow et al. (18) suggested 3 principles to ameliorate health literacy disparities. The first is to promote productive interactions. Clinicians need to develop better communication abilities and take appropriate measures to ensure adequate comprehension of health information. Educating youth and establishing health literacy standards in the educational system can help improve existing and future health literacy rates. Incorporating health literacy classes as a component of training for health professionals and in studies of preventive services can increase awareness among providers, facilitating better communication and quality of care (19). Additionally, transmitting complex ideas can be aided with the use of technology platforms. Yin et al. (25) investigated the plausibility of a pictogram-based intervention program to reduce medication administration errors. The authors found that when the intervention was used as part of medication counseling, there was a decrease in medication dosage errors compared with standard medication counseling.The second principle is concerned with addressing the organization of health care. Paasche-Orlow et al. advocated patient-centered care, streamlined access to health care, and incentives to promote collaboration to address the needs of the health illiterate population. The U.S. government created and enacted several major policies that address this principle to diminish the adverse effects of poor health literacy. The first is the Affordable Care Act, which stipulates that health plans and insurers must provide understandable and clear health information regarding coverage and benefits (11). Because most Americans receiving coverage through the new legislative act have limited health literacy, standardized information about health care would greatly assist these Americans in making better-informed health decisions (15). Another policy is the National Action Plan to Improve Health Literacy (22). This is the first plan of its kind to create health literacy goals for the entire country. It intends to provide all Americans with access to accurate health information, deliver patient-focused services, and support learning and skills that improve health. All of these acts and policies have the potential to improve 3 keys to health care: access, quality, and cost.The third principle from the study by Paasche-Orlaw et al. involves establishing an objective and sincere voice for better delivery of health information to the community. Individuals may have appropriate health literacy levels, but other personal or environmental factors can contribute to a lower understanding of vital health information. Ito (9) analyzed Vietnamese refugees who tested positive for inactive tuberculosis and their response to prophylactic tuberculosis treatment. Ito found that the immigrants were more hesitant to complete the medication regimen because the side effects were too “hot.” Instead, the immigrants preferred Asian herbal medications as they were considered “cooling.” Von Goeler et al. (23) investigated diabetes self-management among Puerto Rican adults with type 2 diabetes and found that the participants regularly self-monitored their blood glucose levels. However, they did not use that information to control their diabetes properly because of financial and social barriers such as competing family concerns. Situations such as these call for a voice, a cultural broker, who understands the environmental obstacles to comprehending and using health information fully.

Koh et al. (11) detailed a cycle of crisis care elaborating the nature of high medical costs, possibly resulting from fear and denial. First, an individual is in need of medical help, so he or she goes to a physician's office where the staff asks the individual to fill out a complex and confusing form. The physician examines the patient and explains the condition and treatment options using medical jargon. Numerous prescriptions, laboratory tests, and referrals are given without confirmation of the patient's comprehension. The staff sends the patient home with complicated instructions. Inevitably, the patient may consume medication incorrectly or miss follow-up appointments, and his or her condition worsens. Eventually, the patient presents to the emergency department, and the hospital staff develops a new treatment plan. Again, no one confirms the patient's understanding. When the patient is discharged, he or she is likely to get sick again and repeat the cycle (11)

Silvia’s father went to prison when she was a baby, and served 10 years for selling drugs. Without his support, her mother struggled to provide financially for her and her brother. Her mother also suffered from a mental disorder for which she received SSI. While Silvia was growing up, the family relied on public assistance and ate mostly cheap food such as canned ravioli and Ramen noodles. Silvia remembers being hungry often and recalls that her mother often ignored Silvia and her brother.

They found that an hour after being released in a room at a relative humidity of 23% or less, 70-77% of viral particles retained their infectious capacity, but when humidity was increased to about 43%, only 14% of the virus particles were capable of infecting cells. Most of this inactivation occurred within the first fifteen minutes of the viral particles being released in the high-humidity condition. The study concludes that maintaining indoor relative humidity at levels greater than 40% can significantly reduce the infectious capacity of aerosolized flu virus.

A review of the health effects of relative humidity in indoor environments suggests that relative humidity can affect the incidence of respiratory infections and allergies. Experimental studies on airborne-transmitted infectious bacteria and viruses have shown that the survival or infectivity of these organisms is minimized by exposure to relative humidities between 40 and 70%. Nine epidemiological studies examined the relationship between the number of respiratory infections or absenteeism and the relative humidity of the office, residence, or school. The incidence of absenteeism or respiratory infections was found to be lower among people working or living in environments with mid-range versus low or high relative humidities. The indoor size of allergenic mite and fungal populations is directly dependent upon the relative humidity. Mite populations are minimized when the relative humidity is below 50% and reach a maximum size at 80% relative humidity. Most species of fungi cannot grow unless the relative humidity exceeds 60%. Relative humidity also affects the rate of offgassing of formaldehyde from indoor building materials, the rate of formation of acids and salts from sulfur and nitrogen dioxide, and the rate of formation of ozone. The influence of relative humidity on the abundance of allergens, pathogens, and noxious chemicals suggests that indoor relative humidity levels should be considered as a factor of indoor air quality. The majority of adverse health effects caused by relative humidity would be minimized by maintaining indoor levels between 40 and 60%. This would require humidification during winter in areas with cold winter climates. Humidification should preferably use evaporative or steam humidifiers, as cool mist humidifiers can disseminate aerosols contaminated with allergens.

Ambient (outdoor) air quality and health

health of the Internet.

So a weighted blanket it is. “We’re not understanding how to deal with [mental health]. Instead, we’re throwing products at it,” says Beautiful Voyager’s Arthur. “It’s very American.”

So, yes, meditation apps may help us meditate, and meditation may reduce anxiety. Weighted blankets may calm us down long enough to fall and stay asleep, which will help us feel better the next day. And fidget devices can distract us so that instead of ruminating on negative thoughts, we’re expending mental energy on something physical.

There are plenty of places to point fingers: your phone, the president, climate change, the recession, FOMO, divorce, social media, student debt, terrorism, the 24-hour news cycle, the economy, “the economy,” living farther from family, toxins in your gut, too many choices, too little sleep, too little sex. Or maybe we’re just overdiagnosing anxiety and actually, everything’s fine.

mental health and addiction services