Latest news with #Hippocrates
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Can Your Diet Actually Treat Chronic Disease? It Depends on a Few Key Factors.
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." NEARLY 2,500 YEARS ago, Hippocrates proclaimed that 'food is medicine.' Or something like that. Not only is it debatable that Hippocrates uttered the phrase at all, the idea of food being a cure-all for disease is now a thing again. In fact, there's a whole 'food is medicine" movement currently taking shape in the U.S. and around the world, one that's fueled both by concentrated university-backed research entities and the social-political MAHA phenomenon. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has used the phrase as a rallying cry to make changes to SNAP, alter school lunch programs, and eliminate artificial ingredients from packaged foods—all efforts to target chronic disease. At the same time, doctors and researchers believe that food is medicine can prevent—and even treat—diseases by way of expanding access to more healthful foods. That might mean supplying people with medically tailored meals or groceries, paid for or subsidized by their insurance. Or that could be doctors giving their patients prescriptions for fresh fruits and vegetables. Or implementing education programs around the importance of a healthful diet. All these ideas considered, food as medicine shouldn't compete with actual medicine, says Leslie Bonci, RD, a registered dietitian in Pittsburgh, PA. They should complement each other: 'The two don't live in silos,' she says. 'We can be proactive with food, but medication is essential.' In other words, eating a healthy diet is certainly good for you—but it can only take you so far. Here's what the research says about what food can (and can't) help with. WHILE EMERGING RESEARCH shows the promise of Food Is Medicine programs on heart health, there aren't yet solid standards for dose, duration, or frequency, a 2025 review by the American Heart Association found. That said, prior science has shown that what you eat plays a big role when it comes to preventing heart disease. Some research shows that people who eat certain diets—regardless of whether it's a low-carb or a low-fat one—tend to have better heart health than those who eat unhealthier diets. Even if you already have heart disease, eating plenty of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and fish, can help prevent a heart attack or stroke. The Mediterranean Diet and DASH diets—which prioritize healthy foods rather than limiting macros—are associated with lower risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease by up to 30 percent. Fruits and vegetables, especially, play a large part in helping people lower their blood pressure and LDL cholesterol levels, which can help prevent deaths from heart disease, says Bonci. That's not to say you'll never need medication for high blood pressure or cholesterol, but you can do a lot to protect your heart by eating a healthy diet. THE RESEARCH ON Food Is Medicine and type 2 diabetes is, so far, mixed. One study found that people with type 2 diabetes who did a Food Is Medicine program for a year, didn't see a blood sugar benefit. Yet other studies have reported that medically tailored meals helped those with diabetes lower their A1C, eat more produce, and report feelings of better health six months after receiving the meals. With diet in general, it's certainly true that eating an unhealthy diet can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes by roughly 30 percent, according to some research. The American Diabetes Association states that type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition even if you're exercising regularly and watching what you eat. That also tracks with what the research has found. Namely, that sometimes it's possible to delay a diabetes diagnosis—but sometimes not. For example, according to a 2024 study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, people with a high genetic risk of type 2 diabetes who exercised regularly and ate a healthier diet (more fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and fiber) were 70 percent less likely to develop the condition three years later. But those with a lower genetic risk didn't see the same benefits. And once someone has type 2 diabetes, food is likely only part of the solution. Eating a healthy diet might help someone keep their A1C levels down, but in other cases, it may not. One 2023 study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that people with type 2 diabetes who participated in a food-as-medicine program, which provided healthy groceries for 10 meals per week for one year, didn't see an improvement in their blood sugar levels. It's still in your best interest to eat healthy whether you have type 2 diabetes—or don't want to develop it. After all, preventing type 2 diabetes for just four years can help you live longer overall, according to a 2024 study. And if you have type 2 diabetes now and stick to a healthy diet, research shows that you'll live longer, too. WE DON'T KNOW yet—but several Food Is Medicine studies are in the works. There's precedence though: Research shows that eating more of certain food groups (read: not any one food in particular) can help prevent some cancers from developing. Eating more fruits and vegetables has been shown to protect against colorectal, breast, and lung cancers, possibly because they contain nutrients like vitamins C and E that prevent cancer from forming in certain cells, according to a review in the journal Nutrients. Likewise, eating more fish may help ward off colorectal cancer, possibly because omega-3s can help lower inflammation in the body. In people who already have cancer, though, food may not make much of a difference. One review from July 2024 concluded that there's no strong evidence to show that any particular diet—such as keto, or diets that claim to starve the cancer cells of sugar—can slow down the progression of cancer or reduce the risk of recurrence. Although there is some evidence that a healthy diet can help some cancer survivors live a little longer. THERE'S SCIENTIFIC that Food Is Medicine programs may help reduce obesity, but more research is needed. That's partially because obesity is so complex. If there's one thing we've learned in the past decade or so, it's that obesity is way more than calories in, calories out. Newer research shows that obesity is driven not only by diet, but by genetics, lower physical activity levels, sleep patterns, stress, race, our environment, plus tons of other factors. Once you gain weight, it can be pretty difficult to shed it for good. Obviously, it's not impossible—and these guys are proof—but one particularly famous study conducted in The Biggest Loser contestants found that most of them gained back much of the weight they lost on the show. That's because when a person loses weight, their metabolism slows. In fact, the researchers found that after six years, The Biggest Loser contestants had resting metabolic rates of about 500 calories lower than someone at the same weight— meaning, they'd have to eat 500 fewer calories a day than the next guy in order to maintain their waistline. Due to the introduction of GLP-1s like Wegovy—which helps lower appetite levels by quieting the food noise—people may be more likely to see obesity as a treatable (and complex) disease. But that's not to say medication alone is the answer. New research published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition pointed out that people who use GLP-1s can run the risk of nutrient deficiencies as well as muscle and bone density loss, which means that your food choices are still as important as ever. RESEARCHERS SEE for Food Is Medicine programs to support better mental health, and some preliminary studies have found a connection between some programs and self-reported feelings of less anxiety and depression, but (you guessed it) we need more research. What we already know is that science has consistently found that eating more inflammatory foods—candy, soda, margarine, red meat, you know the drill—is linked to higher symptoms of depression. What's more, not eating unhealthy food can help boost your mood: Research published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine found that people who lowered their intake of junk food and replaced it with healthier stuff saw a reduction in depressive symptoms, even if they didn't have a formal diagnosis. (The study didn't show a benefit to anxiety symptoms, though.) Plus, among people who do have depression, those who eat more whole grains and vegetables tend to have less severe symptoms than people who don't eat healthy, according to a 2023 study. So can you beat depression by shelving your snacking habit? Probably not, but you'll likely feel a little better. ADMITTEDLY, THE RESEARCH into what's being called the Planetary Health Diet is relatively new, but one study published in 2024 found that healthier diets resulted in 29 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions, 21 percent less fertilizer, and 13 percent fewer irrigation water. So while it's probably a little too early to tell whether cutting trans fats and added sugar from our diet will save the planet, it can certainly help us live longer—and healthier—in the meantime. And isn't that a good enough reason? You Might Also Like The Best Hair Growth Shampoos for Men to Buy Now 25 Vegetables That Are Surprising Sources of Protein
The Guardian
12-07-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
From boosting your immunity to feeling Zen: why you should embrace a cold shower
The ripple effect of 'cold water therapy' has spread far and wide – from the icy garden tubs on your social media feed to the friends telling you about their refreshing sea swims. But, guess what? Harnessing the wellness perks of chilly dips – which we'll get to in a moment – can be a seamless part of your daily routine, accessed at the simple blast of a shower head. Indeed, 'cold shower therapy' is poised to make a big splash in the UK's bathrooms this summer. However, before you muse that this is what you already inadvertently 'enjoy' while waiting for the water to heat up as part of your regular start to the day or wind-down at night, the Mira Activate with ColdBoost proves there's much more to it. As part of the UK's first guided cold water experience digital shower, you can plunge into the science-backed benefits from the comfort of your own bathroom. While Mira's setup may seem like something from the future – with a sleek display showing everything from live temperature to flow rate – what's now known as cold water therapy can, in fact, be traced to ancient Greece. Back then, according to research, Hippocrates explored the use of cold water for boosting energy and increasing strength. In the present, being immersed in breathtaking water temperatures is more popular than ever – let's dive into why … Want to lift your spirits in the coming months? Earlier this year, a review by the University of South Australia of 11 studies exploring the health impact of cold water immersion concluded that it could reduce stress levels for up to 12 hours afterwards. And fortunately, with Mira's ColdBoost 'experiences' ranging from just one to three minutes, you can easily find the time in your schedule, and then enjoy the long-lasting mental positives. Better still, the temperature gradually rises before the shower automatically turns off, so you aren't shivering your way into your towel. You're also likely to register the positive effects far sooner than you think. A 2022 study published in the journal Current Psychology discovered that participants who took cold showers for up to one minute every day reported feeling more Zen after just two weeks. It is thought the mood-boosting benefits come from an increase in feelgood neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, which are triggered by the chill. There's also evidence that cold water therapy can help boost immunity. A 2016 study took a group of participants who had never included it as part of their routine before and tasked them with showering at plummeting temperatures for 30 consecutive days. The finding that froze researchers in their tracks was a 29% decline in the amount of time absent from work due to sickness. Another study, from last year, suggested that the cold may enhance immunity by increasing the production of antibodies and inducing clever 'physiological adaptations' that prime the immune response. Now, both papers saw participants shower in the cold for 30, 60 or 90 seconds – and it seems structure and routine is key when it comes to absorbing the perks. Mira's ColdBoost feature allows you to time your own experience down to the second, with a clock on the in-shower digital display counting you down encouragingly. It's important to note that those with certain health conditions – such as cardiovascular issues or circulatory problems – should get the go-ahead from a doctor first, and that same goes if you're pregnant. Science has long agreed that a steamy shower shortly before lights out can help you nod off – with research showing that it aids the natural temperature regulation process that helps the body wind down in preparation to snooze. However, there's evidence that exposure to cold water earlier in the day – when it is likely to perk you up – may actually be conducive to sleep quality at night, with Mira's ColdBoost there exactly when you need it. In one study, a group of runners with cold water exposure clocked more slow-wave sleep – the deepest sleep stage, which is vital for mental and physical recovery overnight – in the first three hours of shut-eye. They also stirred less throughout the night. Similarly, other research looking at swimmers found that just five minutes of chilly immersion was all it took to wake up feeling more refreshed. It is thought this is because cold water activates the parasympathetic nervous system – also known as the 'rest and digest' system – which relaxes the body. Sounds dreamy. You probably know that cold water therapy has long been utilised by athletes as an effective recovery tool. Indeed, research from 2022 confirmed its positive effects, particularly after high-intensity exercise or endurance training. However, while ice baths may have been traditionally used after workouts to soothe sore muscles, for the rest of us there is evidence that showers trump baths for being more cost-efficient and environmentally friendly – and are easier to fit in post cool-down. Although, take note of a study published this year warning against plunging into cold water too soon after exercise on account of blood flow and amino acid delivery to muscles. The latest advice is to wait a few hours after unlacing your trainers, at which point you can conveniently select one of Mira's ColdBoost presets via voice, app or digital display. Each of the four levels includes a different temperature drop and duration – ranging from beginner-friendly to advanced immersion – so you can safely explore a cold blast at your own pace. Now, that's cool. Upgrade your everyday with Mira Activate with ColdBoost™ – the UK's first guided cold water experience digital shower
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
What your snot can reveal about your health
Snot plays a powerful role in protecting us from disease – and its colour alone can provide insights into what's going on in our bodies. In Ancient Greece, snot was thought to be one of the four bodily fluids responsible for balancing human health and personality. The physician Hippocrates developed a theory stating that phlegm, blood, yellow bile and black bile were the four "humours". A person's balance of these humours could dictate their temperament; an excess of any of them could cause illness. For instance, phlegm was thought to be made in the brain and lungs, and during the cold and wet seasons, it could become too abundant and even cause epilepsy. Somebody with a phlegmatic personality would have a cold, damp and aloof character. Of course, we now know that snot doesn't affect people's personalities or cause diseases – rather, it helps to protect us from them. And though nobody likes a runny nose or flinging snot across the room in a sneeze, the mucus in our nasal passages is arguably one of the wonders of the human body. It protects us from intruders, and it has a unique composition that can reveal profound insights into what is going on inside us. Now scientists are hoping to hone the powers of snot to better diagnose and treat everything from Covid-19 to chronic lung conditions. The gooey substance shields the insides of our nose, moisturising the nasal passages, and trapping any bacteria, viruses, pollens, dirt, dust and pollution trying to get into our body through our airways. Aided by hundreds of tiny hairs, snot is a barrier between the outside world and our inner one. The adult body produces over 100 millitres of snot over the course of a day but children tend to be much snottier than adults because their bodies are learning to deal with being exposed to all of the world's molecules for the first time, says Daniela Ferreira, a professor of respiratory infection and vaccinology from the University of Oxford in the UK. With a simple glance, our snot's colour and consistency can already help us glean a little bit about what's going on: snot can be like a visual thermometer. A runny schnozzle with clear mucus suggests the body is likely expelling something that's irritating its sinuses, like pollen or dust. White mucus means a virus may have entered the premises, as the white is caused by the white blood cells called up to fight off intruders. When mucus turns denser and yellowish-green, it's just a lot of dead white blood cells accumulating after having gathered in great numbers and flushing out. If your snot is reddish or pink, it may be a little bloody: maybe you've blown your nose too much and irritated its insides. But looking at snot is just the first step. The snot microbiome While the gut microbiome – the ecosystem of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microorganisms that inhabit our bodies – is very much in the public consciousness, scientists think that the microbiome in our snot is equally important. In fact, scientists now believe that it's intricately linked to human health and the proper functioning of the immune system. Everybody has a unique snot microbiome. It is affected by sex, age, location, diet – and even whether you vape. The microbiome's makeup is what helps it fend off intruders, and some of these interactions are subtle. Research from 2024, for instance, found that whether potentially harmful Staphylococcus bacteria survive in the nose and infect a person, causing fever and pus-filled boils, depends on how the snot microbiome's bacteria hold onto iron. More like this:• How often should you poo?• What your earwax can reveal about your health• How often should you wash your feet? Ferreira is working to figure out exactly what a healthy snot microbiome looks like so that it can be put in an everyday nasal spray to boost snot health, like taking probiotics for gut health. "Imagine if you could alter what we have in our nose with lots of very good-guy species that stay there and colonise, and do not allow for the bad guys to come in and cause us to get sick," says Ferreira. Ferreira's colleagues have selected the bacteria they think make up the perfect schnozzle microbiome, and they're testing them to see if these bacteria can take over people's airways and last long enough to impact and improve their health. Since the snot's microbiome is so tightly linked with the immune system, says Ferreira, they are also studying it to fine-tune how to boost the immune system and even make it more receptive to vaccines. Research suggests that how a body reacts to a vaccine is altered by the type of microbiome a person has. Studies on the Covid-19 vaccine, for example, suggest it affected the snot's microbiome, and in turn, the microbiome affected how efficient the vaccine was. "The Covid-19 vaccines were great at stopping us from getting sick, but we continued to transmit the virus," says Ferreira. "We could actually develop much better vaccines [so] the next generation people don't even get sick, whether that is Covid-19 or flu or any other respiratory viruses – and it's all there in that snot immunity." The rise of diag-nosing While Ferreira's work pinpointing the exact formula for the perfect snot microbiome might take a couple of years, in Sweden, scientists have had a head start by transplanting healthy people's snot into those who are sick with a chronically blocked nose and hay fever, everyday symptoms of rhinosinusitis. The researchers asked 22 adults to shoot themselves up the nose with a syringe full of snot from healthy friends and partners each day for five days. They discovered that symptoms like cough and facial pain, for instance, dropped by almost 40% for up to three months in at least 16 of the patients. "That was great news to us, and no one reported any negative side effects," says Anders Martensson, a senior consultant in otorhinolaryngology and head and neck surgery from Helsingborg Hospital in Sweden, who led the study. These trials were inspired by work done in other laboratories about gut microbiomes, with faecal transplants, he says. That first pilot programme, however didn't gather much data about how these people's snot microbiomes changed and what happened to the specific bacteria in their nose, whether they increased, decreased, and so forth. So another larger and more precise trial is underway. In fact, snot can be a great barrier to chronic nose and lung diseases. Jennifer Mulligan, an otolaryngologist at the University of Florida, uses snot to study people with chronic rhinosinusitis and nasal polyps – a condition that affects about 5 to 12% of the global population. In the first years of her career, she needed to surgically extract nose tissue from rhinosinusitis patients, but that was invasive and limiting. Now, her research has shown that snot can be an accurate proxy to more closely examine what's happening inside the body when someone develops rhinosinusitis. "We're using it to whittle down who are really the guilty culprits here, who's really driving this condition?" says Mulligan, adding that every patient has a slightly different profile for what's causing their rhinosinusitis. Similarly, while treatment before was mostly trial and error – varying greatly from patient to patient, and sometimes costing tens of thousands of dollars for treatments lasting months – Mulligan suggests a snot analysis can quickly help identify the right treatment or surgery needed. Several clinical trials for Mulligan's technique are underway worldwide and companies are developing snot-analysing AI systems and devices. "We have learned so much that we could have never learned with just tissue biopsies. It's completely changed what we know about the disease, and it's going to change the way patients are diagnosed in the future and how they receive treatment," says Mulligan. Mulligan uses the same snot tools to study what causes people to lose their sense of smell, too. Her team has already found that a vitamin-D nasal spray could potentially help restore a sense of smell in people who have lost it due to inflammation from smoking. Plus, Mulligan says, what happens in the lungs happens in the nose and vice versa. So these diagnostic tools and therapies can be used for lung diseases too. New research suggests that by simply analysing how much of the IL-26 protein is present in a patient's snot, doctors can tell whether somebody is more or less susceptible to developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease – a common smoker's disease, and the fourth most widespread cause of death in the world. With snot analyses, patients can be diagnosed early and treated rapidly. "Snot is the future of personalised medicine. I wholeheartedly believe that," says Mulligan. *DisclaimerAll content within this column is provided for general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor or any other health care professional. The BBC is not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made by a user based on the content of this site. The BBC is not liable for the contents of any external internet sites listed, nor does it endorse any commercial product or service mentioned or advised on any of the sites. Always consult your own GP if you're in any way concerned about your health. --
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Is it OK to cry at work?
From as early as 1500 BC, humans have been speculating about tears. The Old Testament describes them as a by-product of the heart, while Hippocrates believed they were triggered by the mind. In his 1872 book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, Charles Darwin declared them as 'purposeless'. One hundred and fifty three years later, Rachel Reeves would likely beg to differ. Whatever the reason for yesterday's tears at PMQs, it soon became apparent that on the matter of whether they should ever be shed in the workplace, as with so many other issues these days, Britain is divided. To cry, or not to cry? That is the question. Our writers drily battle it out. 'Everybody hurts sometimes,' sang REM in 1992. If everybody hurts sometimes, it stands to reason that everybody cries sometimes, too. Although if you are a woman, perhaps it's best not to do so in the office. This was certainly the message semaphored by my male peers. My first serious job, as a section editor of a broadsheet in the late 1990s, saw me occasionally being yelled at across the newsroom by my male boss, an equal opportunities shouter who lost his temper at female and male employees alike. My male colleagues wouldn't have dreamed of crying, so neither did I. I'd already discerned that female reporters were often viewed as 'soft' and 'emotional', as though these traits were weaknesses. I wanted to appear strong. And so I remained, commanding myself not to cry on several occasions over the following fifteen or so years, the most challenging of which was when I was hauled into a meeting, heavily pregnant, and lambasted by my (female) editor in front of four other senior members of staff who appeared to have been assembled solely to witness my humiliation. When it comes to staving off inconvenient tears, every woman has her own tricks. Some dig their fingernails covertly into their palm as a distraction. Others fix their gaze on a point in the room and regard it, unblinking, willing their eyes not to well up. Whether Rachel Reeves employed such tactics, we will never know. Had she lived in Ancient Greece, her wet eyes would have been commended. In Homer's Iliad, the warriors' tears were viewed as a sign of their forbearance. When Winston Churchill cried – a not infrequent occurrence – he was revered for his sensitivity. In 2025, 'soft' and 'emotional' have rightly come to be regarded as strengths, at least to some extent. It's a strange sort of logic where anger is acceptable in the workplace while tears are still frowned upon. Which is more toxic? Crying at work shouldn't be seen as a sign of weakness, but as a sign that you are human, and that you deeply care about the job in hand. When AI comes for our jobs, we'll miss these signs of humanity. I hope my daughters feel that their worth in the workplace isn't dependent on them acting like machines. More than this, I hope they aren't replaced by them. The lump in my throat was the first sign, followed by a flushing of my cheeks, and before I could stop it the tears flowed. Suddenly, whatever had caused them felt inconsequential – I was being told by my boss my writing wasn't up to scratch, I think, but my crime of crying in the workplace quickly eclipsed any professional misstep, rendering me weak and humiliated. Or so I thought at the time. Throughout my office-based professional life, I cried when criticised – so much so that I had to reassure editors it was okay to chastise me: I would take their comments on board as I wept. Which might not have won me employee of the month, but it didn't mean I wasn't putting in the effort. The opposite, in fact – I was crying precisely because I cared. Which is why I relate to Rachel Reeves' outburst in the Commons yesterday. Whatever your view of the Chancellor, she's hardly a slacker. Her tears reveal she's emotionally invested in the job, and shouldn't that be applauded? When fewer of us are bothering to show up to work at all, shouldn't those of us who do be granted grace for giving a damn about it? Surely, we have moved on from binary tropes of Office B------ and Cry Babies, especially as tears can be as instinctive and uncontrollable a physiological reaction as sneezing. We can have a crying habit and a core of steel – I wouldn't have survived in journalism were I to crumble at the slightest provocation. The older I get the better – and braver – I think it is to be honest about our emotions, be it with our boss or the British public. I'm more likely to warm to someone who shows their vulnerability – and suspicious of those who don't. Besides, there's something about the pressurised environment of an office and potential for humiliation in it that makes crying more likely. Working from home, away from scrutiny, I sob less but empathise with criers more – their critics revealing more about themselves than those who need the tissues. Stand me under a Lancaster bomber (my dad flew one in the war) and I'm sobbing with the thousands in The Mall; show me an appeal for a donkey sanctuary, or a picture of a dead whale tangled in fishing line and everything gets blurry. A child handing a bouquet to the Queen… Anyway you get the picture. I'm not a stiff upper-lipper but the only reason I would cry at work is if a colleague had collapsed and died – ideally, at my feet. Otherwise, being a crybaby at work is an absolute no-no. It shows a lack of resilience. So much better to take a deep breath and diffuse it with humour, maybe swivel around, shrugging 'Sorry. I'm having a bad chair day'. Mostly, people cry at work because they're being told off. Or to put it another way – bullied. Bullies want to make people cry, which is why work bullies often harangue junior employees in public. In fact, A-level bullying was almost a job requirement for senior editorial staff on Fleet Street 30 years ago. I remember one notorious tabloid bully jumping over three desks to scream in the face of a young reporter, who had compiled the TV listings. 'Lucy! Coronation Street is on Wednesday, not b----y Thursday!!' Ludicrous, but terrifying. If only she'd had the courage to laugh in his face, because laughter is the great diffuser. But he knew she hadn't. Many great songs make me cry. Last week, I had to fish out a Kleenex at a music concert when a soul singer launched into Sam Cooke's soaring, heartbreaking song of struggle A Change Is Gonna Come. Now, if Keir Starmer had launched into that song, at PMQs, I would understand if Rachel Reeves' mascara began running down her cheeks. But if she'd then jumped up, slapped a thigh and socked it to him with Aretha Franklin's Respect she would have brought tears… of joy… to my eyes. I've cried in many strange places over the years – in a Pret, at a dog show and at 30,000 feet after watching Erin Brockovich. But I'm proud to say I've never cried at work. Well, not in front of anyone, anyway. That's what the work toilets are for. We've all felt the tell-tale signs that we're about to start blubbing, but in my experience you can normally hold yourself together until you're away from your colleagues and save your dignity. Although scientists still don't understand exactly why we cry, it's normally when your brain is overwhelmed by an emotion – anger, frustration, surprise, happiness. I think crying in the office shows you're not in control of your emotions, it makes you appear unpredictable and volatile. Although I'm all for the catharsis of a well-timed weep occasionally, I don't think it should be in the boardroom or – as in the case of Rachel Reeves – at PMQs. It doesn't exactly scream professionalism to be snivelling and wiping away tears and snot when you expect people to take you seriously. I think I feel so strongly about not crying at work because I once had a boss who loved to have a good cry at her desk. I remember during my first few weeks, she turned up to work wailing uncontrollably. 'Are you OK?' I asked her, thinking perhaps a parent had died. 'I had this dream last night,' she spluttered between sobs. 'About my ex boyfriend.' No event was too minor to trigger full-blown waterworks – ripped tights, a bad edit, a missed email. It became so bad that I was scared to approach her with anything remotely negative in case I set her off. Although I know that her bosses had a word about keeping her emotions in check, she was clearly just one of life's very sensitive types. Which made the rest of us feel we were walking on eggshells. Of course there are times when life's events make you feel more prone to crying, but if you're going through something traumatic at home, then you shouldn't be at work. If you find yourself in tears in the office on a regular basis, then maybe you're in the wrong job. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Japan Today
02-07-2025
- Health
- Japan Today
Here's why some people suffer from motion sickness – and which remedies actually work
Cars may be a modern phenomenon, but motion sickness is not. More than 2,000 years ago, the physician Hippocrates wrote 'sailing on the sea proves that motion disorders the body'. In fact, the word nausea derives from the Greek naus, meaning ship. Whether you're in a ship, car, plane, or riding a rollercoaster, motion sickness (also called travel sickness or seasickness) can make you retch, vomit, sweat and become pale, and feel nauseated, dizzy and tired. For some people, watching dizzying scenes in a television show or simply thinking about moving can make us feel woozy. Playing video games or using virtual reality headsets can also lead to motion sickness (in this case, called 'cybersickness'). But why does it happen? And why doesn't it affect everyone? What is motion sickness? Motion sickness can happen in response to real or perceived motion. We don't understand the exact mechanisms underlying motion sickness, although there are various hypotheses. The most accepted theory is that our brains like to know what's going on around us. If our body is moving, but our brain can't work out why, this creates some internal confusion. Within our brains, the 'vestibular system', which includes sensory organs in your inner ear, helps maintain balance. It has trouble doing this when you're constantly being moved around (for example, inside a car) and sends the signals throughout our body which make us feel woozy. Supporting this theory, people who have damage to some parts of their inner ear systems can become completely immune to motion sickness. Why does motion sickness affect some people and not others? Very rough movement will make almost anyone motion sick. But some people are much more susceptible. Women tend to experience motion sickness more than men. There is evidence that hormonal fluctuations – for example during pregnancy or some stages of the menstrual cycle – may increase susceptibility. Some other conditions, such as vertigo and migraines, also make people more likely to experience motion sickness. In children, motion sickness tends to peak between ages six and nine, tapering off in the teens. It is much rarer in the elderly. In a car, the driver is normally in charge of the motion, and so their brain can anticipate movements (such as turning), leading to less motion sickness than for passengers. Are some modes of transport worse? Motion sickness is typically triggered by slow, up-and-down and left-to-right movements (low-frequency lateral and vertical motion). The more pronounced the motion, the more likely we are to get sick. This is why you might feel fine during some stages of an air flight, but become nauseous during times when there is turbulence. It's the same at sea, where the larger and more undulating the waves, the more chance there is passengers will feel sick. Recent reports have suggested electric vehicles make motion sickness worse. This may be because electric vehicles tend to launch from a standstill with a fast acceleration. Sudden movements like this can make some occupants more nauseous. The silence of an electric vehicle is also unusual. Most of us are used to hearing the engine running and feeling the vehicle's rumble as it moves. The silence in an electric vehicle removes these prompts, and likely further confuses our brain, making motion sickness worse. Interestingly, when an electric vehicle is put into autonomous (self-driving) mode, the driver becomes just as susceptible to motion sickness as the passengers. What helps motion sickness? For some people it never goes away, and they remain susceptible to motion sickness for life. But there are ways to manage symptoms, for example, avoiding travelling in bad weather, looking out the window and focusing on stable points (such as the aeroplane wing during a flight) or a distant stationary object (such as the horizon). This reduces conflicting signals in your brain. It may also help to: -- avoid reading, or using a mobile phone -- sit in the front seat -- drive (instead of being a passenger) -- practise mindful breathing -- listen to pleasant music. Medicines can help. Your doctor or pharmacist can recommend a variety of over-the-counter medications, such as antihistamines, which may help alleviate symptoms. Some people find alternative treatments helpful, including ginger, anti-nausea wrist bands (sea-bands or pressure bands). However we still don't have enough consistent scientific evidence to endorse these remedies. There are longer-term options such as prescription medications and skin patches. However, many have potential side effects, so you should discuss these with a health professional. Not all of these medications will be suitable for children. However, there are some options which may help alleviate serious cases, and these can be talked through with your family GP. Does it ever go away? Sometimes, repeated exposure to the activity (called habituation) can help reduce motion sickness. The ancient Romans and Greeks reported the more experienced a sailor became, the less prone they were to sea sickness. While inconvenient, motion sickness may also have some evolutionary advantages. It's thought species prone to motion sickness (including humans, fish, dogs, cats, mice and horses) avoid dangerous patches of rough water or high windy branches. We're safest when firmly on land and not moving at all. Perhaps motion sickness is simply one way that our body works to keep us out of harm's way. Christian Moro is Associate Professor of Science & Medicine, Bond University. Felicity Smith is a PhD Candidate in Physiology, Bond University, Australia. The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. External Link © The Conversation
