6 Underwear Rules Every Woman Should Live By

Getty Images

Newsflash: it’s National Underwear Day. Started by an underwear retailer called Freshpair in 2013, the holiday has been celebrated on August 5th since 2003. Sure, you might think this is a silly campaign to sell panties, but we probably don’t talk about our undies enough.

Example: Did you know that the wrong pair of undies during exercise can up your risk of infection? Or that there is a time when going commando is a good idea? Keep reading.

In honor of this very important holiday (kidding, kind of), we rounded up 6 underwear rules every woman should live by, with the help of top experts.

Let her breathe

Not only is tight-hugging underwear often uncomfortable when worn for long periods of time, it’s also not the healthiest situation for your vagina because it limits airflow. And just as important as well-fitting undies are those made with the right material.

“Cotton undergarments are the best due to their breathability,” explains Melissa Goist, MD, an ob/gyn at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “Synthetic fabrics tend to hold onto moisture, possibly causing skin irritation.”

Though cotton is likely your gyno’s first choice in fabric, it sometimes lays lumpy and bumpy under your clothes. But fear not, there are close runner-ups. “Panties made of things like polyester, nylon, Lycra or Spandex sometimes have more stretch and lay nicer under clothing and still come with that cotton crotch,” adds Melissa Piliang, MD, a dermatologist at the Cleveland Clinic.

Use a skin-friendly laundry detergent

Treat your skin down there as sensitively as possible, our experts advise. “I like a hypoallergenic detergent, one that’s made for sensitive skin, free of dyes or perfumes,” Dr. Piliang says.

You should also avoid using bleach on laundry day if your knickers are involved.

“You never want to bleach your panties,” warns Dr. Piliang. “Not only does it break down the fibers of the cloth and wear your underwear out faster, it can also expose you to chemicals when it interacts with elastic that can cause an allergic reaction on the skin.”

RELATED: 4 Ways to Pamper Your Sensitive Skin

Change them (duh)

Seems obvious, right? But in addition to changing them daily, you should avoid sitting too long in a damp pair on a sweaty summer afternoon—or worse, post-workout, if you’re prone to yeast infections.

“Underwear can trap moisture,” says Dr. Goist, adding that bacteria and yeast “love to multiple in a warm and wet environment.”

Whether you’re prone to infection or not, use dampness as a cue to send your undies to the laundry basket. “If the discharge is bothersome—you can feel the wetness or moisture—then you should get a new pair,” Dr. Goist adds.

It’s also important to note that lingerie has a shelf life: “Once the elastic is failed and they’re not staying in place and causing extra rubbing and shifting around, it’s time to throw them out and get some new ones,” Dr. Piliang says.

RELATED: The Perfect Pair of Performance Underwear

Think before you thong

“Due to the nature of the design, thongs can potentially promote transmission of colon bacteria towards and into the vagina,” says Dr. Goist. “This potentially will disrupt the normal bacterial milieu and increase the risk of vaginal and urinary infections.”

And if you’ve ever had the displeasure of working out in a G-string, you may want invest in a panty that’s designed for exercise to keep in your gym bag.

“Lots of sports gear incorporates that element these days,” Dr. Piliang says. “Bras, socks, shorts, and underwear now come in a kind of nylon wicking material that will absorb the sweat and pull it away from the body so it can dry. The last thing you want to do is sit there in a soaking wet pair of underwear.” (Again, especially if you’re prone to yeast infections.)

A good general rule of thumb: limit your thong use to when you really need to wear them (we’re looking at you, Little Black Dress).

RELATED: 5 Things You Definitely Should Not Be Doing to Your Vagina

Study the stains

Grossed out? Don’t be. You don’t have to get that up close and personal with your unmentionables, but you should be paying attention because your discharge can tell you a lot about your health and whether things are working as they should down under.

“Normal is different for everyone,” says Dr. Goist. “Often an off-white discharge is not concerning, but if you have an odorous discharge or notice new blood—and you are not about to menstruate—you should call the physician to discuss.”

RELATED: Good Gyno Hygiene: Debunking Pelvic Myths

Know when to go bare

You’ve probably wondered whether going commando is safe for your lady bits. Turns out, it is—if you’re comfortable sans that little layer between you and, well, everything else.

“Commando is safe as long as there is no other fabric causing friction on the vulva,” explains Dr. Goist.

But there are a few instances where skipping underwear is not in your best interest (and not just when you’re in a dress on a windy day).

“First of all, wear undies when you work out,” says Dr. Goist. “If you don’t the friction from the workout can cause major discomfort and soreness.” She also advises never to skip underwear when wearing jeans to prevent painful chafing that can lead to sores—and then possible infections. Yeeouch!

Your safest bet is relaxing undie-free at bedtime. In fact, it’s sometimes a healthier option at night. “If a woman is having vaginal problems, discharge, or pain then often sleeping commando is encouraged,” says Dr. Goist, who gives the go-ahead for snoozing easy and breezy in a nightgown or your birthday suit.

RELATED: 8 Ways to Fall in Lust With Your Body

Bottom line: “There are many different types of panties these days, and somewhere you’re bound to find something that feels both nice on your skin and comfortable on your body,” concludes Dr. Piliang. Whether you’re a cheeky gal, lacy lady, boy-short lover or full-coverage fan, always practice these safe and sanitary undie habits.

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1M52w09

Bubble Nails: The New Trend That’s Taking Over the Internet

The latest nail trend is surprising to say the least. Women are going beyond experimenting with colors and designs to play with the actual shape of their nails with 3D “bubble nails.”

RELATED: Skip the nail salon with these 5 secrets to the perfect at-home manicure

So, what exactly do bubble nails look like? Somewhat similar to what your fingers might look like after getting jammed in a car door and swelling like crazy. Or, if you stuck your nails in crazy glue and then straight into a bowl full of gumballs.

While bubble nails are recently trending, they’re not exactly new. In 2009, NAILS magazine published a post about the possibility of it becoming a popular style. About six years later, the trend has finally caught on, with thousands of Instagram posts under the #bubblenails hashtag.

“It was prevalent five or six years ago, right at the beginning of nail art, but it never gained popularity,” celebrity nail artist Pattie Yankee told TODAY.com.

RELATED: 7 things to know before getting a manicure

According to Yankee, bubble nails are essentially acrylics with a much greater thickness than normal. To achieve the look, a nail technician places a ball (or multiple balls) of acrylic at the center of the nail and builds it out by adding layers.

While acrylics are typically applied as thinly as possible, this look is all about the bulk. But because the application creates such a heavy layer, Yankee warns the acrylic may be more prone to falling off.

“The point is to make it pop more,” said Yankee, who explained that she often had clients ask for an accentuation of their natural hump in the ’80s, but never this exaggerated.

Read the rest of this story on TODAY.com.

NBC’s TODAY is the news program that informs, entertains, inspires and sets the agenda each morning for Americans. Airing live from 7 am to 11 am ET, TODAY reaches more than 5 million people every day through its broadcast, and millions more through TODAY.com, the TODAY app, and social media platforms. Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, Natalie Morales, Willie Geist, Tamron Hall, Carson Daly, Hoda Kotb, and Kathie Lee Gifford are the anchors and hosts, Jamie Horowitz is the SVP and general manager and Don Nash is the executive producer.

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1KQvP7X

Smoking, Early Menopause May Shorten Life Span: Study

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 5, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Smoking and early menopause are a dangerous combination that might shorten life span, a new Swedish study warns.

Researchers analyzed data from more than 25,000 Swedish women who were followed for 16 years. Almost 6,000 women died in that period, and the team found that women who began menopause at age 40 died at a median age that was 1.3 years younger than those who began menopause at age 60.

Current smokers died at a median age that was 2.5 years younger than former smokers and those who never smoked.

Among current smokers, those who entered menopause at age 40 died at a median age that was 2.6 years younger than those who entered menopause at age 60. Menopause before age 40 is considered premature.

The study was published online Aug. 5 in the journal Menopause.

Smoking worsens the effects of estrogen deficiency in women who go through menopause at a younger age, the researchers explained. The team, led by Andrea Bellavia from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, also found that women with later menopause were more likely to be nonsmokers and to use hormone therapy.

While study wasn’t designed to prove cause and effect, it “provides credible evidence that women can proactively work to delay menopause through various lifestyle choices such as stopping smoking,” Dr. Wulf Utian, medical director of the North American Menopause Society, said in a journal news release.

“The ultimate benefit to them is that they may well extend their life expectancy,” he said.

More information

The U.S. Office on Women’s Health has more about early menopause.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1KQvORv

People With Type 2 Diabetes Do Benefit From Blood Sugar Checks

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 5, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Personalized blood sugar self-monitoring benefits people with type 2 diabetes even if they’re not taking insulin, a new small study shows.

Some experts have questioned the value of self-monitoring in this group, and many insurers — including Medicare — limit the reimbursement of blood sugar (glucose) testing strips to one a day for people with type 2 diabetes.

This study included 11 people with type 2 diabetes who worked with the researchers to create personalized, structured self-monitoring blood glucose schedules. In most cases, self-monitoring twice a day was the most helpful in providing meaningful information about blood sugar levels.

However, there was room for individualization based on a patient’s type of lifestyle and needs. For example, a patient might check their blood sugar twice a day three days a week instead of once a day seven days a week, according to the study authors.

People were taught to react to their blood sugar levels readings in a number of ways, such as eating less or going for a walk.

The 11 patients in the study lowered their A1C levels — a test that measures average blood sugar levels for the past few months — from an average of 7.3 percent to 6.2 percent. The usual goal for people with diabetes is to keep those levels below 7 percent, the researchers explained.

“Most of the participants in the study were self-described ‘country folk’ who found that they were able to control their diabetes. This study helps doctors and nurses to understand how people with type 2 diabetes can benefit from [self-monitoring],” study author Dana Brackney, a diabetes educator and an assistant professor of nursing at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., said in an American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) news release.

The findings were to be presented Wednesday at the AADE annual meeting in New Orleans. Research presented at meetings is generally viewed as preliminary until it has been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

The results confirm that people with type 2 diabetes do respond to the results of blood sugar self-monitoring tests, Dana Brackney noted.

“Participants in this study said that sticking to a regular [self-monitoring] schedule really helped them to know where their blood levels were and take appropriate action, such as adding physical activity or choosing a healthy snack,” Brackney said.

“They said it helped them accept that they had diabetes, but also feel confident that they could control it rather than letting it control them,” she added.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more about diabetes.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1HqruRk

A Core-Strengthening Yoga Sequence

In this tutorial, John Campbell, an assistant professor of religious studies at the University of Virginia, and a longtime Ashtanga yoga teacher and practitioner, presents a traditional yoga practice that will help you develop a strong core. The key to this sequence is to focus on balancing the breath, flexibility, and stability in order to create a greater level of strength and well-being. Listen as Campbell explains why yoga practice provides an excellent pathway to a strong and balanced body.

More from Sonima:

An Expert Guide to Learn Crow Pose

Try a Free Online Yoga Class at Sonima

The Inquiry and Practice of Advanced Asana

Sonima.com is a new wellness website dedicated to helping people improve their lives through yoga, workouts, guided meditations, healthy recipes, pain prevention techniques, and life advice. Our balanced approach to wellness integrates traditional wisdom and modern insights to support vibrant and meaningful living.

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1MMJf5i

Does Fatherhood When Young Boost Odds of Dying in Middle Age?

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Aug. 4, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A new study reports that Finnish men who became fathers before age 25 were more likely to die in middle age. The findings raise questions about whether the stress of early parenthood had an especially strong impact on these men.

Younger men were less likely to have planned for children and needed to become breadwinners quickly to support their new families, said study lead author Elina Einio, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki in Finland. “Suddenly taking on the combined role of father and breadwinner may have caused considerable psychological and economic stress for a young man not ready for his new role,” he said.

The researchers wanted to understand better why other studies have shown similar patterns. Using census data, they drew a sample of 10 percent of Finnish men born between 1940 and 1950. Those who had at least one child were tracked between the ages of 45 and 54. The researchers then limited the study to more than 11,700 brothers.

Narrowing the study further to 1,124 siblings, the researchers found that men who had their first child before age 22 were 73 percent more likely to die in their late 40s and early 50s than their brothers who first became fathers at ages 25 and 26. And those who became parents when they were 22 to 24 years of age were 63 percent more likely to die in middle age.

Overall, 5 percent of the fathers — or one in 20 — died in their late 40s and early 50s. The most common causes of death were heart disease (21 percent) and alcohol-related illnesses such as alcohol poisoning (16 percent).

The death rate sounds high, but Einio said Finnish life expectancy is “pretty average for high-income countries.” As for the fact that the men were born during and just after World War II, an especially traumatic era in Finland, Einio said the war’s effects had largely waned by the time the men had kids.

“We believe that our results can be quite safely generalized to men born in the 1940s and 1950s in other Western countries,” Einio said. “For these men, marriage was relatively universal and childlessness relatively uncommon.”

Emily Grundy, a professor of demography at the London School of Economics and Political Science in England, reviewed the study and agreed with Einio that stress could be a factor. Working extra hours instead of getting training may cause stress, she said, adding that younger men may be less able to handle the pressures of parenthood.

Oystein Kravdal, a professor of demography at the University of Oslo in Norway, also reviewed the findings and cited another possibility, one that the researchers tried to account for: “The brother who has an early child may have other attitudes, resources and personality traits than the one who has a late first birth, and these factors may also have a bearing on mortality.” These factors could have greater impact than stress, Kravdal said.

What do the findings mean for men born after 1950? Einio cautioned that the study findings may not apply because parenthood in later life and remaining unmarried have become more common. Also, the researchers only found an association, not a cause-and-effect link, between age of fatherhood and age at death.

Whatever the case, “it is important for young men to wait until they are sure they are ready for the responsibilities of fatherhood,” Einio said. “Some young men can be pretty mature at an early age and others not at all. Young men who decide to have children should be supported in their choice.”

The study appears in the Aug. 3 issue of Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.

More information

For more about fatherhood, try the National Fatherhood Initiative.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1IFF7wM

Birth Control Pills May Cut Women’s Odds for Uterine Cancer

TUESDAY, Aug. 4, 2015 (HealthDay News) — A new study suggests that birth control pills may also help shield women from uterine cancer.

Taking birth control pills, even for just a few years, offers significant long-term protection against uterine cancer, also known as endometrial cancer, the British researchers said. And the longer a women takes birth control pills, the greater her reduction in risk for the disease, concluded the team led by Valerie Beral of the University of Oxford.

In fact, they estimated that over the past 50 years, birth control pills have prevented about 400,000 cases of endometrial cancer among women before age 75 in wealthy nations, including about 200,000 between 2005 and 2014 alone.

“The strong protective effect of oral contraceptives against endometrial cancer — which persists for decades after stopping the pill — means that women who use it when they are in their 20s or even younger continue to benefit into their 50s and older, when cancer becomes more common,” Beral said in a news release from the journal The Lancet Oncology. The study was published in the journal Aug. 4.

As part of their research, Beral’s team analyzed data from 36 studies involving a total of more than 27,000 women with uterine cancer around the world.

While the study couldn’t prove cause-and-effect, the results show that every five years of birth control pill use cut the odds of uterine cancer by about one-quarter.

In high-income nations, 10 years of birth control pill use lowered the risk of developing the disease before age 75 from 2.3 to 1.3 cases per 100 users, the study found.

“Previous research has shown that the pill also protects against ovarian cancer,” Beral noted. “People used to worry that the pill might cause cancer, but in the long term the pill reduces the risk of getting cancer.”

Levels of the hormone estrogen in birth control pills have also decreased substantially over the years, the authors said. Pills in the 1960s typically contained more than double the amount of estrogen than pills in the 1980s did.

Even so, the reduction in uterine cancer risk was at least as large for women who used birth control pills in the 1980s as for those who used them in the 1960s, the research showed.

This suggests that estrogen amounts in lower-dose pills are still sufficient to reduce the risk of uterine cancers, Beral’s team said.

They also found that a woman’s reproductive history, amount of body fat, alcohol and tobacco use, or ethnicity had little effect on the amount of protection birth control pills provide against uterine cancer.

One expert in the United States said the findings should come as good news for women.

“One of the most impressive aspects of the studies showed that the reduction in risk persists long after the patient ceases use of the pill, even up to 30 years later,” said Dr. Jennifer Wu, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.

The study was funded by the Medical Research Council and Cancer Research U.K.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about uterine cancer.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1gILKbZ

Spicing Up Your Meals Might Extend Your Life

By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter

TUESDAY, Aug. 4, 2015 (HealthDay News) — Some like it hot, and a new study finds that folks who favor spicy foods might also have a lower risk of premature death.

The study was based on a large multi-year food analysis. It found that adults who reported eating spicy foods — such as fresh and dried chili pepper — as little as three days per week were less likely to die during the study period than those who consumed such foods less than once a week.

“The finding is very simple,” said study lead author Dr. Lu Qi, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston. “If you eat more spicy food, it’s better for your health and lowers the risk for mortality, especially as it relates to cancer and heart disease.”

However, the study authors cautioned that their investigation was not able to draw a direct cause-and-effect link between the consumption of spicy foods and lower mortality. They could only find an association between these factors.

Qi and his colleagues published their findings in the Aug. 4 online edition of BMJ.

Between 2004 and 2008, the study authors conducted dietary and health history surveys among roughly 199,000 men and 288,000 women from 10 different regions in China. The participants were between the ages of 30 and 79.

People with a prior history of cancer, heart disease or stroke were excluded from the study. The median study follow-up was seven years. During that time, more than 20,000 participants died.

The team did not tally exactly how much spice participants included in individual meals, or how “hot” each respondent’s overall diet actually was.

But the investigators generally found that eating fresh spicy foods as little as once or twice a week was associated with a 10 percent drop in the overall risk for death during the study, compared with eating such foods less than once weekly.

Eating spicy foods between three and seven days per week appeared to lower mortality by as much as 14 percent, the authors reported.

Fresh chili peppers — among the most commonly used spicy foods — were specifically linked to a lower risk of dying as a result of cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

These findings held up across gender, and even after accounting for differences in age, education, sedentary patterns and marital status. That said, the protective effect of spices was found to be even greater among those who did not drink alcohol, the study found.

Qi noted that the current investigation set out to merely identify the associated impact of spicy diets, not to decode exactly how spices might offer protection against illness and death.

Still, he pointed to prior animal research, which he said suggested that components found in fresh spices help to improve cholesterol levels, maintain healthy bacterial content in the intestine, control inflammation and reduce oxidative stress.

“Human studies are sparse. But all these mechanisms may potentially contribute to the protective effect we saw, which I think would equally apply to other populations, such as Americans,” explained Qi, who is also an associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.

Registered dietician Lona Sandon, an assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, didn’t hesitate to embrace the healthy promise of chili peppers and their spicy cousins. She offered a simple piece of advice: “eat up.”

“We do know that spices are high in potent antioxidants that could be protective against cancer and heart disease,” she said. “Spices have been used for years in traditional medicine practices to cure or treat a variety of ailments.”

And, she added, “the capsaicin in peppers is known to help fight inflammation. Peppers are also a good source of vitamin C, a known potential cancer-fighting agent.”

Past research has also suggested that other spices, such as curry and garlic, are protective against cancer and beneficial in the fight to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, Sandon pointed out.

But despite indications of an “underlying protective element,” she similarly cautioned that “many of these studies are not strong enough to prove cause and effect.”

Still, Sandon noted that spices add flavor, add no calories and risk no harm. “And if they bring an added health benefit, then that is a bonus,” she said.

More information

There’s more on spice options at the American Heart Association.

---

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1IFF7gt

5 Things About Miscarriages You Probably Don’t Know

Last Friday, Mark Zuckerberg announced (on Facebook of course) that he and his wife Priscilla Chan are expecting a baby girl. In the emotional and public post, the CEO also disclosed that Chan had three miscarriages while the couple was trying to conceive.

Miscarriage is a “lonely experience,” Zuckerberg said, because most people don’t talk about it. But speaking with friends who had lost pregnancies and went on to have healthy babies restored the couple’s hope. “We hope that sharing our experience will give more people the same hope we felt and will help more people feel comfortable sharing their stories as well,” he explained.

Nearly 1.7 million likes and more than 117,000 shares later, it’s clear that the couple’s post has raised awareness of miscarriage, and has encouraged others to speak out, too.

Read on to find out more about what we know—and don’t—about this little discussed topic.

RELATED: Unsolicited Pregnancy Advice, Examined

They are more common than you think

“Miscarriages are definitely more common than people realize,” Joshua Klein, MD, a reproductive endocrinologist and fertility specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, told Health. Reason number one, he added, is that people simply don’t talk about them. And this can make women who miscarry feel alone and unsupported, Dr. Klein said.

Overall, he says, 25% to 30% of pregnancies end in miscarriage. But because early miscarriages can be mistaken for a late, heavy period—or even a regular period—they often go unnoticed. The percentage of miscarriages among women who actually know they are pregnant is lower, at 10% to 15%, according to the March of Dimes.

The older a woman is, the higher her miscarriage risk. Women in their 20s have a 9% to 17% chance of miscarriage. At about 35, miscarriage risk is 20%, at 40 it’s 40%, and by 45 it can be 80%, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

RELATED: 7 Women’s Health Problems Doctors Miss

Dad’s age also plays a role

While the effect of a woman’s age on her risk of miscarriage is well known, the age of her partner is also a factor. One large study by Columbia University researchers found a 60% higher risk of miscarriage for fathers 40 and older, regardless of the mother’s age. A European study from the journal Human Reproduction showed a greater likelihood of miscarriage in women 35 and older if their partner was at least 40. Yet another investigation, from the American Journal of Epidemology in 2005, showed a 27% increased miscarriage risk for men 35 and older.

Two or three in a row are cause for concern

Once a woman has experienced two or three miscarriages in a row, Dr. Klein says, she is considered to have recurrent pregnancy loss. At this point, it’s a good idea to see a fertility specialist, who can determine if medical issues are interfering with her ability to carry a pregnancy. The short list of possible culprits includes blood clotting disorders, structural problems of the uterus, immunologic issues, and genetic factors, he says.

Problems with blood clotting or immunologic factors can be treated with medication, while anatomic issues can be treated with surgery, according to Dr. Klein. And while it’s not possible to “treat” genetic factors related to miscarriage, he added, it is possible for couples to undergo in vitro fertilization with eggs and sperm screened with genetic testing.

RELATED: Pregnant? Diet Changes to Make Right Now

Mismatched chromosomes are usually to blame

Most of the time, miscarriage is due to an embryo not having the right number of chromosomes, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Egg and sperm should have 23 chromosomes each. But too many or too few chromosomes—in egg, sperm, or both—produce an embryo that probably won’t survive.

Older women have more miscarriages because their ovaries produce more abnormal eggs as time goes on, Dr. Klein says. That’s why some women who aren’t ready to have children in their younger years may opt to freeze their eggs. And sperm can also be more prone to genetic mistakes as men age.

There’s no need to wait three months to try again

The conventional medical wisdom has been that women need to wait several months after a miscarriage to start trying to get pregnant again. But getting pregnant soon after a miscarriage doesn’t mean you are at greater risk of losing that second pregnancy, Dr. Klein says. Instead, he explains, women can wait for a month to allow their menstrual cycle to normalize, and start trying again. Waiting too long is an especially bad idea for older women, he adds, for whom every cycle counts. “You may be hurting yourself by waiting, and you’re not helping yourself.”

RELATED: What People Don’t Understand About Miscarriages

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1M9V6KL

7 Tips to Actually Succeed at Your Digital Detox

Photo: Getty Images

If your summer is packed with Instagram-worthy barbecues, vacations and trips to the beach, first of all, congrats! But if you’re not careful, you may spend most of your time glued to Facebook — or, worst of all, your work email. While you might assume keeping up with your inbox gives you peace of mind, research shows that reading messages from the office often just makes people angry. Talk about a summer bummer.

RELATED: Do You Have Text Neck? 3 Ways to Fix Your Posture Problems

It’s one thing to know you should take time for a digital detox, but it’s entirely different to actually pry that phone out of your hands. Whether you’re addicted to refreshing your Gmail, or can’t stop scrolling through your phone out of habit, quitting your gadgets can be tough.

Instead of going cold turkey on tech, try these expert-backed tips for how to limit your time plugged in, so you can get the R&R you really need.

Digital Detox, Done Right: 7 Ways to De-Stress

1. Stop Blaming Your Job
There are some people with high-risk jobs who have to check email at all hours. (Hi, Barack Obama.) But there are many others who don’t need to — and do so anyway. “That’s unhealthy because there’s not a reason for your nervous system to be wired to ‘workaholic,’” says Marilyn Puder-York, Ph.D., a psychologist and executive coach for CEOs and executives in New York City. If you’re responding to emails at 10 p.m. because you decide to, not because your job dictates, take a step back. Tell yourself you can check your inbox — but that you’re not going to respond unless it’s something really important.

RELATED: 5 Ways to Stop Stress Eating From Taking Over Your Brain

2. Set Boundaries with Your Boss
Talk to your boss before you leave for vacation rather than assuming you still have to be ‘on’ 24/7. Puder-York advises saying something like this: “Before I go on vacation, I want to double check that I can unplug and check emails only once a day. Is that OK?” (We bet they say yes.) Then, put your autoreply up. “Doing so shows accountability and respect for others,” she says. And don’t forget to turn off phone notifications so you’re not tempted all day.

3. Don’t Give Up Email Entirely (Just Set Limits)
We’re giving you permission to check email during downtime — but limit that to certain times of the day. (Like before your family is awake, or after they wind down at night.) Try to set a time limit, too. Whether that’s 20 minutes or a half-hour will differ for every person, says Wendy R. Boswell, Ph.D., a professor of management at Texas A&M University. Setting the right boundaries (rather than going in without a plan and checking all day) is key to making everyone happy.

RELATED: Is Stress Hurting Your Relationship? Here’s How to Fix It

4. Get Your Partner on Board
Tech drain can be contagious. In one study, people who used email during off-hours didn’t think it was a problem in their personal life. But their spouses felt differently, saying it had a negative impact on their time together, says Boswell, who authored the study. Push your partner to have a chat with his or her boss. If he or she doesn’t expect employees to be glued to their devices at all times then there’s no reason that you two can’t have “alone time” to chill out together.

5. Be Strict
When you see that an email pops up, or a like on your recent Facebook post, you get a rewarding hit of dopamine. “It feels good because you’re being recognized. That’s why it becomes an addiction to check who’s reached out to you,” says Puder-York. Still, it’s important to give yourself a break. Downtime recharges your brain and protects against things like burnout and loss of productivity. Julie Morgenstern, a productivity expert and author of Never Check E-mail in the Morning, says her clients tell her they have success by repeating mantras, like the common canine command ‘Leave it.’ It sounds funny, she says, but it works.

RELATED: 10 Reasons You’re Exhausted and What to Do About It

6. Take a Deep Breath
Scrolling through Instagram or checking Gmail is so ingrained it almost feels wrong not to. “Your brain is addicted to the stimuli, so when you don’t check, it’s like, where’s my fix?” says Morgenstern. The key is to breathe through the urge. “Clients tell me that after taking a few calming breaths, they can feel a gear shift happening in their brain. They can move from tech-addicted to being social and engaging with others around them,” she says. Warning: Resisting the urge to Instagram may feel difficult at first, but eventually you’ll strengthen your will (just like a muscle) and shift into tech-free mode faster.

7. If All Else Fails, Hide Your Phone
You know the diet advice that tells you to keep trigger foods (ice cream, cookies, chips) out of the house? Use the same technique for your phone. Morgenstern advises turning the dinger off and putting the device on the other side of the room or in another room altogether. If it’s near you, you can’t help but resist the impulse. But if it requires you to get up constantly? Well, that phone won’t look so attractive anymore.

More from Dailyburn:

6 Scenarios That Stress You Out But Shouldn’t

7 Ways to Carve Out Time to Meditate

8 Signs You’re Way Too Stressed (and How to Deal)

Life by DailyBurn is dedicated to helping you live a healthier, happier and more active lifestyle. Whether your goal is to lose weight, gain strength or de-stress, a better you is well within reach. Get more health and fitness tips at Life by DailyBurn.

from Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health http://ift.tt/1KOYZob