Harvard Health Blog
Read posts from experts at Harvard Health Publishing covering a variety of health topics and perspectives on medical news.
Our internal clocks regulate the sleep-wake cycle, and light establishes when we should feel wakeful or sleepy. Light exposure at night affects these natural processes, so researchers studied whether wearing an eye mask while sleeping might help learning and alertness.
If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you’ve probably heard the advice to drink water before a meal because it makes you feel fuller and you’ll stop eating sooner. It seems like a reasonable idea — but does it work? And if it doesn’t, why do people think it does?
Until recently, many people with asthma used a medicine called Flovent. It has been discontinued by its manufacturer, leaving users with questions about what to substitute and which medicines their insurance will cover.
Infections after a prostate biopsy are rare, but they do occur. There are two ways to perform such a biopsy, with the one at higher risk of infection more common in the US. Researchers conducted a trial designed to compare the safety of the two methods.
A band of tissue helps secure the tongue to the front of the mouth. If it is short, it can restrict movement of the tongue. This is called a tongue-tie. Having a tongue-tie is not necessarily a problem — but there are exceptions that parents should be aware of.
Many medications claim to relieve migraine pain, but some are more helpful than others. In a large study looking at real-world data on 25 drugs, migraine sufferers rated the most and least helpful options.
Many efforts to improve health are also good for the brain. A study of nearly 400,000 people led researchers to develop a scorecard assessing 12 factors that contribute to the risk of dementia or stroke, making it easy to see where you’re doing well and where you might do better.
Night blindness makes it hard to see in dim or dark settings, which can affect safety at home and make driving dangerous after dark. While the cause varies, there are steps people can take to address these problems.
By now many people have started working on –– or at least thinking about –– healthy changes they want to make in the new year. Here are 10 simple ways to move beyond typical resolutions about losing weight, eating better, and exercising more.
The challenges of caregiving can easily lead to burnout, so it’s extremely important for caregivers to pay attention to their own needs and make sure they are caring for themselves, physically and emotionally.
Lung cancer kills more Americans than any other cancer. The latest guidelines from the American Cancer Society aim to reduce deaths by considerably expanding the pool of people who seek annual, low-dose CT lung screening scans.
Can watching sports –– not just the rough and tumble of playing them –– be harmful to your health? Whether you’re at a live event or clicking through channels, it may be riskier than you think when weather, stress, and racing heart rates are factored in. Here’s a game day plan that can help.
Some people have poor circulation, but if your fingers pale and go numb when exposed to quick changes in temperature, it could be Raynaud’s phenomenon, a different kind of circulation problem. Generally, avoiding sudden exposure to cold and other factors that cause blood vessels to constrict, and being prepared with gloves and extra layers of clothing, helps.
Emotional dysregulation is a hallmark of many mental health conditions. A treatment known as dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) focuses on teaching people to manage intense emotions, cope with challenging situations, and improve their relationships.
The cost of a prescription drug can be very high, and several factors contribute to this. What can consumers do to reduce their drug costs, and what changes need to be made to make medications more affordable?
Young-onset dementia, which occurs in people younger than age 65, is uncommon. A new study has identified 15 factors linked to a higher risk of young-onset dementia.
Men with advanced prostate cancer are typically treated with hormonal treatments followed by chemotherapy, but a recent study evaluated the potential of a treatment that uses radioactive particles injected into the body.
Fitspiration describes social media posts intended to inspire physical fitness and promote health. But is this type of motivation helpful? A recent study looked deeper into the trend.
If you have upset someone, the best way to rectify the situation is by making a sincere, heartfelt apology. But just saying the words isn’t quite enough: for an apology to be effective, it has to be genuine. You have to mean it, and you have to make that clear.
When prostate cancer recurs after initial treatment, doctors typically treat it with hormonal therapies. But results from a large clinical trial show that a different medication (or combination of two medications) is a better approach.
If you want to cut down on your alcohol consumption, or just want to start the new year on a healthy note, consider joining the Dry January challenge. Does a month seem like a long time? Here are steps you can take to improve your chances of success.
The CDC estimates that 3.3 million Americans have myalgic encephalitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, a tricky-to-diagnose illness. Here we share one story about living with that illness from the Health Story Collaborative, which helps people delve into the healing power of narrative.
Food products advertised as being lower in sugar or sugar-free contain sugar substitutes. Sugar alcohol is another ingredient used as a sweetener in food products. But is sugar alcohol a better choice nutritionally than other sweeteners or natural sugar?
If you’re choosing gifts to give or donate to children this year, be sure safety is on the list. Here are tips for toys to consider — those that encourage creativity, imagination, and movement — and toys to try to avoid, due to safety concerns or for other reasons.
