Text messages, emails, news notifications and social media have us in a heightened state of stimulation. While some of that information is positive, turning off the stimuli, even temporarily, has tremendous upside. UH psychiatrist, Patrick Runnels, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Population/Behavioral Health, explains the science behind the benefits of boredom. Being in the moment decreases anxiety and stress and allows us to be happier overall.

Every minute, a person in the United States is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, a brain disease that slowly destroys memory and other mental functions. While some risk factors, such as a head injury or genes, may not be completely avoidable, other more controllable factors may impact whether you develop Alzheimer’s. Alan Lerner, MD, Director of the Brain Health and Memory Center at University Hospitals, shares promising research in this area and gives a humanistic perspective on a disease that’s been called The Long Goodbye.

We all experience worry and anxiety but for some, it can impact overall functioning in a negative way. What’s the difference between anxiety and an anxiety disorder? Productive and unproductive worry? UH psychologist, Dr. Robert Chester, a specialist in anxiety disorders, offers advice about recognizing cognitive distortions or errors in thinking. Overcoming anxiety may be challenging but there are ways to take back control.

Connecting with your baby before and after birth can set the stage for your relationship with your child over the entire course of your lives together. But how much can a parent connect with a newborn, who seems to have almost no ability to communicate aside from crying? Lots, says UH Rainbow pediatrician Ganga Srinivas, MD. Babies often are trying to tell you something, whether turning their face away from you when overstimulated, gazing in the direction of your voice or smacking their lips when hungry. Dr. Srinivas describes the many subtle ways in which your newborn is constantly communicating with you – and how you can communicate back.

Ninety-five percent of fad diets fail. Many people end up gaining back the weight they lost – and then put on even more pounds. If you’re tired of diets but still want to lose weight or eat more healthfully, you might consider intuitive eating. Sometimes called the mindfulness approach, intuitive eating doesn’t specifically focus on weight loss. It’s about developing a positive relationship with food and losing the guilt many people feel about enjoying food. Even better, a growing body of scientific evidence supports this approach. UH dietician and wellness coordinator Jessica Jurcak, MS, MPH, RD, LD, explains.

When you think of someone having a heart attack, you probably picture a person in their 50s or 60s. And that is typically the case. But over the last 20 years, more and more people who are younger than age 40 are having heart attacks. From 2006 to 2016, heart attacks for people in this age group have increased by 2 percent every year. What is driving this trend? UH cardiologist Raju Modi, MD, explains, and tells us how we can lower our risks at any age.

Your gut microbiome is like an ecosystem in your body – a community of shared organisms living together. An altered gut microbiome has been potentially linked to medical conditions ranging from type 2 diabetes to cardiovascular disease, autoimmune conditions, inflammatory bowel disease, neurological disorders and even cancer. How do you know the state of your gut health and what can you do to keep it in good shape? Lizzy Traxler, outpatient clinical dietician with the Digestive Health Institute at University Hospitals, explains.

Your skin is your body’s largest organ, and it’s fairly simple to take care of. But there are many different types of skin, and each need different kinds of care. Your skin might be oily or dry, tan or burn easily, be dotted with moles or creased with fine lines. It can be tough to know exactly what habits or products will keep your skin at its healthiest – and the signs of trouble to watch for. UH certified nurse practitioner Susan Mayne, CNP, who specializes in dermatology, leads us through the maze of skin health and gives practical tips on how to get your skin to look and feel its best.

Vaccines have worked in the same way since they were invented more than 200 years ago: they use a weakened version of the targeted virus to create an immune response that the body remembers. Since COVID-19 appeared, a new kind of vaccine has emerged -- the mRNA vaccine. The mRNA vaccine is a unique delivery system that focuses specifically on the cells that are the targets of an infection. And, as Robert Salata, MD, UH infectious disease specialist and Program Director, Roe Green Center for Travel Medicine and Global Health, explains, researchers are now studying how to use this revolutionary technology to fight other diseases such as HIV, rabies and influenza.

Immunotherapy is a new, groundbreaking approach to treating cancer that harnesses the body’s own natural defenses to fight tumors. Immunotherapy comes in many forms, including checkpoint inhibitors, which shut down a tumor’s ability to be invisible to the body’s immune system; antibodies that can stick to and attack a tumor; and genetically manipulated cells that become “natural killer cells.” Ted Teknos, MD, President and Scientific Director of UH Seidman Cancer Center, explains how these medical wonders work and which cancers immunotherapies are most effective at treating.