Have you ever felt like the more effort you put toward being “happy,” the less happy you become? You’re not alone. It’s a known phenomenon called the happiness paradox.

While this paradox has been acknowledged, it hasn’t been fully understood. But a new study from the University of Toronto has shed some light on this contentment conundrum.

For the study, researchers surveyed participants and discovered that those who reported habitually pursuing happiness also demonstrated less self-control in their daily lives. Researchers then conducted experiments that focused on tasks considered to be happiness-seeking, as well as mundane tasks not associated with happiness.

Researchers concluded that the energy expended in the pursuit of happiness puts a unique strain on mental resources. In turn, those who focus on being happy end up with depleted willpower and self-control.

The result is that they are too mentally exhausted to do the things that make them happy, or they end up making choices that deplete rather than build happiness.

Those who actively pursue and constantly monitor their own happiness can end up left without the mental resources to do things that make them happy. The drain comes from trying to actively make yourself feel different, rather than going with the flow.

Researchers said this doesn’t mean people should never try to be happy. But they said happiness is less like money — something you can acquire and hoard — and more like sand on the beach. You can grab a handful of sand and hold it but the tighter your grip, the more it slips away.

So, to be happy, simply stop trying so hard to be happy. Happy?

Maintaining your muscle strength and health as you age may be as simple as adding a bunch of grapes to your daily diet.

A new study suggests that grapes can cause changes in muscle-related genes, helping to prevent age-related muscle loss, especially in women.

Researchers from Western New England University studied 480 mice over 2½ years to determine how grape consumption might affect muscle gene expression.

The mice were separated into four groups: Females on a standard diet, females on a grape-supplemented diet, males on a standard diet and males on a grape-supplemented diet.

The study began when the mice reached one year of age. Those on the standard diet ate their regular food, while those on the grape-supplemented diet ate food with 5% grape powder, the equivalent of two servings of grapes for humans.

The researchers analyzed muscle tissue samples of representative mice from each group after a year and a half, when the mice reached an age equivalent to 80 years in humans.

The results for the grape-eating mice showed that 11 muscle-related genes out of 25 increased in activity, suggesting improved muscular health.

Both males and females on the grape diet saw genetic shifts, though the effects were more pronounced in females.

The genetic patterns of female mice on the grape diet were more like males than females on the standard diet, which suggests that adding grapes may help women’s muscles genetically function more like men’s.

While more research is needed to confirm the results, older adults who want to give their muscles a boost might want to consider adding a handful of grapes to their lunch.

Envy the fruit bat. They can eat twice their body weight in sugary fruit without spiking blood sugar endangering their health. In fact, you’ll see a unicorn in the wild before you find a fruit bat with diabetes.

We humans aren’t so lucky. Unlike our batty friends, we must watch what we eat. Those of us with diabetes avoid sugary treats.

The bats have evolved to accommodate their diet. A world of chocolate bars and high-carb food is a relatively modern trend. We humans can’t wait a hundred million years for a natural adaptation to fix that. So, scientists look to the fruit bat.

What’s going on in their tiny pancreases, the insulin-producing organ that regulates blood sugar?

Scientists at the University of California found that the fruit bat pancreas boasts extra insulin-producing cells compared with their insect-eating brethren. They also discovered other tiny genetic differences that allow fruit bats to process an immense amount of sugar.

A better understanding of how sugar metabolism works in this quirky species could help researchers find ways to treat people with diabetes or prediabetes. Could that knowledge one day lead to a cure?

More than 37 million Americans have diabetes, and 1 in 3 Americans are prediabetic. It’s the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S.

One other thing about those fruit bats. They don’t need a dentist. They can eat all the sugar they want without getting cavities. Their saliva is thought to play a role in that.

But don’t let bat envy eat you alive. After all, when was the last time you had to sleep upside down in a cave?

Veterinary oncology today makes use of increasingly sophisticated tools and methods for treating cancer in pets. In addition to surgery and medical therapy, or chemotherapy, radiation oncology is a veterinary specialty that entails the use of controlled radiation to treat certain types of cancer. On this show, Dr. Marilia Takada, a clinical assistant professor and veterinary radiation oncology specialist, will discuss what radiation therapy is, how it works and types of cancer it’s used most frequently to treat. She’ll also discuss why radiation therapy is often used in conjunction with other therapies to ensure the best possible patient outcomes.

Home is where the heart is — and where most of us would rather be when we don’t feel well.

Now, a new study from researchers in England suggests that finding ways to care for older folks at home is in everyone’s best interest.

For older adults, frailty can be a silent, creeping condition that makes it harder to bounce back from health problems, leading to more hospital visits and higher care needs.

A new service, designed to support those becoming frail, could change the game, reducing emergency hospital admissions by over one-third while saving money.

The tailored, home-based intervention included six personalized visits from a support worker, who helped identify specific needs to maintain independence and well-being.

The support offered home exercise programs, nutritional support, enhanced mental well-being and boosted social connections. Researchers tested the service with 388 people over age 65 who were classified as “mildly frail” across three regions of the United Kingdom. One group received the service, the other continued as usual.

The results were compelling. Those who received tailored support had a 35% reduction in unplanned hospital admissions, which saved the U.K. health care system an average of $756 per person over the year.

There were improvements in well-being, psychological distress and frailty scores. Although the service didn’t increase independence in self-care, it showed significant benefits in maintaining health and reducing hospital strain.

Now, the program can’t promise to slow the effects of aging forever — but there’s much to be said for aging in place with grace, and in your own home.

Starting college — and being away from home — can be stressful.

Heck, just being a college student can cause anxiety. Especially if you’re missing more than just your two-legged family.

Researchers at Washington State University recruited 145 first-year students for the study, all of whom had left pets back home. The group was randomly halved. One group was granted access to a therapy-dog lounge on campus where they could drop in for up to two hours at a time seven times during the semester. The other was a control group assigned to a dog-lounge waitlist.

If you’re a dog lover, it might not surprise you that the students given dog-lounge access reported far less stress, worry and depression than those who were waitlisted. They showed increased self-compassion, which is linked to better emotional regulation and well-being.

In addition, the students who got dog time saw only a slight increase in stress over the course of the semester compared with the waitlisted students.

Notably, the research team previously established that even brief interactions with therapy dogs lowers cortisol, a hormone that plays a key role in the body’s stress response.

The recent study’s goal was to see how well a less-structured program that gave students more say in how they interacted with the dogs might work. The researchers said their findings suggest that similar, informal dog-lounge programs could help students on any campus.

But they didn’t give the friendly pooches all the credit for lowered stress — interacting with the dog handlers and other students likely helped, too.

Still, we all know never to discount the power of cold noses and warm hearts.

We all know the clouds of noxious fumes coming out of our vehicle tailpipes are a health hazard. Another part of your car, however, might produce an even more dangerous hazard to the lungs.

The brakes.

British researchers found in a recent study that the particles released by brakes might actually be more of a health threat than diesel exhaust. And while exhaust is the focus of anti-pollution efforts, brake dust is mostly unregulated.

Don’t think this is a minor annoyance. Researchers found that most particles produced by traffic in urban areas come from vehicle brakes.

The scientists found that some common, copper-rich brake pads cause more stress and damage in lung cells than diesel fumes. The copper accumulates in the cells, can trigger an inflammatory response and is thought to be the main driver of the danger.

Another risk is that the copper can lead cells to behave as if they’re starved for oxygen when they are not. This can lead to cancer and debilitating lung scarring.

Ironically, electric vehicles might exacerbate the problem. That’s because their batteries make them heavier than many gas-guzzlers. This produces more brake dust as the brakes work harder to slow the car.

So, scientists say, a manufacturer would be inaccurate when describing an electric model as being “zero-emission.”

A few states restrict the amount of copper allowed in brake pads, including California and Washington. The restrictions, however, were enacted solely to protect fish and aquatic species. The worry was that the copper would wash off roadways and into waterways.

Nonetheless, it’s now clear these laws protect fish and human alike.

Blink once if you can hear this. Blink twice if you want to know what your blinking says about your health.

All of us blink on average 14 to 17 times every minute, according to the Cleveland Clinic. That means if you were to sleep 8 hours at night, you would blink somewhere between 13,000 and 16,000 times a day.

Blinking serves several purposes. It keeps the surface of our cornea clean and protects our eyes from approaching objects.

However, a change in your blinking habits might point to a health problem. Slow or infrequent blinking can be an early sign of Parkinson’s disease. Several studies have found that the rate of a spontaneous blink aligns with the activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain. The lower our dopamine level, the more we fixate on one object and the less we blink.

Conversely, increased blinking indicates sleepiness. Those who are suffering from pain or experiencing very bright lights blink more frequently.

Excessive blinking often occurs when our body attempts to overcompensate for dry eye disease, such as Sjogren’s [show-grins] syndrome. Dry eye disease is common for those who use screens at work.

Experts encourage you to adopt a “blind working” technique to give your eyes a break.

Blind working involves closing your eyes during brief breaks in your workday, such as during a telephone call or waiting for a program to load on your computer. This approach combats the effects of heightened screen time, which is known to damage the glands that keep our eyes healthy.

After all, life goes by in the blink of an eye — or two — so be sure to protect them.

Scientists around the world who hope to avert the next pandemic have a plan.

A team of 25 international scientists wants to do so by conserving natural areas and protecting biodiversity. They believe this might be a better strategy than containing a pathogen already circulating in humans.

In short, they want to keep animal populations fed and safe to limit their contact with humans and, consequently, their ability to transfer pathogens to us.

Pandemics begin when disease-harboring animals, such as bats, come in proximity to people, livestock or other critters. Viruses that have spread to humans via bats include several varieties of the coronavirus, Nipah [knee-pah], Hendra and, likely, Ebola. The consequences can be deadly.

The international team of researchers, led by Cornell University, devised its strategy after two scientific papers in 2022 examined how the fatal Hendra virus moved from bats to horses to people. The research found that when bats lose their natural habitats and winter food sources, their large populations fracture into smaller groups that migrate to agricultural and urban areas.

And when bats become stressed, whether by not getting enough to eat or being forced to leave their roost, they shed more virus in their urine. When the food supply returns, so do the bats, and they stop shedding virus.

The team of scientists calls for protecting lands that buffer bats from people. This could ensure they have enough food and that humans and animals in contact with bat populations have sufficient protection.

If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, just imagine the payoff in avoiding another pandemic.

Join us for a critical conversation about keeping your pets safe and out of the emergency room! Dr. Adesola Odunayo, a clinical associate professor of emergency and critical care at UF, will share important insights into preventable pet emergencies that every animal owner needs to know. From common household hazards to unexpected risks that can quickly turn into life-threatening situations, Dr. Odunayo will provide practical, actionable advice to help pet owners recognize, avoid, and respond to potential medical dangers. Whether you’re a new pet parent or a seasoned animal lover, this show promises to arm you with the knowledge to protect your furry family members and potentially save their lives.