Lifestyle
Alongside taking care of other people and the planet, make sure you take good care of yourself. The Lifestyle section at the Optimist Daily has solutions for everyday wellbeing on topics like food, beauty, fashion, and the latest trends. Curious about caring for houseplants, eating plant-based, or parenting tips? It’s all in there.
New Airbus plane designed to diminish the impact of jet lag
A new Airbus plane significantly diminishes the impact of jetlag through a combination of a humidification system, onboard fresh air and an adaptable color temperature system, which can produce different light color combinations dependent on the flight length and time zone changes. The LED lights Read More...
Mindful meditation may be the answer to relieving chronic back pain, study suggests
In 1992, Harvard neuroscientist Richard Davidson embarked on an unusual research project to study the brains of Buddhist monks who spent thousands of hours meditating. What he found was that not only did the practice activate different parts of the brain, it also seemed to impact the body in ways Read More...
Australia shows a solutions-oriented approach to the refugee problem
Europe and the United States are struggling with refugee and immigrant problems driving highly charged debates triggered by populist politicians. In the mean time, Australia is implementing a different response. The country is aggressively leading a global competition for highly-skilled Read More...
Going somewhere? Try one of the 10 places named as most ethical travel destinations
With a skyrocketing human population currently consuming the equivalent of 1.6 planets‘ worth of resources and expected to reach a mind-boggling 9.6 billion by 2050, that wilderness is rapidly disappearing, especially in the industrialized world. Canada has been the world’s leader in Read More...
This is why meditation makes you feel better
Usually, “do nothing” is poor advice to follow if you want to feel better. Yet a strong body of literature now shows that meditation—the mindful art of doing nothing but sitting still—effectively relieves pain. Now, a new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience shows that meditation Read More...
Cows, rejoice! We don’t need your milk anymore!
Together with environmental engineer Perumal Gandhi and CEO of New Harvest Isha Datar, Ryan set out to create “a real dairy product that relies in no way on animal husbandry.” Muufri (pronounced Moo-free, get it?) is not meant to undercut small farmers, rather it serves as a much-needed Read More...
The environmental benefits of peace in Colombia
Colombia’s environment has suffered widespread and severe damage as a result of half a century of armed conflict. With a peace agreement with FARC on the table, the government has been reviewing the financial costs of the damage – and the economic and environmental benefits of peace. By Read More...
In the world happiest countries the sun doesn’t shine much
There’s no correlation between the number of rainy days in a country and the levels of happiness of its people. And we don’t buy that. According to the latest update of the World Happiness Report by the United Nations, the top 5 happiest countries are all Northwestern—rain rich—European Read More...
Why more high tech professionals are thinking low tech
I thought about starting the busy week ahead by reflecting on how the fight between Apple and the FBI has become nastier than the audience at a Donald Trump rally. I also considered trying to convince you of the merits of the lowest-tech experience you can imagine: attending Major League Read More...
This type of meditation may reduce racial bias
Researchers Alexander Stell and Tom Farsides were interested in how the practice of Loving Kindness Meditation (LKM) may reduce racial prejudice; results of their study are published in the journal Motivation and Emotion. Loving Kindness Meditation (LKM) is a Buddhist concept that focuses on Read More...