Today’s Solutions: January 18, 2025

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.

Chia seed drink topped with blueberries

9 natural energy-boosting alternative drinks to coffee

Coffee is good. Almost too good. The energy kick from coffee can be so good that you start drinking too much of it, and that can come with some unpleasant side effects. Too much caffeine has been linked with depression and anxiety. Plus, the amount of sugar that many people consume with their Read More...

Birdwatchers visit an island in the rain.

How birdwatchers are incentivizing habitat conservation in Alaska

Alaska is world-renowned in specific tourism sectors—namely those related to rail, ship, and cruise lines. However, there is a thrumming ecotourism industry that has been overlooked: birdwatching. Back in 2019, the US was home to 12.82 million birdwatchers. In 2020 this number jumped to Read More...

Modern glass electric kettle boiling on kitchen table.

10 eco-friendly kitchen appliances to make your home greener

A healthy kitchen goes beyond just eating green. On top of an eco-friendly diet, having planet-friendly appliances in the heart of your home can go a long way in making your household more sustainable. Although repairing existing items is a great first choice, if you do have an appliance in need of Read More...

Young woman with curly hair laughing while standing outside in a park on a sunny summer afternoon.

Transform your health with these 9 powerful habits

You are your best investment — and your habits are the key to how well you thrive in life. For a balanced lifestyle that works with your body’s natural biorhythms, consider implementing these nine powerful habits into your life. Eat an earlier, lighter dinner A big meal hours before Read More...

Happy and healthy asian little girl is raising the globe model

4 Tips for raising a bilingual child

Bilingual children have many advantages over their single-language-speaking counterparts. According to Ellen Bialystok, a psychology professor at York University in Canada, children who listen to and use more than one language can better focus on pertinent information and tune out what’s Read More...

Happy family daughter hugs dad who holds her high in the air

A Death Doula reveals the most common regrets so we might learn from them 

Death—our inevitable destiny—is unavoidable, no matter how hard we try to evade it. However, ensuring that we reach the end with minimal regrets (or better yet, none at all) is something that we can do something about. Maryanne O’Hara, an end-of-life doula and the author of Little Matches: Read More...

Farmer planting young seedlings of lettuce salad in the vegetable garden

7 money-saving tips for new gardeners

It’s finally happened—after reading countless articles about the benefits (for both yourself and the planet) of growing your own food and spending time in nature, you’ve decided to give gardening a go. But you’ve heard from others that creating a new garden can be quite costly, and you’d Read More...

Cute girl and her grandmother cooking in kitchen.

The secret to our species' success? Our grandparents

The long-standing theory of evolution has always been based on natural selection: that traits are favored to promote reproductive success. This makes sense why harmful mutations and diseases appear much later in life, with our bodies more likely to degenerate when we are no longer fertile. This is Read More...

Almond, poppy seed and hemp seed milk, top view.

Here are 10 non-dairy foods that are rich with calcium

Calcium is well known for its ability to build and maintain your bones, but that’s not the only thing it does. It’s also important for muscle contraction, blood pressure regulation, nerve transmission, and blood clotting. Most people get their calcium from dairy products such as milk and Read More...

Yoga stretches big toe pull stretch exercises woman doing hamstring stretching at home on fitness mat training stretching legs touching toes.

Benefits of working out in the nude

We've written before about how spending time naked can improve your body image, and it’s well known that regular exercise also improves self-esteem and how you view your body (among other benefits). So why not combine the two for even better results? Working out in your birthday suit has a Read More...