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A new review maps it out, finding that people are more lonely as young adults, grow less lonely as they approach middle age, and then fall back into loneliness in old age, researchers reported April 30 in the journal Psychological Science. “What was striking was how consistent the uptick in loneliness is in older adulthood,” said researcher Eileen Graham, PhD, an associate professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “There’s a wealth of evidence that loneliness is related to poorer health, so we wanted to better understand who is lonely and why people are becoming lonelier as they age out of midlife, so we can hopefully start finding ways to mitigate it,” Graham said. Social isolation can increase the risk of premature death to levels comparable to daily smoking, according to the U.S. Surgeon General. “Our study is unique because it harnessed the power of all these datasets to answer the same question — ‘How does loneliness change across the lifespan, and what factors contribute to becoming more or less lonely over time?’” Graham said. All of the studies were conducted prior to the pandemic, which has made loneliness even more pronounced, researchers said. Graham said the dip in loneliness during middle-age might be because people that age have many demands that require more social interaction — like being married, having kids and going to work.

Loneliness has been a big topic in health over the past year, with the U.S. surgeon general. Now, new research is breaking down when people are the most likely to feel lonely — and what other risk factors might also be at play. “Loneliness is a growing concern in the aging population,” study author Eileen Graham, PhD, associate professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, explained. But Graham’s work found that loneliness is more common in younger adults too. Here’s what’s behind this — and what other risk factors to be aware of. In older adulthood, it can be difficult to maintain social connections, especially if you move or “snowbird” someplace away from home. Graham points out that middle adulthood is “a uniquely complex and busy time” for many people. Gallagher agrees. “If you have kids, you have to be social because of them,” she says. “You inevitably end up talking to people and making playdates, where you socialize.”

Therapeutic sound “baths” have been around for a few decades, but they have grown in popularity over the last five years. During a sound bath, participants are immersed in tones and vibrations from instruments like gongs, chimes, bells and singing bowls. Sound can affect both our physical and mental health, said Nina Kraus, a neurobiologist at Northwestern University and the author of “Of Sound Mind: How Our Brain Constructs a Meaningful Sonic World.” “It’s underrecognized because it’s invisible.” Kraus added. For example, few people realize how much background noise — an air-conditioner or a leaf blower — can affect how we feel, she said. Kraus said a number of systems within the body play a role in how we process sound, affecting how we think, how we feel and how we move. Sound is also deeply linked to memory, she said, so it may affect you emotionally and psychologically.

Moderate drinking was once thought to have benefits for the heart, but better research methods have thrown cold water on that. Guidelines vary a lot from country to country but the overall trend is toward drinking less. “There is a trend towards recommending less and less alcohol that comes with the emerging data that we’re seeing, that a low amount of alcohol can be harmful,” says Amanda Cheung, MD, assistant professor of gastroenterology and hepatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “The degree of alcohol that will cause problems, is still to be determined. We do know for sure that anything that is more than moderate can cause a lot of different diseases.”

A Kentucky man with Stage 4 cancer was going downhill fast when a set of donor lungs became available. But it turns out those lungs were damaged, not suitable for transplant. Not giving up, Northwestern Medicine doctors decided to repair the lungs outside the body. Once healthy, surgeons breathed a sigh of relief before transplanting the organs and saving a life. Chemotherapy could no longer keep the cancer at bay and the man could barely breathe through his diseased lungs. At Northwestern, doctors offered an idea: Use a set of damaged, donated lungs to cure his disease and give him the ability to breath again. Ankit Bharat is chief if thoracic surgery at the Canning Thoracic Institute. “The donor lungs developed a lot of blood clots and they were not usable. They were not functioning very well,” Bharat said. Thinking outside the box, the team treated the diseased lungs in a box clearing the potentially deadly blood clots outside the body. Young Chae, MD, is with medical oncology at Northwestern Medicine and associate professor of medicine in hematology and oncology. “During surgery, we resected a total of 30 lymph nodes and we haven’t found any lymph nodes that contain cancer cells,” Chae said. “So this tells us that this is a type of cancer that is limited within the lung tissue.”

Atrial fibrillation, a common cardiac condition that raises the risk of stroke, is increasingly affecting the health of people under the age of 65. For years, experts thought that A-fib, a type of irregular heartbeat, primarily occurred in people age 65 and older, and that younger people with the condition most likely wouldn’t develop other cardiac issues, however new research is proving otherwise. Nearly one in five people in the study who had A-fib also had obstructive sleep apnea, which is a significant risk factor for the condition. People with sleep apnea stop and restart breathing in the night; they struggle to get sufficient rest. The condition, which often goes undiagnosed, is tied to a range of cardiovascular issues. There is also a correlation between how much alcohol people consume and the likelihood they will develop A-fib, said Dr. Bradley Knight, the medical director of electrophysiology at the Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute. Smoking cigarettes and vaping are also linked with a greater risk of A-fib, Dr. Barnes said.

First, it’s important to note that most at-home hair removal devices are not lasers. They are usually intense pulsed light devices or IPL for short. It works exactly like it sounds – intense light is pulsed to the hair follicle, which disrupts hair growth. While the mechanism of action is similar to laser hair removal, it is less powerful and takes more sessions to get the desired result. Dr. Carolyn I. Jacob, MD, FAAD, an associate clinical instructor of dermatology at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago explains that lasers that target blond, red, gray or white hair have not been developed yet, however, strides have been made so that those with darker skin types can successfully undergo the procedure. It depends on the person, but people generally see results within 6-10 treatments. As previously mentioned, the devices available for use at home are not as powerful as the devices you would find in a dermatology office, and therefore more treatments are usually needed.

Losing sleep can wreak havoc on your mind and body, experts say. In fact, missing out on just one night’s sleep can trigger physical symptoms, such as upper respiratory issues, aches and gastrointestinal problems, studies have shown. However, there are actions you can take after lost sleep to make it through the day in the safest way possible, according to experts. “The strongest reset for the circadian system is bright light,” said Phyllis Zee, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “Light in the morning changes the oscillation of your circadian clock genes at both a cellular and molecular level,” she told CNN in a prior interview. “You are also training all your rhythms, whether it’s sleep, blood pressure, heart rate or your cortisol rhythm to be earlier.”

High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects an estimated 1.28 billion adults around the world, according to the World Health Organization. Roughly 46% of adults suffering from high blood pressure are unaware of their condition. Making simple lifestyle changes, like limiting certain foods, can lower blood pressure. High blood pressure occurs when the pressure of blood against your artery walls is too high — this forces the heart to work harder to pump blood. It is a condition that can increase risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney problems, aneurysm or heart failure, per the Mayo Clinic. Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Vanderbilt Medical Center and Northwestern Medicine observed a group of more than 200 individuals between ages 50 to 75, with a variety of blood pressure statuses — participants’ blood pressure ranged from normotension (blood pressure in normal range) to untreated hypertension. “The results reinforce the importance of reduction in dietary sodium intake to help control blood pressure, even among individuals taking medications for hypertension,” said co-principal investigator Norrina Allen, PhD, professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “It can be challenging but reducing your sodium in any amount will be beneficial.”

High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects an estimated 1.28 billion adults around the world, according to the World Health Organization. Roughly 46% of adults suffering from high blood pressure are unaware of their condition. Making simple lifestyle changes, like limiting certain foods, can lower blood pressure. Limiting and removing certain foods from your diet can help manage and lower high blood pressure. Here are five foods that are bad for people with high blood pressure. Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Vanderbilt Medical Center and Northwestern Medicine observed a group of more than 200 individuals between ages 50 to 75, with a variety of blood pressure statuses — participants’ blood pressure ranged from normotension (blood pressure in normal range) to untreated hypertension. “The results reinforce the importance of reduction in dietary sodium intake to help control blood pressure, even among individuals taking medications for hypertension,” said co-principal investigator Norrina Allen, PhD, professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “It can be challenging but reducing your sodium in any amount will be beneficial.”