Media Coverage

4 Tips for a Better Morning Routine

If you can’t bring yourself to dance, at the very least, get some daylight. “The first thing you should do is get at least 20 minutes of bright morning light,” said Phyllis Zee, director of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Light exposure tells your body that it’s daytime and makes you feel more alert, she said. A morning walk is an easy way to do it, she added.

What’s Your Heart Disease Risk? Try This Calculator to Find Out

The goal is to get people to start taking “preventive efforts” earlier in life, researchers wrote in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

“This tool was motivated by helping younger adults understand their long-term risk for heart disease,” senior author Sadiya Khan, the Magerstadt professor of cardiovascular epidemiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told NBC News.

Woman with Stage 4 Cancer Has ‘No Evidence of Disease’ After Life-changing Transplant

A woman with cancer that spread to her liver is getting a second chance at life after receiving a partial liver transplant from a living donor. Amy Piccioli told “Good Morning America” doctors have told her she currently has no evidence of the disease three months after she underwent transplant surgery at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago.

Dr. Zachary Dietch, an assistant professor of surgery and abdominal organ transplant surgeon at Northwestern Medicine, who treated Piccioli, told ABC News that other treatment options for Picciolo offered “very poor chances at long-term survival.”

Here’s What to Eat to Sleep a Little Better Every Day

One study suggested that skipping breakfast and eating dinners late were tied to delayed bedtimes, later wake times and lower sleep efficiency. Similarly, a 2026 clinical trial found that stopping eating at least three hours before bedtime helped better align the body’s circadian rhythms with sleep, improving nighttime blood pressure, heart rate and blood sugar regulation.

“Perhaps more than what you eat, when you eat relative to sleep may be as important,” said Phyllis Zee, a professor of neurology and director of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University, who was senior author of the study. “Eating close to bedtime can disrupt sleep, increase reflux and may have adverse effects on cardiometabolic function.”

More Americans Under 55 Are Dying of Severe Heart Attacks

The last thing someone in their 30s or 40s should worry about is dying of a heart attack. But new research shows more are.

Younger adults need to recognize that they may be at risk, said Dr. Sadiya Khan, Magerstadt professor of Cardiovascular Epidemiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, who wasn’t involved in the latest study.

The risk of a heart attack, stroke or heart failure begins and becomes more common as early as age 35, and sex differences emerge, Khan and colleagues found in a study published in JAHA last month.

Drooling Into Your Pillow Could Be a Sign of a More Serious Issue

Drooling can be embarrassing, especially if you’re waking up to a newly minted lover beside you. But if you’re sleeping alone or next to a seasoned partner who isn’t disturbed by bodily functions, experts say it’s not a big deal — unless it’s a frequent occurrence.

“Everyone drools at one time or another when we have too much to drink the night before or fallen asleep on the couch after a big holiday dinner,” said Dr. Landon Duyka, a clinical assistant professor of otolaryngology — head and neck surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.

Alzheimer’s Prevention Breakthrough Found in Decades-old Seizure Drug

The medication was found to prevent the formation of amyloid-beta 42 in both animal models and cultured human neurons, according to the study findings, which were published in Science Translational Medicine. The effect was also seen in post-mortem human brain tissue obtained from individuals with Down syndrome, who are at high risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

“While many of the Alzheimer’s drugs currently on the market, such as lecanemab and donanemab, are approved to clear existing amyloid plaques, we’ve identified this mechanism that prevents the production of the amyloid‑beta 42 peptides and amyloid plaques,” said corresponding author Jeffrey Savas, associate professor of behavioral neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in a press release.

Experts Talk How to Navigate Distressing News Stories and Finding Coping Mechanisms

While medical experts say it is normal for people to experience stress and anxiety — or feeling that the world descended into chaos overnight — it is important to find coping mechanisms and ways to responsibly take in the news in order to protect one’s mental health.

“Fear, sadness, confusion… these are very normal reactions to very extreme circumstances,” Michael S. Ziffra, a Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine professor and psychiatrist, told The Associated Press. “People shouldn’t feel guilty, or they shouldn’t feel like it’s wrong to feel anxiety. It’s a very normal human response. The key is to know how to manage it.”