Living life with work, earning money, and managing a household is a full-time occupation. Amidst all those mundane needs, it almost feels impossible to take care of your own physical and psychological needs, which are necessary for a healthier life. Here are a few easy wellness tips for you to become your best self.

Taking a Morning Stroll

According to scientific studies, a 15-20 minute stroll amidst nature every morning can increase your feeling of happiness and lower your blood pressure to a significant level, making you way healthier. Researchers have found that natural greenery and calming environments activate the parasympathetic nervous system, stimulating feelings of relaxation while suppressing the sympathetic system and causing fight-or-flight feelings.

Limiting Bedtime Blue Light

Checking emails and texts right up until bedtime causes lousy sleep throughout the night. It’s not related to stress from work, but rather the blue light emitted from your phone or laptop sends confusing signals to your brain, inhibiting the production of melatonin, the chemical responsible for making you feel relaxed or drowsy. So, to enjoy a restful night and a healthier next morning, put away your tech devices half an hour before bed.

Listening to Upbeat Music

There’s nothing like an upbeat tune for an instant pick-me-up! Studies show that listening to happy music just for 12 minutes a day can bring out a lasting positive effect on your mind over two weeks. So, crank up those techno tunes or some groovy dance beats on the way to work, while doing nothing on the couch, during whipping up a quick dinner, or pretty much any time of the day. Staying healthier has never been so fun!

Eating Dinner Earlier

It’s one of those simple baby steps that can be proven more effective than you ever thought to lead a healthier life. Pushing up dinnertime can considerably help in dropping a few pounds and is much easier than any other lifestyle trick. According to new scientific studies, people who take their evening meal earlier in the afternoon, feel less hungry at the end of the day while increasing the fat-burning potential of their body to a great extent.

Snacking on Dark Chocolate

The positive effect of a measured amount of dark chocolate on the heart is quite common knowledge by now. Recently, a group of scientists from London added to the findings by discovering that dark chocolate contains certain psychoactive ingredients that can act as a buffer against anxiety and depression, by 70% more compared to other chocolate or similar varieties. And of course, it’s a yummy way to stay healthier too!

If there is one thing that 2020 was lacking, it was a ‘murder hornet’ apocalypse. That’s why when people spotted two Asian giant hornets (Vespa mandarinia) near British Columbia and Washington last May, the media was quick to ‘foresee’ it as a hornet disaster. Even though the same species was spotted the year before, somehow, it wasn’t worthy of making headlines at the time.

The Invasion Isn’t as Apocalyptic as Headlines Suggest

As is with most things in life, the truth about the hornet apocalypse lies with science and not the media. For starters, these predatory insects feed on honeybees and not people. What’s more, big hornets have invaded parts of the United States before, and scientists have mounted great efforts to eradicate them each time. Washington officials located and destroyed the first nest just a couple of months after the first hornet was spotted last spring, and scientists say the intruders won’t be able to sweep across the country due to a “challenging habitat.” Do you need more reason to doubt the apocalypse now?

People Seemingly Want to Believe the ‘Murder Hornet’ Scenario

Although the situation has been contained, entomologists from around the country say that concerned readers continue to call them scared and convinced the hornets are in their backyard. One entomologist, Gale Ridge, from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station based in New Haven says, this reaction is most likely the result of “half-listening and overdramatization” of the faux facts presented by the media. He often has to explain to frazzled callers that these hornets have been spotted more than 3,000 miles away from New Haven and that there’s no reason to panic.

Gale has taken matters into her own hands by working to educate locals about the different species often mistaken for Asian giant hornets, such as cicada-killer wasps and European hornets. They say knowledge is power, and Ridge’s approach is definitely helping to ease the ‘murder hornet’ anxiety.