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The light is returning: At 2 a.m. Sunday, while most of us are asleep, the clocks will “leap forward” for the start of daylight saving time. In places that observe the change (i.e. all of the U.S., except Hawaii and most of Arizona), that means the sun will set an hour later beginning tomorrow. The biannual ritual of adjusting our clocks might not be around for much longer, but we can still appreciate the serotonin boost from increased evening light. Read some tips on how you can stop daylight saving time from affecting your sleep schedule this weekend.
Health
The Way You View Yourself Has a Major Impact on Happiness, New Study Shows
How can we be happier? A study from Canada’s York University recently sought the answer to that very question, investigating the impact of various factors on life satisfaction. Turns out, the way one feels about their personal appearance is quite important.
But we’re not talking about some amorphous idea of “attractiveness” — it’s more so about self-love. The research suggests that an individual’s satisfaction with their appearance significantly influences their overall happiness, which can pose a problem given the prominence of social media and the unrealistic (and ever-changing) beauty standards today.
Published in the Journal of Happiness Studies, the study also analyzed factors such as family, work, education, and social interests. “We wanted to look at several factors that could influence life satisfaction, not just one factor, like income, work, or family life, independent of the other influences,” lead author James Chowhan said in a press release. “Our study is unique in its comprehensiveness.”
Chowhan said the physical appearance findings were surprising, but we (obviously) are focusing on a positive takeaway from the research: How you view yourself is entirely up to you. Read about some ways to practice self-love.
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Together With Pendulum
Listen to Your Gut
Let’s talk about your gut — more specifically, your gut health. The topic is all the rage right now, and there’s one probiotic that stands out above the rest: Akkermansia. The keystone strain, sold exclusively in the U.S. as a live strain by Pendulum, has been written about in 3,000 scientific publications (and counting!).
According to preclinical studies, Akkermansia improves your gut health by strengthening your gut lining and reducing permeability. Plus, it produces GABA, which can reduce stress and anxiety, based on preclinical studies. Those are the results you get when a probiotic company is founded by doctors from Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Berkeley, and Stanford, and the Mayo Clinic is one of its first investors.
Get 20% off your first month of Akkermansia or any Pendulum probiotic membership with code NICENEWS.
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Health
Scientists Are a “Really Huge Step” Closer to a Universal Antivenom
Those who are fearful of snakes will be excited to hear that researchers are making progress in creating a universal antivenom that could protect against a host of bites. Per a press release, Scripps Research scientists “developed an antibody that can block the effects of lethal toxins in the venoms of a wide variety of snakes found throughout Africa, Asia, and Australia.”
This synthetic antibody works by neutralizing a key type of neurotoxin produced by different deadly snake species, researchers explained in the paper published last month. “We are wiping out a major subclass of neurotoxins here,” co-author Nicholas Casewell told Science. “I think this is a really huge step in terms of what can be achieved by a single antibody.”
The team plans to keep working toward a “cocktail” that could streamline snake bite treatment, and, ultimately, save lives. “This could be incredibly valuable for people in low- and middle-income countries that have the largest burden of deaths and injuries from snakebites,” senior author Joseph Jardine said in a statement.
Note: As we enter rattlesnake season, it’s a good time to brush up on snake safety tips, which include watching where you step, wearing appropriate clothing, avoiding tall grass, and, most of all, staying calm.
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Environment
Refugees in Uganda Are Restoring Hope for the Future, Seed by Seed
As the saying goes, “good things come in trees” — they clean air, filter water, support wildlife, and even help save lives. Worried about a future without them, refugees at the Nakivale settlement in Uganda set out on a simple solution: planting seeds to offset their use of timber.
“We saw that in the days to come, when the trees are finished, we will also be finished,” Enock Twagirayesu, a refugee from Burundi who has called Uganda home for over 10 years, told the Associated Press.
He and two other refugees started reforesting in 2016, and now it’s grown into a community-wide effort. Twagirayesu leads the Nakivale Green Environment Association, which is working alongside a local social development organization to plant 300,000 trees a year — and has already planted 3 million in recent years.
Twagirayesu explained that planting trees is all about the long game: “A tree is not like beans or maize, which you plant and tomorrow you will get something to eat. Planting trees is challenging.” Nevertheless, it’s an investment worth the wait: “When we are walking in the places where we planted trees we feel much happiness.”
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In Other News
- A new species of deep-sea worm was discovered in the Pacific Ocean. With feathery appendages that facilitate its undulations, the creature swims like a “living magic carpet.”
- This painting by Denmark’s Queen Margrethe sold at auction for around $23,300, exceeding expectations. Margrethe, the country’s longest-reigning female monarch, stepped down earlier this year.
- St. Paul’s Cathedral in London is offering an overnight experience in its hidden library, allowing guests to explore its historic treasures for under $10 in celebration of World Book Day.
- Authors should soon receive higher royalty rates for audiobooks on Audible, thanks to advocacy and negotiations orchestrated by fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson.
- Starting small: New research out of Australia found that protecting smaller but more strategic areas of land is an effective biodiversity conservation tactic.
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Something We Love
The Sill’s Easy-Care Plants
You don’t have to have the greenest thumb to be a successful plant parent if you choose from The Sill’s easy-care section, defined as “low-maintenance plant picks you can grow with.” From snake plants to money trees and philodendrons, there are plenty of options of various sizes and aesthetics. And if you’re looking to expand your home’s greenery quickly, the Favorite 5 Bundle is the way to go.
Recommendations are independently selected by our team but may result in a commission to Nice News which helps keep our content free.
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Inspiring Story
Paying it forward
The Dongs, a Chinese American family, were facing racial housing restrictions in 1939, so they rented and later purchased a home from the Thompsons, a Black couple, in Coronado, California. Now, the Dongs are donating $5 million from the sale of the property to support Black college students and are working to have San Diego State University’s Black Resource Center named after the Thompsons.
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Photo of the Day
So that’s what it looks like underneath! On Wednesday, venue workers literally rolled out the red carpet for tomorrow’s 96th Academy Awards.
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Quote of the Day
“Sometimes our ‘stop-doing’ list needs to be bigger than our ‘to-do’ list.”
– PATTI DIGH
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