Considering how essential sleep is to overall health, it feels just a tad unfair how frustratingly elusive a good night’s rest can be. So we perked right up when we learned about a simple mental exercise for falling asleep quickly that’s been making the rounds on social media. Kind of like counting sheep but with words, “cognitive shuffling” is designed to distract the mind from wandering thoughts, which may help you drift off. It doesn’t work for everyone, but if you give it a go, here’s hoping you’re snoozing shortly after your head hits the pillow. — Rebekah, Ally, and Natalie
Featured Story
From Viral Vids to Waste Legislation: Anna Sacks Is NYC’s “Trash Walker” — Exclusive
Patricia Lopez Ramos
Before New York City native Anna Sacks turned her attention to cleaning up the five boroughs and beyond, the 33-year-old — who goes by “the Trash Walker” on social media — was on a decidedly different path. “I was working at an investment bank doing mergers and acquisition and capital raises,” Sacks tells Nice News. “And there wasn’t a very strong ‘why’ for why I was doing it.” Today, she serves as legislative chair for the Manhattan Waste Advisory Board. The road there was lined with a farming fellowship, viral dumpster diving videos, and some serious “influencing.” Read our interview to learn more and get tips from the Trash Walker.
Your Favorite Affordable Cashmere Sweater Just Got an Upgrade
A cashmere sweater is essential to any winter wardrobe. It’s a timeless staple that’s always in style, and the unmatched softness of cashmere provides warmth and comfort. And with Quince, you can indulge in this classic luxury without breaking the bank. We love Quince’s cashmere for its luxurious feel and affordable price — and we’re happy to report that it just got even better. The brand spent two years reengineering its iconic Mongolian cashmere crewneck sweater to create a thicker feel, better fit, and enhanced durability. The result has 20% more cashmere, advanced pilling resistance, and, best of all, the same $50 price tag.
It’s a story that’s better than fiction: In 1962, Luigi Lo Rosso, a junkyard dealer, was scrounging through the basement of an Italian villa and stumbled upon an asymmetrical painting of a woman on a rolled-up canvas. Instead of selling it at his family’s pawn shop, he kept the artwork and eventually gave it to his wife to decorate their home. The couple’s son Andrea Lo Rosso told CNN she named it “the scribble.” Over six decades later, experts believe this “scribble” is actually an original by Pablo Picasso — and the woman featured is poet and photographer Dora Maar, the Spanish painter’s lover. Although you can see Picasso’s name on the upper left corner of the painting, Andrea said his dad didn’t think anything of it when he found it as a young man. Cinzia Altieri, a graphologist for a patrimony court in Milan, said in a statement to local media: “There is no doubt that the signature is his.” The final kicker? It’s estimated to be worth around $6 million,but could sell for much more if certified by the Picasso Foundation. Check out the painting in the family’s dining room.
Sports
LeBron James and Son Bronny Make History in First NBA Game Together
“Like father, like son” is an understatement: LeBron James and Bronny James have become the first-ever father-son duo to play in an NBA game together. The history-making moment for the two Los Angeles Lakers went down in a preseason match against the Phoenix Suns on Oct. 6. Bronny checked into the game at the start of the second quarter, joining his pops — or teammate, he would say — on the court for about four minutes. “I’m always thinking about ‘That’s my dad,’ because that’s literally my dad,” he told ESPN. “So I just go out there and, when I’m playing, he’s just my teammate. That’s all I’m thinking at that point.” As for LeBron, one of the longest-playing athletes in NBA history, the moment was out of a movie. “For a father, it means everything,” he said, adding: “We stood next to each other and I kind of looked at him, and it was just like, ‘Is this The Matrix or something?’ It just didn’t feel real.” To make the great day even better, it was also Bronny’s 20th birthday — watch them play together.
Science
The Brain Has Waste-Clearing Pathways, and It Cleanses Itself During Sleep: Study
nopparit/ iStock
In the fight to prevent and better understand Alzheimer’s disease, a research team is investigating the link between mental “waste” and cognitive decline. It turns out, our brains are not so different from our homes in that they need a good cleaning from time to time to stay in tip-top shape. For the study, published Monday, scientists used special imaging to observe people undergoing brain surgery. They found that their brains created efficient cleaning channels to help move waste out of the brain, particularly during sleep. While this plumbing network of sorts was previously discovered in mouse brains and suspected to exist in human brains, it wasn’t confirmed until this paper. “Nobody has shown it before now,” senior author Juan Piantino said in a statement. “I was always skeptical about it myself, and there are still a lot of skeptics out there who still don’t believe it. That’s what makes this finding so remarkable.” The information tracks with other studies that note chronic sleep deprivation as a risk factor for dementia, and provides further evidence for the importance of lifestyle interventions when it comes to preventing cognitive decline.
Sunday Selections
Deep Dives
Would you go to couples therapy — with your sibling? The case for hitting the couch with a brother or sister
A month before her death in January 2023, Lisa Marie Presley asked her daughter, actor Riley Keough, to help her finish her memoir. Amid her grief, Keough was determined to share her mother’s story — and all of the joy, passion, and complexities contained therein — with the world. Written in both women’s voices, this “profoundly moving” book spans Presley’s childhood with dad Elvis to her adult struggles with addiction and beyond.
If you’ve had the lyrics “a single mom who works too hard” on loop in your head since Reba McEntire helmed her eponymous sitcom, you’ll definitely need to tune in to the premiere of Happy’s Place — if only to find out whether its theme song is as catchy as the former’s. The country singer plays a woman who inherits her father’s tavern and discovers she has a (much younger) half-sister. Bonus: Reba’s Melissa Peterman, aka Barbra Jean, co-stars. The series airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
This Week in History
Chuck Yeager Breaks the Sound Barrier
October 14, 1947
Underwood Archives/Getty Images
On an autumn day in Southern California, U.S. Air Force Captain Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager became the first person to fly an aircraft faster than the speed of sound, or Mach 1. Built specifically for that purpose, the plane — nicknamed “Glamorous Glennis” in honor of Yeager’s wife — was air launched from the bomb bay of a Boeing B-29 and reached 700 miles per hour (Mach 1.06). Before the flight, many believed an invisible barrier would destroy any plane that reached such speeds. Yeager later said: “I realized that the mission had to end in a let-down because thereal barrier wasn’t in the skybut in our knowledge and experience of supersonic flight.” Check out footage of the pilot achieving the feat, and keep your ears peeled for that trademark sonic boom.
Sleep Blissfully in Quince’s Bamboo Sheets
Getting a good night’s snooze starts with your sheets. Quince’s organic bamboo sheets boast temperature-regulating properties to keep you comfortable all night long. You’ll sleep even better knowing that bamboo is renewable, grows quickly, and uses far less water than cotton — and it’s hypoallergenic to boot. Click below to choose from nearly a dozen colors of soft and silky sheets.
