Category: Points of interest

Pets And Essential Oils

So, you’re weary after a rough blursday at work, and you’re thinking that some essential oil aromatherapy in your living room or a dreamy diffuser-enhanced bath might be just the ticket. Before you open that little vial, though, if you have a four-legged roommate—or any other pet—first consider whether this new presence in the air could affect their health. Here’s why: While essential oils diffused through an atomizing device or even an old-fashioned wick-and-glass-jar combo are generally safe for humans, that’s not necessarily the case for pets, whose sense of smell and respiratory systems are far more sensitive than ours are.

Bonnie Darves

What Every Single Pet Owner Needs to Know About Pets and Essential Oils (msn.com)

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Calming And Cooling Exercises

3 Calming, Cooling Breathing Exercises to Try When It’s Too Hot to Function (msn.com)

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But yoga and meditation teacher Travis Eliot, cofounder of Inner Dimension TV, wants you to take a deep breath—a few deep breaths, actually. Not only can doing a few breathing exercises help calm you down mentally, but it can also help naturally decrease your body temperature so you feel cooler too. 

Stacey Leasca

Wondrous Creatures

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Red-Lipped Batfish

37 Weird And Wonderful Creatures That Actually Live On Our Planet (pulptastic.com)

Batfish are found in the waters around the Galapagos Islands, but are terrible swimmers. Instead, the fish have learned to walk the ocean floor on their fins.

https://pulptastic.com/

Make Over Your Life In 28 Days

Start fresh this year! Take a deep breath and dive into all the little ways you can feel calmer, kinder, stronger and more joyful in mere minutes a day.

Marisa Cohen, Kaitlyn Pirie
Slide 2 of 26: Pin this article for later! For more, follow Good Housekeeping on Pinterest.
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How to Completely Make Over Your Life in Just 28 Days (msn.com)

Women Should Do These Things Their Selves At Least Once

Taking care of the car, the yard and the taxes were new to her. She craved a vacation, but the thought of traveling alone scared the bleep out of her.

Emma Johnson 

All of that is perfectly normal, especially in a world that promotes coupledom as the highest goal, and constant-companionship of a romantic partner / family / friends / pets / happy hour acquaintances as an inferior, but acceptable substitute.

Emma Johnson 

Meanwhile, as the economy, social norms, and gender equality progress, we collectively chose more solitar

Emma Johnson 
Slide 2 of 22: Marriage rates are at an all-time low. The percentage of 18-to-64-year-olds that are legally joined hit a record low of 48.6 percent in 2016, according to the most recent Census Bureau data. If we were all really so happy being in this elusive couple, then why are we choosing single life? And yes, people can be committed and enjoy many of the benefits of marriage without legally tying the knot, but without a formal marriage certificate, you are more likely to split than with one. In short: Because people can afford to live alone, and women now can mostly choose whether or not to marry, and can afford to live alone if we choose — that is exactly what we're doing.We increasingly choose to live alone. In fact, the percentage of Americans aged 18 and over living alone has risen over the last few decades, from 7.6 percent in 1967 to 14.3 percent in 2017. This is a sign of a strong economy — historically, tough financial times forced more people into cohabitation in various configurations — and changing social norms (e.g. women are no longer social pariahs if we don't live with a male protector).As the economy increasingly improves overall (not just employment rates and GDP,  but women's ability to be self-sufficient), Americans chose larger and larger living spaces (while home square-footage has leveled off, family size continues to decrease, so we all have more room to ourselves in our giant houses and apartments). In other words: We prefer less togetherness.
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17 life-changing things every woman should do alone at least once (msn.com)

Best Workout Apps

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The best workout apps can help you find a kind of exercise you love, gain confidence, and build progress—all while making your workouts convenient and accessible. Here are 43 workout apps to check out.

Alexa Tucker, Christa Sgobba, C.P.T., Sara Coughlin

The 43 Best Workout Apps So You Can Exercise Anywhere (msn.com)

Healthy Snacking Swaps

Slide 1 of 41: Snacks can be a delicious and healthy option to keep you fueled and satisfied during the day, but they can also be quite sneaky sources of added sugar and artificial ingredients. These smart swaps help to amp up the fiber, protein and nutritional value of your favorite bites and minimize any unnecessary sweeteners or junk to help avoid that dreaded sugar crash. While you're at it, check out our favorite recipes for healthy sandwiches, our favorite healthy snacks for work and our guide to 50+ other amazing healthy snacks to enjoy.
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Snacks can be a delicious and healthy option to keep you fueled and satisfied during the day, but they can also be quite sneaky sources of added sugar and artificial ingredients. 

Stefani Sassos, MS, RDN, CSO, CDN, NASM-CPT, Good Housekeeping Institute

20 Healthy Snacking Swaps to Make Next Time You’re Hungry (msn.com)

Children And Mindfulness

f you have kiddos that don’t sleep through the night, it might be time to give meditation a try. New research published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that elementary school children who practiced mindfulness twice a week over the course of two years slept an average of 74 extra minutes per night. 

Erin Bunch 
a person standing in front of a mirror posing for the camera: Stocksy-mindfulness-for-kids
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Mindfulness Might Help Children Sleep Better—How Do You Get Them To Try It? (msn.com)