Take a dark shower, try the portfolio diet and ease back pain with seated salsa — and 6 more health tips to help you have a great week

Hello Yahoo readers! My name is Rachel Grumman Bender and I’m here to bring you the best wellness tips the internet has to offer this week.

Sniffing, sneezing, coughing; The cold season has officially arrived. Adults usually catch two to three colds As every year and every parent will tell you, kids tend to bring home more and more. While there’s no cure for the common cold (caused by more than 200 pesky viruses), there are steps you can take beyond staying calm and staying hydrated to make yourself a little more comfortable. Taking a decongestant to clear a blocked nose may help, but Experts warn to use with caution: Always follow directions and avoid doubling up on products containing decongestants. A good drug-free alternative? Try using a neti potIt is filled with sterile saline solution, which is poured into one nostril and drained out the other to help clear mucus. Studies show nasal saline irrigation really helps shorten the duration of colds and reduces the risk of transmitting the virus to others.

If you’re feeling good and heading out, check in with yourself. local forecast. And while you’re at it, check horoscope more. Later “something small“Let’s do some research to improve your health this week.

🪑 Ease your back pain with sitting salsa

Many of us spend hours glued to a desk chair or couch, and our backs often pay the price. Getting up and moving every couple of hours helps, but when that’s not an option, try sit-down salsa (and no, it doesn’t involve chips and dip, it still sounds delicious). Here’s how to do it accordingly BBC: Sit upright with your feet on the floor. Bring your legs together so that your thighs are parallel and try to keep your shoulders stable. Next, slide your right knee forward while pulling your left knee back, and then switch so your left knee moves forward and your right knee moves back. This will cause your pelvis to tilt forward to one side, as if you were dancing salsa on your couch. The exercise creates a rocking motion in your pelvis similar to walking, and researchers say doing a seated salsa every 30 minutes helps relieve back pain.

💦 Take a dark shower

Having trouble calming down at bedtime? Try taking a dark shower. The calming nightly ritual goes a step beyond dimming the lights and avoiding screens an hour before bed (which is a smart sleep strategy). Yahoo Content Creator as Alesandra Dubin writesThe wellness trend includes taking a 15- to 20-minute warm shower with low or no light (though given the slippery environment, it’s probably safer to keep at least a dim light on). “Showering in the dark reduces visual stimulation, which can help calm the nervous system,” says psychologist Stefanie Mazer. Really Simple. “Some people find that it makes it easier for thoughts to wander and can calm the nervous system after a long or tense day.”

🍓 Try the portfolio diet

The heart-healthy Mediterranean diet is a firm favorite with doctors, but the portfolio diet may also be worth investing in. Dr. D., professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto, who developed the diet. David Jenkins says the fiber-rich meal plan’s name was inspired by finance because it spreads your “risks and benefits” by eating (and avoiding) a variety of foods and aims to “maximize” nutritional returns. New York Times. Conclusion? It helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and lowers harmful LDL cholesterol levels. The portfolio diet involves eating lots of viscous fiber (which binds with cholesterol, reducing its absorption, Jenkins explains), found in plant foods like oats, barley, okra, eggplant, chia seeds, apples and berries, as well as fiber supplements like psyllium. She also emphasizes getting protein from plant-based sources like nuts, seeds, chickpeas, lentils and tofu instead of animal products like red and processed meat, eggs and high-fat dairy products. As with the Mediterranean diet, healthy fats like avocado and olive oil round out the meal plan.

🥦 Heat your vegetables in the microwave

With the exception of popcorn, microwaved foods often get a bad rap. But experts say that shouldn’t be the case, at least when it comes to vegetables. “The short cooking time and lower temperatures used in the microwave can help preserve water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin C and B vitamins that may be lost through other cooking methods such as boiling or frying,” dietitian Wan Na Chun tells EatingWell. The key, experts say, is to steam vegetables in a microwave-safe bowl with a lid (glass or ceramic rather than plastic) and use small amounts of water to preserve vitamins and minerals.

✈️ Disinfect your tray table on your flight

The busiest travel season of the year is upon us, and while you may be worried about flight cancellations and whether you forgot to pack your toothbrush, emergency medicine physician Dr. Anita Patel tells HuffPost there’s one pre-flight habit you shouldn’t skip: grabbing one of the antibacterial wipes the flight attendants hand out and disinfecting your tray table as soon as you sit down. Patel explains this during planes To do If you’re cleaning up between flights, there’s often not enough time to clean all of those germy tray tables, which he says can harbor bacteria and viruses, especially gastrointestinal bugs, that can live on these surfaces for surprisingly long periods of time. The other thing he needs to do before flying? applying sunscreen. While in the friendly skies, many people don’t realize how powerful ultraviolet (UV) rays are, Patel says. “Sunlight, which is really beautiful when it’s in the sky, is also more harmful than when it’s on the ground,” says Patel.

🩺 Fight FOFO

If you’ve been putting off a doctor’s appointment or health screening, such as a colonoscopy or mammogram, you may have FOFO, or fear of learning. This is also a common problem: A 2025 survey It found that three in five out of 2,000 Americans avoid important health screenings, and anxiety is often to blame. “This may be related to fear of receiving bad news or feeling pressured to make difficult lifestyle choices,” Lynn Bufka, psychologist and chief of practice at the American Psychological Association, tells Time. Bufka says this is a form of denial; in other words, “If I don’t get the test, this thing doesn’t exist.” To help overcome FOFO, Bufka suggests asking yourself these questions: What could happen if you put it off? Is it worth the risk to continue avoiding it? A year from now, will you be relieved you did it or will you regret not doing it?

🧠 Learn the early warning signs of dementia

more than that seven million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease, and by 2050, that number will increase to 13 million. While memory loss and confusion are well-known symptoms of the disease, experts say there are some early warning signs people should look out for. D., a neurologist and chief of the Movement Disorders Program at Delray Medical Center. “Language difficulties, including difficulty finding words, forming incorrect sentences, or difficulty expressing oneself, can occur long before memory loss,” Arif Dalvi tells HuffPost. Another warning sign: having trouble finding your way or relying on GPS to navigate a familiar route, like the local grocery store. Experts recommend paying attention to how often these symptoms occur and consulting a healthcare professional.

🫶 Volunteer to stay young

Volunteering not only feels good, but research shows it’s also good for your health, especially your brain. A recent study of 30,000 adults found that those who regularly volunteered with an organization or informally helped friends, relatives or neighbors were up to 20% less likely to experience age-related cognitive decline, Women’s Health reports. The sweet spot is two to four hours of helping per week, but any amount is good when it comes to helping others; whether it’s taking a relative to a doctor’s appointment, bringing in your neighbor’s trash cans, or volunteering at a soup kitchen with a friend. Doing personal kindness increases social connection (and combats loneliness), which helps boost brain health. “The key message is that meaningful interaction with others is not only good for society but also good for your brain,” says Sae Hwang Han, lead study author and associate professor in the department of human development and family sciences at the University of Texas at Austin.