Life insurance is an important way to provide protection for your family. However, it&#39;s often misunderstood, and misconceptions are plentiful&mdash;including that it&#39;s expensive and difficult to purchase. But once you have a basic understanding of what life insurance is, how it works and the two main types of life insurance, you&rsquo;ll be on your way to providing protection and financial security for your family.

What is life insurance? 
<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/video/health-topics-a-z/financial-health/how-do-i-know-which-type-of-life-insurance-is-right-for-me">Life insurance</a> is a contract between you and an insurance company where you make a monthly or annual payment&mdash;the premium&mdash;and the insurance company pays a specified amount of money&mdash;the death benefit&mdash;to your beneficiaries when you pass away.

If you have people who depend on your income, like underage children, a spouse or elderly parents, then life insurance is imperative. You should also consider life insurance if someone would incur additional costs if you pass away (like childcare for example). The money obtained from a policy can help your family pay their regular monthly bills, your children&rsquo;s future college tuition or for your funeral expenses and outstanding medical bills. In some cases, people decide to purchase a policy when a major life event takes place&mdash;like getting married, buying a home, starting a business or having a baby&mdash;but life insurance can be purchased at any time.

In fact, the sooner you buy life insurance, the lower your monthly or annual payments will likely be. Other factors that determine the cost of life insurance are your health status, medical history and driving record. Smoking status is also a large determinant of your payments, with non-smokers generally receiving significantly better rates.

While historically, purchasing life insurance required medical exams and blood testing, this is often no longer the case. In fact, for relatively healthy individuals, many insurance companies offer a benefit of up to $1 million without a medical exam or blood test. For larger policies or for people with extensive medical histories, a medical exam can still be required.

Two basic types of life insurance 
The <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/financial-planning-health-care/what-different-types-life-insurance">two main types of policies</a> are term life insurance and permanent life insurance.

Term life insurance offers a cash payout if you pass away during a specific period of time (for example, 10, 20 or 30 years); you pay via a fixed monthly or annual premium during the term of the policy. Term insurance is a viable option for covering specific costs such as a mortgage or college education. Often times, insurance companies will allow you to convert your term policy into a permanent policy for a specified period of time after purchase.

Permanent life insurance offers lifetime protection with a cash payout at the time of death, regardless of when that is. It often includes a cash account value that you may be able to access while you are alive, which has the ability to grow, similar to money in other investments (mutual funds, or bonds). Your monthly payments may be fixed or they may be flexible depending on the type of policy you choose. Permanent life insurance is a viable option for people looking to pass money on to their family after they pass away, or for people concerned about paying for funeral costs or medical bills at the time of their passing.

Some employers offer life insurance as a benefit to their employees. While this is generally temporary&mdash;good only while you are employed with the company&mdash;it may be wise to take advantage of this benefit, as the monthly payments may be offset by your employer. But if you have family who is dependent upon your income, additional insurance, outside of work is generally required. Life insurance can be purchased online, over the phone or from a licensed financial professional.

Medically reviewed in July 2018.

What Is Life Insurance?

We&rsquo;ve quoted Ben Franklin before, but his words are still as true as ever: &ldquo;An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.&rdquo; And taking advantage of the Affordable Care Act&rsquo;s free, preventive medicine coverage -- as an adjunct to your smart lifestyle choices of no Food Felons (they&rsquo;re trans and saturated fats, added sugar and syrups and any grain that isn&rsquo;t 100 percent whole), no tobacco, and no smoking anything, walking at least 30 extra minutes daily (heading for 10,000 steps a day), and de-stressing with mindful meditation -- can head off or reverse a lot of health problems. For example, if guys with elevated LDL cholesterol (but no symptoms) are identified and put on a lipid-lowering medication, that could prevent 25 percent of non-fatal heart attacks; and if everyone over the age of 50 had regular colon cancer screenings, more than 60 percent of deaths from that cancer could be avoided.&nbsp;

That&rsquo;s why it&rsquo;s good for your health -- and the country&rsquo;s healthcare bill -- that the ACA provides <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/health-screening-tests/what-preventive-screenings-should-get" target="_blank">preventive screenings</a>, tests and counseling for abdominal aortic aneurysm, alcohol misuse, breast cancer, elevated blood pressure and cholesterol, colorectal cancer, depression, type 2 diabetes, obesity and tobacco use, as well as sexually transmitted infections. And it pays for <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/vaccines-and-immunizations" target="_blank">vaccination</a> against hepatitis A and B, herpes zoster, human papillomavirus (HPV), flu, measles/mumps/rubella (MMR), meningitis, pneumonia, tetanus/diphtheria/pertussis (TDP) and chickenpox. (In Canada, the Task Force on Preventive Care recommends their government-provided preventive services.) So, ask your doctor about taking advantage of the ACA&rsquo;s preventive health care services and screenings: you&rsquo;ll enjoy better health and a younger RealAge.

Medically reviewed in March 2020.

Take Advantage of Your ACA Preventive Care Benefits

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The holidays are a time of festivities with family and friends, making merry and, for some, increased risk of a heart attack. In fact, a study presented at a 2013 European Society of Cardiology meeting found that death from heart disease tends to be higher during January and February. We talked with cardiologists Frank Arena, MD, of <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/group/lakeview-regional-medical-center">Lakeview Regional Medical Center</a>, Hoang Nguyen, DO, of Regional Medical Center and Taral Patel, MD, of <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/group/tristar-summit-medical-center">TriStar Summit Medical Center</a> about potential heart attack triggers during the winter season and what you can do to keep your ticker going strong.

1. Be kind to your body 
According to Dr. Patel, those at increased risk include people with diagnosed heart disease, those who have already had a heart attack, been treated with stents or had bypass surgeries, smokers and people with diabetes. But even if this doesn&rsquo;t describe you, your heart may not be as healthy as you think. &ldquo;A heart attack is not a singular event,&rdquo; says Dr. Arena. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the end result of the culmination of a series of events. You have a heart attack because you&rsquo;ve spent years and years building up plaque around the arteries.&rdquo;

Maintain good health: Healthy eating habits and regular exercise throughout the year can help keep problems at bay. If you have diabetes, be sure that it&rsquo;s under control. Smokers could give themselves the best gift of all by <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/quit-smoking">kicking the habit</a>.

2. Take a chill pill 
While the holiday season is a celebratory time of the year, it can also bring about added stress from strained family relationships and overstretched finances.

&ldquo;One thing that surprises me is how much stress and emotion play into it,&rdquo; says Patel. &ldquo;Mental and emotional stress is a huge factor that I think we downplay.&rdquo; Some may suffer from <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/circulatory-system-health/what-broken-heart-syndrome">broken heart syndrome</a>: &ldquo;A sudden stressful event can cause a person to have chest pain and a sudden heart attack,&rdquo; says Patel. Stress overload can also make it tough to get enough sleep, which can fuel overeating. &ldquo;Insomnia makes adrenaline levels go up, blood pressure goes up, we get carb cravings,&rdquo; says Arena. &ldquo;You just continue to make poor choices in the moment because you aren&rsquo;t sleeping.&rdquo;

Stress less: Take time to relax; try <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/meditation/how-meditation-help-relieve-stress">meditation to calm down</a>. Make sleep a priority. You&rsquo;ll be more clear-headed for handling family issues and <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/anxiety/money-stress">making spending decisions.</a> Get enough shut-eye to prevent spikes in <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/endocrine-system/how-does-cortisol-affect-body">the stress hormone cortisol,</a> which increases appetite.

3. Maintain your medicationsI 
If you regularly take prescription drugs to treat a chronic condition like heart disease, continue to do so during the holidays. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re very busy during the holidays,&rdquo; says Dr. Nguyen. &ldquo;People are doing things they shouldn&rsquo;t be doing and eating things they shouldn&rsquo;t be eating. They forget to take their medication; they forget to check in with their doctor. Things like that tend to lead to heart attacks.&rdquo;

Be prepared: Don&rsquo;t rely on your memory for taking your pills; separate them into pill containers labeled by day. Set reminders in your phone. If you&rsquo;re traveling, take the entire bottle of each medication with you. If your return trip is delayed, you won&rsquo;t run out. You&rsquo;ll also have a list of your medications and dosage if needed.

4. Take it easy on the alcohol 
More partying means the toasting flutes and champagne will be in full force. While celebrating in moderation is ok, going overboard is not. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re drinking a fair amount, say, more than two or three drinks or anything enough to give you a hangover, you&rsquo;re creating a lot of adrenaline,&rdquo; says Arena. This can lead to <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/arrhythmia/what-is-holiday-heart" style="line-height: 1.6em;">holiday heart syndrome,</a> or atrial fibrillation, which is characterized by a fast, irregular heartbeat. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s contributed to by the buildup of adrenaline that comes when&nbsp;people overindulge and become dehydrated, which makes their hearts start pounding,&rdquo; says Arena. &ldquo;The adrenaline is what leads to heart issues. The same triggers that cause you to go into atrial fibrillation can cause a heart attack as well.&rdquo;

Tame the tipples: Avoid drinking on an empty stomach. Don&rsquo;t have more than one drink per hour, and alternate drinks with water to stay hydrated. Skip sugary drinks; it&rsquo;s more difficult to tell how much alcohol you&rsquo;re imbibing. Stay festive by switching to seltzer water and lime or mixers&mdash;sans the alcohol. If you have heart disease risk factors, you&rsquo;ll want to take extra precautions to avoid holiday heart syndrome: Limit yourself to no more than two drinks per day, avoid overeating (it may trigger a reflex response that can cause an arrhythmia) and avoid caffeine.

5. Beware of cold-weather activities 
If you&rsquo;re tempted to join the family for a sled ride or feel compelled to shovel snow, you may want to think twice, especially if you&rsquo;re not physically active throughout the year. &ldquo;Winter activities can increase stress hormone levels and blood pressure,&rdquo; warns Patel, adding stress on the vessel wall. &ldquo;This is what causes the rupture, which causes the heart attack,&rdquo; he says. Cooler temperatures can also play a role. &ldquo;Even if you&rsquo;re not shoveling snow and it&rsquo;s not super cold, your arteries constrict a bit to keep your core warm,&rdquo; Patel says. &ldquo;That also increases blood pressure and shear stress [on the blood vessels].&rdquo;

Know your limits: If you&rsquo;re not used to lots of strenuous activity limit your time outside, dress warmly and don&rsquo;t overexert yourself.

6. Don&rsquo;t ignore the symptoms 
Maybe you&rsquo;ve just sat down for Christmas dinner or have begun exchanging gifts&mdash;and you&rsquo;re not feeling quite right. Don&rsquo;t worry about ruining the moment&mdash;it will only become worse if you&rsquo;re having a heart attack. Nguyen says&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/heart-attack/symptoms-of-a-heart-attack?myAttribute=yay" style="line-height: 1.6em;">heart attack symptoms</a> like chest pain, discomfort or shortness of breath require immediate medical attention. &ldquo;You should never ignore symptoms when it comes to the heart,&rdquo; he adds.

Medically reviewed in January 2020.

6 Ways To Prevent a Holiday Heart Attack

Got a great reason to jump out of bed in the morning? Only 37% of North Americans say they do, according to a recent Gallup Poll. But a study might motivate you to find your sense of purpose: Turns out having a mission in life can help you become healthier and live longer.

When researchers from Mount Sinai Health System in New York City reviewed the results of 10 studies involving more than 137,000 people, they found that those with &ldquo;a sense of meaning and direction, and a feeling that life is worth living&rdquo; were 19% less likely to have a heart attack or <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/stroke">stroke</a> or to need a cardiac bypass or stents to open up clogged arteries. And overall, those leading purpose-driven lives were 23% less likely to die prematurely.

Why does a sense of purpose make you healthier? 
If you&rsquo;re fired-up with a passion for living -- whether it comes from coaching Little League baseball, volunteering at the local soup kitchen, playing your tuba for community groups, or being a good parent -- you&rsquo;re more likely to keep up with health screenings, eat healthily and get exercise. Plus, you get these additional health benefits, according to the Mount Sinai study:

Less inflammation: Recent research has shown that people with a strong sense of purpose also had lower levels of <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/inflammation/what-is-inflammation">inflammatory</a> chemicals and stress hormones. The reason goes deep: Scientists at the University of California Los Angeles and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that having a sense of purpose switches on healthier genes. Blood tests of 80 people revealed that those who felt happy when doing good for others had less activity in genes that boost inflammation. Those less generous, more short-sighted and concerned with their own pleasure, had more activity in pro-inflammatory genes, as well as lower activity in antiviral and antibody genes, which help protect against viral infections. As one of the researchers noted, &ldquo;We can make ourselves happy through simple pleasures, but&hellip; at the cellular level, our bodies appear to respond better to a different kind of well-being, one based on a sense of connectedness and purpose.&quot;

Sharper mental powers: A strong sense of purpose could keep your <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/mental-fitness-nervous-system/how-can-i-exercise-brain-and-keep-sharp">brain sharper</a>, longer. Scientists from Chicago&rsquo;s Rush University Medical Center autopsied the brains of 246 older adults. They found the plaques and tangles associated with Alzheimer&rsquo;s disease in those who had lived with a sense of purpose and those who didn&rsquo;t. But when they looked back at thinking tests performed while the volunteers were living, they discovered a profound difference: People with a strong sense of purpose had a 30% lower rate of decline in thinking skills and memory.

Greater independence as you age. A sense of purpose may have a bonus for your encore years, especially if you&rsquo;ve got big plans for retirement. In the on-going Rush University study, older people with a strong sense of purpose were 30% less likely to have trouble with basic necessities like getting dressed and taking a shower, 44% less likely to have trouble with managing their money, shopping, taking care of their home and getting around town and 39% less likely to have difficulty walking distances, going up and down stairs and doing heavy housework.

So how&rsquo;s your sense of purpose? 
Do you feel driven by passion and meaning? If not, make time to explore the world, try new things, experiment, get together with friends and family to see what makes you feel like a million bucks. Spend some time thinking about what really matters to you, what you&rsquo;d like most to contribute to the world because you think it&rsquo;s important, and that you&rsquo;d love to do. It&rsquo;s one of the essential 7 Do-Over Deeds in Dr. Mike&rsquo;s book, This Is Your Do-Over. You&rsquo;ll make the world -- and your own mind and body -- a better place.&nbsp;

Find Your Sense of Purpose

When it comes to money and happiness, a lot of us think the grass is greener on the richer side. We&rsquo;d be happier in a bigger house with a heated pool and plenty of money left over to treat our kids, grandkids and friends. Wouldn&rsquo;t we?

Some happiness experts, including psychologist Ron Siegel, say we would likely readjust to our &ldquo;happiness set point&rdquo; after the novelty wears off. In this sense, money can&rsquo;t buy lasting happiness.

Other researchers say money&nbsp;can&nbsp;buy happiness&mdash;to an extent. One 2009 study asked participants to report how happy they were in relation to their household income. The study, as well as past research, found that happiness tends to increase with income up to a point ($75,000 in one study, and about $90,000 in this study), but the increase is relatively small. Money makes you a little happier up to a point, but not a lot.

Participants were asked to predict how happy they thought other people feel at different income levels. Respondents were fairly accurate in predicting that higher levels of household income are not associated with higher levels of happiness at the top end of the income distribution (e.g., at $90,000 compared with $125,000). That is, both predicted and actual happiness leveled off at $90,000+.&nbsp;But they greatly underestimated the happiness of people who made less money.

Bottom line: Money does matter, but not as much as many people think. What seems to matter more is what people do with their money. Here are two ways to spend it that really can bring more joy to your life&mdash;no matter your income.

<ol>
	<li>Be charitable.&nbsp;Research shows that those who spend their money on others are consistently happier people. This finding held true for both the rich and the poor. And it&rsquo;s not like you have to give it all away to achieve happiness; if you can see your money making a difference in other people&rsquo;s lives, it will make you happy even if the amount you gave was quite small.</li>
	<li>Pursue experiences instead of material items.&nbsp;This bit of advice has been floating around for years, but research shows that even though people know this to be true, many still believe material goods are a better use of their money. A 2014 study surveyed how participants felt before and after making a purchase. Before buying, participants said they believed that life experiences would make them happier, but that material items had more value. But after their purchases, they felt that life experiences not only made them happier, but also had higher value.</li>
</ol>

If you&rsquo;re worried that &ldquo;life experiences&rdquo; are out of your budget, don&rsquo;t stress. Life experiences can range from a hiking trip an hour away to a salsa dancing lesson nearby. As long as it&rsquo;s an experience you&rsquo;ll be able to bank in your memory, you&rsquo;ll be glad you did it.

There&#39;s a strong connection between our finances and our emotions&mdash;and too much money stress can harm your health.

Medically reviewed in June 2019.

Can Money Buy Happiness?

We found a meme of &ldquo;Honest Abe&rdquo; Lincoln online accompanied by the quote, &ldquo;Don&rsquo;t believe everything you read on the Internet.&rdquo; Well, a study confirms Abe&rsquo;s advice&mdash;and shows how often it is ignored!

Researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin and Tulane University published a study in the American Journal of Infection Control revealing the most read/most popular posts on Facebook during the initial <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/zika-virus">Zika</a> scare were the least accurate medically, even though the majority of posts about Zika during the study&rsquo;s one-week window were accurate.

The most popular post was a false one claiming that birth defects from Zika actually come from an insecticide, and that Zika was a host invented by chemical companies. It had over 19,600 shares! The most popular accurate post about Zika; a press release by the World Health Organization, was shared only 964 times! We want people to be accurately informed (you&rsquo;re entitled to your own opinion, not your own facts!), because <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/health-care-basics/article/be-an-informed-patient-and-get-healthier">health misinformation</a> can be dangerous. If you believe that Zika is a hoax, you won&rsquo;t adequately protect yourself from the mosquitoes carrying it.

Take Abe&rsquo;s advice and be a detective the next time you&rsquo;re reading health information on social media. Ask: &ldquo;Where did the person get the information?&rdquo; and be skeptical of people and web sites that don&rsquo;t identify their sources. Sources you can rely on include government health organizations (sites ending in .gov), major medical schools (sites ending in .edu), and articles from journals and research publications like JAMA and The Lancet.

Medically reviewed in February 2019.

Know the Risks of Social Media Health Advice

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60 Seconds To Better Health

If you wanted to get to the top of the Great Pyramid you&rsquo;d have to clamber over 203 huge steps to reach the 454 foot summit. The top of the Eifel Tower? Today there are 1,665 steps (a lot smaller than the pyramid&rsquo;s) and it&rsquo;s 984 feet tall. Dubai&rsquo;s Burj Khalifa, the world&rsquo;s tallest building, scrapes the sky; it&rsquo;s 2,722 feet tall with 2,909 stairs. &nbsp;Luckily, you don&rsquo;t have to take that many steps to gain the great health benefits of losing weight.

Doing a little has big rewards! &nbsp;If you&rsquo;re overweight or obese, shedding just five percent of your body weight (that&rsquo;s nine pounds for someone who&rsquo;s 180) can help reduce multiple risk factors for type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease.

Recently, researchers compared the health improvements of 40 obese men and women who lost five percent of their body weight with those who shed 10 and 15 percent. The 19 folks who shed five percent saw almost as much improvement in the function of their beta cells (that&rsquo;s where insulin is produced) and in <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/type-2-diabetes/article/lean-protein-blood-sugar-control">insulin sensitivity</a> as those who lost 10 and 15 percent. And that&rsquo;s great news for folks who think they have to go from severely overweight to thin to see health improvements.

Just aim for five percent at a time by making simple lifestyle changes: Eat 5-9 servings of fruits and veggies a day, de-stress with 10 minutes of <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/meditation/how-do-i-meditate">mindful meditation daily</a>, and start a walking routine pronto. Remember, every journey starts with one small step.

Medically reviewed in September 2018.

Little Steps, Big Rewards: Making a Workout Workable

If you have more month than money, the first step toward fixing your finances is creating a budget.&nbsp;Don&#39;t like the b-word? Then, don&rsquo;t think of it as a budget&mdash;call it a &ldquo;spending plan&rdquo; instead.

&ldquo;Plan&rdquo; is the operative word. Once you have a framework in place, each of your hard-earned dollars will have a job to do, in terms of both everyday expenses and future goals.

The 50/30/20 plan 
One of the simplest spending plans is the 50/30/20 budget, where you dedicate a certain portion of your income to particular expenses. Using this plan, here&rsquo;s how you would allot your take-home pay for maximum value:

<ul>
	<li>50 percent for must-haves. That&rsquo;s rent, food, healthcare, utilities, insurance and minimum debt service. Obligations like student loans or child support would be paid in full, whereas sometimes only minimum payments on consumer debt are possible.</li>
	<li>30 percent for &ldquo;wants.&rdquo; Things like meals out, vacations and entertainment fall into this category.</li>
	<li>20 percent for savings and debt. This includes retirement, other investments, an emergency fund and any additional debt service.</li>
</ul>

That 50/30/20 plan isn&rsquo;t set in stone. As long as you&rsquo;re taking care of business, you can build some wiggle room into your budget. For example, if you&#39;re determined to pay off your auto loan as soon as possible, you can apply some of your &ldquo;wants&rdquo; dollars toward it. Or, perhaps you&#39;re attending a wedding in six months. In that case, start beefing up the &ldquo;savings&rdquo; section. You can redirect some of those &ldquo;wants&rdquo; bucks, or try tactics like researching the best deals on utilities, grocery shopping from a list and using public transit.

Know that you should prioritize retirement planning over debt repayment, especially if there&rsquo;s an employer match. Even if you don&rsquo;t get a match, remember that every dollar you don&rsquo;t put toward retirement is a buck that can&rsquo;t help you later on. Chew on this math for a minute: Given a 5 percent yearly interest rate, if you invest $100 when you&#39;re 20 years old, it will grow to $1100 by the time you hit 70.

Ideally, you&rsquo;ll save at least 10 percent of your earnings for retirement. That might sound tough, but this is the best time to start. (Hint: Ask older co-workers if saving for retirement got any easier in their 40s.)

Tracking your money 
Spreadsheets work, and so do pen and paper. In the digital age, however, people tend to want an app for that. Plenty of budgeting apps exist; some free, some not. Search for &ldquo;best free budgeting apps&rdquo; and compare the pros and cons. Otherwise you might wind up spending over $80 per year for basic budgeting services.

And if you want help from a human being, nonprofit organizations like the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and the Financial Counseling Association of America can talk you through the business of budgeting. Services are offered for free or on a pro-rated basis.

What are your goals? 
Sure, you could budget on autopilot. But setting financial goals can help keep you aware of your progress and motivate you further. Shoot for goals that are:

<ul>
	<li>Specific: &ldquo;I want to take charge of my money&rdquo; is laudable, but vague. Have you thought about what you&rsquo;ll do with your cash once you&rsquo;re controlling it?</li>
	<li>Important: Competing in the Iron Man Triathlon is a fun goal. However, quitting your job at 27 to train for it means going into debt and also nixing the chance to add to retirement.</li>
	<li>Achievable: Paying off $50,000 worth of student loans in two years while buying a home and having your first child are all great things, but it&rsquo;s unrealistic to think you could do them simultaneously. Don&rsquo;t set yourself up for failure.</li>
</ul>

And if you&rsquo;re not ready to plan your future just yet? Try this goal on for size: &ldquo;I will succeed in the 50/30/20 budget, and then give myself room to dream about possibilities.&rdquo;

Here&rsquo;s the best news about budgeting: once you&rsquo;ve got a plan in place, it becomes second nature. And having control of your cash provides great peace of mind because you&rsquo;ll be taking care of business but still enjoying some of the fruits of your labor.

Medically reviewed in July 2018.

Why You Need a Budget—and How to Get Started

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9 Ways Winter Can Hurt Your Health

Creepy but true: Last year, a woman in London made headlines after getting herself out of debt by selling her dirty underwear on the Internet for $60,000. If only her customer base had known their desires might be satisfied at a local chain store. It turns out, far too many retail companies are restocking returned, used undergarments&mdash;which is illegal&mdash;and unsuspecting customers are buying them.

The Dr. Oz Show launched an investigation into this retail misstep (watch it at <a href="https://www.doctoroz.com/episode/retail-stores-dirty-secret-selling-used-underwear" target="_blank">DoctorOz.com</a>). They purchased 11 pairs of underwear from top chain stores and sent the items out to a lab for testing. All but one tested positive for coliform bacteria, which exist in the digestive tracts of humans and are found in their waste. The good news is most coliform bacteria don&rsquo;t cause disease, but they do come from the same source as some potentially pathogenic organisms. Half the samples also contained trace amounts of yeast. All but two samples were soiled with mold, which may indicate that the garments were kept in a damp factory or storage facility.

Fortunately, there haven&rsquo;t been any reported cases of illness caused by wearing contaminated underwear&mdash;but chances are you wouldn&rsquo;t associate <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/digestive-health/slideshow/when-worry-about-diarrhea">diarrhea or another related GI disease</a> with such a possible cause. So, let&rsquo;s just assume you should wash all garments before wearing, even those in sealed plastic packaging. For hand-wash only undergarments, add distilled vinegar to hot water and soak them before using soap. This will disinfect like bleach without ruining them.

Medically reviewed in March 2020.

Why You Should Always Wash New Undergarments

You&rsquo;re having a medical emergency&mdash;do you go to the <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/critical-care/what-is-emergency-room-er">emergency room</a> where the waiting room always seems crowded? Or head to the quieter one where you figure you&rsquo;ll be seen more quickly?

The answer may surprise you.

According to a study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, emergency rooms that treated more patients per year also seemed to have some of the best outcomes.

The study analyzed data on 17.5 million emergency department patients treated at over 3,000 hospitals around the US for overall mortality. While the authors warn against telling patients to change their ER choice based on this data, Dr. Keith Kocher, the lead author, stated, &ldquo;The bottom line is that emergency departments and hospitals perform differently. There really are differences in care, and they matter.&rdquo;

The researchers concluded that 24,000 fewer patients would die each year if all emergency patients received the kind of medical treatment provided at the busiest emergency departments. The findings also took into account factors such as patients&rsquo; health and income level, location of the hospital and technology.

So, what does this mean for you?

<ul>
	<li>When it comes to critical, time-sensitive cases&mdash;such as <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/infectious-disease/what-is-sepsis">sepsis</a>, <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/critical-care/are-there-warning-signs-respiratory">lung failure</a>&nbsp;and <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/heart-attack/what-is-acute-myocardial-infarction">heart attack</a>&mdash;hospitals that see more patients with those conditions tend to have better outcomes. This is less important for more run-of-the-mill conditions (for instance, there wasn&rsquo;t a significant difference in the treatment of <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/pneumonia/what-symptoms-of-pneumonia">pneumonia</a>).</li>
</ul>

Does it mean you should drive farther to go to a bigger ER? In a word: No. Since time is often of the essence and you may not know what your condition is, delaying care in order to reach one specific hospital can be dangerous. When it comes to a medical emergency, any ER is better than none. However, if you have the choice of two ERs that are a similar distance apart, you may want to consider the one that regularly treats more patients.

Why Busy ERs May Be Better

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will travel to space with the first crew of the New Shepard, a rocket developed by his suborbital flight company, Blue Origin. The launch, set to take place July 20, 2021, marks a new era of private commercial space travel.

To prepare for the relatively brief 11-minute flight, Bezos and crew will undergo three days of intense training. That prep is necessary because space exploration can have peculiar effects on our health. Astronauts who travel further into space, meanwhile, typically prepare for years before they&rsquo;re ready for liftoff.

Even during a short space mission, the effects on the human body can be profound. Here are seven strange things that can happen.

You may experience dangerous radiation exposure 
The Earth&#39;s atmosphere shields us from most cosmic radiation, such as the sun&rsquo;s&nbsp;ultraviolet rays. That&rsquo;s a good thing, since exposure can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, central nervous system damage, cancer and more.

The good news is that space suits protect against ultraviolet radiation. Other space radiation, however, such as galactic cosmic radiation, can penetrate several centimeters of skin&mdash;and even through space suits and spaceship shielding material. Though Bezos and crew won&rsquo;t bear the brunt experienced by deeper space astronauts, one study of Apollo mission astronauts found that cosmic radiation caused blood vessel damage. The astronauts even demonstrated a higher cardiovascular&nbsp;mortality rate.

You may lose bone and muscle 
An astronaut can lose more than 1 percent of their bone mass in a single month of space travel, thanks to decreased physical activity. This reduction begins just two or three days after liftoff. A space mission of 5 to 11 days can also cause a staggering 20 percent loss of muscle mass, according to NASA.

What&rsquo;s more, it has been reported that such muscle degeneration can actually cause the heart to shrink. Astronaut Scott Kelly&rsquo;s heart lost 27 percent of its size after he spent most of 2015 and part of 2016 on the International Space Station. (Don&rsquo;t worry&mdash;he was ultimately fine.)

These losses make exercise especially important for astronauts, since it helps them avoid atrophy of bones and muscles. In fact, they typically work out for&nbsp;a whopping 150 minutes each day, using a variety of equipment specially designed&nbsp;for environments with very little gravity.

Astronauts also eat a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D to combat their increased risk of osteoporosis, a condition characterized by decreased bone density and porous bones.

Sleeping becomes a challenge 
Due to new surroundings, long flight times, loud mechanical noise and high stress, many astronauts experience disturbed sleep,&nbsp;sleep deprivation&nbsp;and long-lasting fatigue. They&#39;re often only able to get six out of the seven to nine recommended hours of sleep each night.&nbsp;

Your behavior changes 
Flying a spacecraft may sound like fun but being confined to such a small area can leave explorers feeling&nbsp;isolated, cramped and stressed. The close quarters and potential for grievous error can hurt interpersonal relationships, too, making astronauts act irritably toward each other. This change in behavior can also carry over to Earth, which is one reason astronauts must receive psychological evaluations as part of their training.

Several studies dealing with mental health issues and space travel have suggested that interaction with space debris and other stressors puts astronauts at greater risk for developing psychiatric conditions. To deal with potential troubles, spaceships carry anti-anxiety and antipsychotic medications on board.

Vision could get worse 
It&rsquo;s believed that being in space causes pressure along the optic nerve, which can result in blurred vision and, in some cases, permanent damage to the eyes. One NASA survey of both short- and long-flight astronauts found many had problems seeing things up close and far away during flights. For some, those issues persisted once they had returned to the ground.

In a separate, small study involving crew members from a long-term flight, NASA found the backs of some astronauts&#39; eyeballs had flattened, in addition to other changes. The same thing was observed in a 2016 study of astronauts on the International Space Station. Two-thirds of the space travelers reported eye troubles, often the result of flattening.

Immune systems weaken and congestion increases 
High levels of radiation, increased stress, confined spaces and lack of gravity can increase allergy symptoms and the possibility of skin conditions, such as rashes. Some experts even theorize that longer missions could result in a heightened risk of infections or autoimmune problems down the road.

Not only does space change your immune system, but the air pressure inside the spacecraft can cause the fluids in your body to spread out and move toward your head. This could lead to a puffy face and congestion, which should return to normal once back on Earth.

Space makes you taller 
If you feel short here on your home planet, consider taking a trip through the galaxy. Since gravity isn&rsquo;t as strong in space, it allows your spine to relax and stretch instead of being pushed down, as it would on Earth. The result is temporary growth of about 3 percent of your actual height over a year, or about 2 inches for most adults. Before you get too excited, though, keep in mind that you&#39;ll go back to your original height when you return home.&nbsp;

Readjusting to Earth&rsquo;s conditions after a trip to space isn&rsquo;t easy. Recovering from the health effects of even a short journey takes a few days&mdash;and the longer you&rsquo;re there, the longer it takes to adjust to being back home. &nbsp;

Medically reviewed in June 2021.

Sources:

BlueOrigin.com. &ldquo;Become an Astronaut.&rdquo; 2021. Accessed June 9, 2021. 
NASA.gov. &ldquo;Why Space Radiation Matters.&rdquo; October 8, 2019. Accessed June 17, 2020. 
JC Chancellor, GBI Scott, JP Sutton. &ldquo;Space Radiation: The Number One Risk to Astronaut Health beyond Low Earth Orbit.&rdquo;&nbsp;Life (Basel, Switzerland). September 2014. 4(3): 491&ndash;510. 
M Delp, JM Charvat, et al. &ldquo;Apollo Lunar Astronauts Show Higher Cardiovascular Disease Mortality: Possible Deep Space Radiation Effects on the Vascular Endothelium.&rdquo; Science Reports. July 28, 2016. 6:29901. 
M Meerman, TCL Bracco Gartner, et al. &ldquo;Myocardial Disease and Long-Distance Space Travel: Solving the Radiation Problem.&rdquo; Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine. February 12, 2021. 8:631985. 
NASA.gov. &ldquo;Radiation: What Would You Hear in a Weather Report from Mars?&rdquo; February 3, 2011. Accessed June 9, 2021. 
NASA.gov. &ldquo;Preventing Bone Loss in Space Flight with Prophylactic use of Bisphosphonate: Health Promotion of the Elderly by Space Medicine Technologies.&rdquo; March 27, 2019. Accessed June 17, 2021. 
NASA Information. &ldquo;Muscle Atrophy.&rdquo; 2021. Accessed June 17, 2021. 
Theresa Machemer. &ldquo;How Space Travel Shrank Astronaut Scott Kelly&rsquo;s Heart.&rdquo; Smithsonian Magazine. April 1, 2021. 
JP MacNamara, KA Dias, et al. &ldquo;Cardiac Effects of Repeated Weightlessness During Extreme Duration Swimming Compared With Spaceflight.&rdquo; Circulation. 2021;143:1533&ndash;1535. 
SM Smith, T McCoy, et al. &ldquo;Space Flight Calcium: Implications for Astronaut Health, Spacecraft Operations, and Earth.&rdquo; Nutrients. December 18, 2012. 4(12): 2047-2068. 
J Iwamoto, T Takeda, Y Sato. &ldquo;Interventions to prevent bone loss in astronauts during space flight.&rdquo; Keio Journal of Medicine. 54(2):55-9. June 2005. 
Health.gov. 
NASA.gov. &ldquo;Bones in Space.&rdquo; April 10, 2009. Accessed June 10, 2021. 
The NASA History Series. &ldquo;Psychology of Space Exploration.&rdquo; 2011. 17-47. Accessed June 2021. 
TheConversation.com. &ldquo;Getting sleep in space is hard &ndash; and not exactly restful for the mind and body.&rdquo; June 22, 2016. Accessed June 17, 2021. 
Inverse.com. &ldquo;Space Psychology 101: How NASA Keeps its Astronauts Sane.&rdquo; August 6, 2016. Accessed June 17, 2021. 
PsychiatricTimes.com. &ldquo;Psychiatric Issues in Space.&rdquo; June 15, 2016. Accessed June 9, 2021. 
Phys.org. &ldquo;Astronaut vision may be impaired by spinal fluid changed: study.&rdquo; November 28, 2016. Accessed June 9, 2021. 
Mark Strauss. &ldquo;We May Finally Know Why Astronauts Get Deformed Eyeballs.&rdquo; National Geographic. November 30, 2016. 
Radiological Society of North America. &ldquo;Role of Cerebrospinal Fluid in Spaceflight-Induced Visual Impairment and Ocular Changes.&rdquo; 2016. Accessed June 11, 2021. 
Radiological Society of North America. &ldquo;Study Finds Cause of Visual Impairment in Astronauts.&rdquo; November 28, 2016. 
NASA.gov. &ldquo;When You Land, Can You Stand? One-Year Mission Video Miniseries: Functional Performance.&rdquo; April 8, 2015. Accessed June 9, 2021. 
HHS Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. &ldquo;Osteoporosis Workgroup.&rdquo; 2021. Accessed June 18, 2021.

7 Strange Things That Happen to Your Body in Space

Starting on Thanksgiving and continuing straight through New Year&#39;s Day, the holiday season is supposed to be a time of gratitude, togetherness, and joy.

For many of us, though? Not so much.

Stress from holiday parties and family gatherings, high-maintenance houseguests, and endless trips to the mall can all add up. And if you&#39;re coping with the <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/grief-emotional-health/article/how-to-handle-your-grief-during-the-holidays" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">death of a loved one</a> or other major loss&mdash;or if you find yourself alone or separated from friends and family&mdash;this time of year can be downright depressing.

But stress doesn&rsquo;t have to spoil what otherwise can be a joyful season. These simple strategies can help you manage stress, ease tension, and even beat the blues&mdash;not just at the holidays, but all year long.

Lower your expectations&nbsp; 
Putting pressure on yourself to make your holidays Instagram-ready is a surefire way to increase stress and anxiety, says Jared Gaines, MD, a psychiatrist at Fort Lauderdale Behavioral Health Center in Florida.

&ldquo;We can all fall prey to setting expectations way too high,&rdquo; adds psychiatrist Paul Schneider, DO, medical director of the psychiatry emergency center at JPS Health Network in Forth Worth, Texas.

Don&rsquo;t set yourself up for disappointment. Instead, focus on the quality of time you get to spend with others, whether that&rsquo;s in person or remotely, and enjoy the moments for what they are.

Admit when you&rsquo;re feeling overwhelmed 
This time of year, it&#39;s easy to overcommit, over-shop, and overdo&nbsp;pretty much everything.&nbsp;

&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t try to take on too much,&rdquo; Dr. Gaines cautions. Reach out to your loved ones for help, he suggests. If you&#39;re planning a holiday party, ask others to bring a dish or to help with cleanup. &quot;This can help you take some of that burden off yourself,&quot; Gaines says.

Be realistic and accept some stress 
Let&#39;s face it: The holidays will always be somewhat hectic. And that&#39;s okay, says Gaines. &ldquo;Sometimes, the stress can be worth it.&quot;

To help <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/stress-reduction/article/simple-ways-cope-stress" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">manage the stress</a>, try making to-do lists, suggests Dr. Schneider. &ldquo;It gives you a sense of accomplishment to complete a task and cross it off,&quot; he says.

Acknowledge your feelings, even the negative ones 
It&rsquo;s not just regular day-to-day stress that can get in the way of a happy holiday. Dealing with the loss of a loved one can also make this a more difficult time of year, particularly if you&rsquo;ve <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/coronavirus/article/grieve-support-others-coronavirus" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">lost friends or family to COVID-19</a>.

You may be remembering moments spent together&mdash;birthdays, graduations, or past holidays&mdash;and that can be hard, says Gaines. Instead of shutting down, he says, try talking about it.

Share your feelings and memories with someone you trust, maybe even while looking at old family photos. This can help you reflect on more positive times and cherish them.

In this way, says Gaines, &quot;the holidays can actually be a remedy for sadness.&rdquo;

4 Ways to Stress-Proof Your Holidays

Aristotle said it first and best: &ldquo;Good habits formed in youth make all the difference.&rdquo; But it&rsquo;s tough to know at 15 that your hunched posture while texting may cause you chronic neck pain when you&rsquo;re 40. Or that living on diet soda and doughnuts in college can contribute to developing heart disease. The problems associated with getting older seem so far off.

But the seeds of your future health are planted early. And you can do a great deal as a pre-teen and teen to make sure you don&rsquo;t develop premature health issues&mdash;such as type 2 diabetes (around 5,300 US kids are diagnosed a year) and hypertension (now affecting an estimated 3.5 percent of American children and teens). What accounts for these numbers? <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/childhood-obesity/article/fed-up-with-childhood-obesity-blame-sugar">Childhood obesity</a> has skyrocketed&mdash;13.7 million children and adolescents are now obese and millions more are overweight.

So kids, we&rsquo;re talking directly to you. (You can get your folks in on this too&mdash;they also need to participate in a &ldquo;whole-house-gets-healthy&rdquo; redo.) But you can reshape your future. And have fun doing it. So this one&rsquo;s for you!

Weight management 
There are three simple guidelines that will transform your health:

<ul>
	<li>No sweetened beverages. Limit 100 percent natural juices (nothing added) to four ounces a day.</li>
	<li>No fried foods.</li>
	<li>Eat a salad or a serving of veggies at every meal. Have two pieces of fruit or a handful of berries daily.</li>
</ul>

Sleep 
It matters for your grades, your health (you tend to overeat when you are sleepy) and your mood. Kids 6 to 13 need 9 to 10 hours; aim for 8 to 10 hours if you are 14 to 17 years of age; 7 to 9 hours if you are 18 to 25. If you feel you have too much to do (homework, sports practice, after school job) and school starts way too early (you&rsquo;re catching a bus at 7 a.m. or earlier), talk to your folks about petitioning for later school times. Study after study shows kids have better grades and are happier if school times are moved up. Start a movement!

Physical activity 
Unfortunately, a study last year found that at age 19 most Americans are as sedentary as a 60-year-old (who shouldn&rsquo;t be sedentary either!). Screen time is a brain killer and heart dinger, and too much social media time ups your risk for depression. Aim to get out and about, whether as part of a sports team or by taking a jog with a pal, taking a Spin class or bicycling. Your minimum goal: 60 minutes of aerobic activity a day. We say 120 minutes is a lot better. You have the energy&mdash;use it!

Smart sports choices 
Make sure you mix up your activities. If you stick with just one sport (early sport specialization) and overtrain, you risk early injury (you don&rsquo;t want a college scholarship and then have a career-ending ACL tear). You also risk emotional repercussions such as loss of enthusiasm and lack of interest in competition.

Stress management 
Between school pressures, social anxieties, conflict with parents and worry about the future, many <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/kids-teens-health/slideshow/signs-worry-childs-mental-health">teens report feeling daily stress</a>. Regular physical activity helps dispel an amped-up stress response. Talking with friends, a favorite teacher, counselor or parents and siblings can help. So can declaring digital holidays (no Facebook this week!) and trying meditation (check out the Sharecare app for <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sharecare/id964313779?mt=8" target="_blank">iOS</a> and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sharecare.realgreen&amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank">Android</a> for instructions).

You may think we&rsquo;re asking a lot of you&mdash;but we want you to have a healthy, happy future, so you can work, play, love, laugh and explore the world without having avoidable physical restrictions. Don&rsquo;t you want, one day, to climb the steps of Switzerland&rsquo;s Niesen Railway&mdash;all 11,674 of them? It&rsquo;s the longest stairway in the world and open to hikers once a year when the Niesen Run takes place along the two-mile route (with 5,475 feet in elevation change). You can dream&mdash;and make dreams real, if you just start the journey toward good health today.

Medically reviewed in March 2020.

Life and Family