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.

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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

Does this sound familiar? While rushing to answer an urgent call of nature, you plop down on a public toilet seat without looking at it first and yuck! Someone else has sprinkled the seat with pee and now you&rsquo;ve sat in it. What&rsquo;s the worst that could happen?

&ldquo;You&rsquo;ll get wet,&rdquo; says&nbsp;Robin Miller, MD, a member of the Sharecare advisory board and co-author ofThe Smart Woman&rsquo;s Guide to Midlife and Beyond. &ldquo;And you&rsquo;ll be grossed out.&rdquo;

In fact, it makes more sense to talk about what won&rsquo;t happen if you perch on a pee-splattered toilet seat. Here are some things you might worry about, but don&rsquo;t need to:

<ul>
	<li>Bacteria.&nbsp;&ldquo;Urine is sterile,&rdquo; says Dr. Miller. &ldquo;Even if someone has a bladder infection, the bacteria aren&rsquo;t going to survive outside of the body.&rdquo; So, for example, you aren&rsquo;t at risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases like chlamydia if you sit in pee. You have to have sex with someone who&rsquo;s infected with the bacteria that causes it.</li>
	<li>Viruses.&nbsp;Bugs such as the herpes virus and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/hpv/what-is-human-papillomavirus">HPV, the human papillomavirus</a>&nbsp;that causes cervical and other cancers, &ldquo;can&rsquo;t survive outside the body,&rdquo; says Miller. As with bacterial infections, the only way to become infected with one of these viruses is through intimate contact with an infected sexual partner.</li>
	<li>Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).&nbsp;The&nbsp;risk of contracting HIV&nbsp;from a toilet seat is nil. &ldquo;HIV only can be transmitted via blood or during sex,&rdquo; says Miller. &ldquo;And even if you happen to sit on menstrual blood left behind on a toilet seat, you aren&rsquo;t at increased risk of infection.&rdquo;</li>
	<li>Crabs (pubic lice).&nbsp;&ldquo;You can&rsquo;t get crabs from a toilet seat,&rdquo; Miller says. According to the&nbsp;Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),&nbsp;the primary way these microscopic parasites are likely to hop on board your body is if you have close sexual contact with someone whose pubic or genital area is already infested. That&rsquo;s because of the nature of the beast: crabs don&rsquo;t have feet that would allow them to move or grab onto a smooth surface like a toilet seat, nor can they survive long outside of a warm human body.</li>
</ul>

As for dealing with your damp thighs, Miller says to just dry them off with clean toilet paper. If you aren&rsquo;t rushing and spot pee before you sit, you can&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/first-aid-safety-preparedness/article/toilet-seat-covers-do-they-work">use a toilet seat cover</a>&nbsp;to avoid getting wet.

Where germs lurk 
This isn&rsquo;t to say public bathrooms are totally devoid of health hazards. &ldquo;These include the knobs on the sinks, the door to the restroom and the floor,&rdquo; Miller says. &ldquo;Never put your purse on the floor in a public bathroom.&rdquo;

It goes without saying that you should wash your hands with soap. &ldquo;Do this before putting on make-up, if you plan to do that,&rdquo; she says. Avoid touching your mouth while in the loo. And, if you have a choice, &ldquo;use a paper towel rather than a hot air blower to dry your hands. They blow bacteria all over the place.&rdquo;

Miller notes that with the trend for gender-neutral bathrooms, it&rsquo;s especially important to&nbsp;wash hands the right way. In one study, a team of researchers at Michigan State University observed the bathroom behavior of approximately 3,700 people in restaurants, bars and other public places. They found that half of the men who washed their hands didn&rsquo;t use soap (reducing the amount of bacteria removed) and 15 percent didn&rsquo;t wash at all. Women were more diligent in scrubbing up: about 78 percent used soap, and only 7 percent skipped the sink. Bottom line: Make sure you wash your hands&mdash;very thoroughly!

Follow the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/group/worst-case-scenario">Worst Case Scenario</a>&nbsp;series for answers to more health questions!

Worst Case Scenario: I Sat on Pee!

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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

You&rsquo;re grumpy&mdash;and wonder why. So you enter the word in a symptom checker online and find out you may have 1 of 82 disorders or diseases, ranging from a middle ear infection or menopause (and you&rsquo;re a guy!) to dementia and a subarachnoid hemorrhage between your brain and the tissue that covers it.

Try again. You also have achy joints. Ah, that leads you to a list of 101 causes of joint pain. Maybe it&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/ulcerative-colitis/article/ulcerative-colitis-may-raise-skin-cancer-risk">ulcerative colitis</a>-related&mdash;who knew it could make your joints hurt? Or from infectious mono?

But you cannot find any condition that shows up on both lists. So maybe you have two different illnesses at the same time!

That can be an information-seeker&rsquo;s nightmare. Yet hundreds of millions of times a year people turn to online and app-based symptom checkers to help figure out what&rsquo;s ailing them, if they should call the doctor or if it&rsquo;s time for a visit to the ER pronto! You might as well ask a crystal ball if LeBron is happy in LA. It&rsquo;s anybody&rsquo;s guess.

That&rsquo;s the conclusion (not the one about LeBron) of a new study published in The Lancet that examines both the promise and reality of symptom checkers. The researchers looked at a wide range of studies on diagnostic direct-to-consumer (DTC) digital tools and concluded: &ldquo;Overall, the current evidence base on DTC, interactive diagnostic apps is . . . uneven in the information provided and inconclusive with respect to safety and effectiveness . . .&rdquo; Buyer beware, for sure.

This reinforces findings from earlier studies: While misdiagnosis by human doctors happens about 5 percent of the time&mdash;affecting about 12 million US adults annually&mdash;according to a 2014 study in BMJ Quality &amp; Safety, misdiagnosis by digital symptom checkers happens, on average, about 50 percent of the time!

In another study published in BMJ in 2015, researchers tested 23 symptom checkers by having them evaluate symptoms derived from 45 clinical vignettes that are used to teach and test medical students. Overall, the symptom checker listed the correct diagnosis first in only 34 percent of cases and put it in the top three diagnoses 51 percent of the time. And another study published that year in Diagnosis concluded, &ldquo;research suggests that they [medical apps and online tools] should be used with great caution . . . The lack of verifiable information provided about the evidence or expertise used to develop these apps is of major concern.&rdquo;

How to be a smart digital health info consumer 
You&rsquo;re not going to stop checking out online health info&mdash;and shouldn&rsquo;t. It&rsquo;s only human to go to what&rsquo;s right at your fingertips (literally). But all symptom-checker digital health sources are not created equal.

<ol>
	<li>The best one (we are biased) was developed for the Department of Defense and is available on the Sharecare app <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>. (It&rsquo;s a free download.) It has the best questionnaire(s) and data and is most likely to offer correct diagnoses. Plus, it will send you to a nearby doc (or telemedicine connection), if you want one.</li>
	<li><a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/online-health-care/article/how-telemedicine-work-you">Telemedicine</a> can provide personalized medical advice reliably: Dr. Mike&rsquo;s Cleveland Clinic offers Cleveland Clinic Express Care Online at <a href="https://my.clevelandclinic.org/online-services/express-care-online" target="_blank">my.clevelandclinic.org/online-services/express-care-online</a> and Dr. Oz&rsquo;s New York Presbyterian Hospital offers NYP On-Demand at <a href="https://www.nyp.org/ondemand" target="_blank">www.nyp.org/ondemand</a>. Chances are your local medical intuitions have similar services.</li>
	<li>Don&rsquo;t let online results make you think you can determine your own treatment. You know the expression &ldquo;a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client?&rdquo; Well, a patient who has him- or herself for a doctor is foolish too! Get your online info; then call/tele-call your physician for a consult or an appointment.</li>
	<li>As for online health info: We hope you&rsquo;ll use it to help you stay healthy so you don&rsquo;t need a symptom checker. <a href="https://www.doctoroz.com/" target="_blank">DoctorOz.com</a> is a highly trustworthy zone where you can get the support, encouragement and advice you need to be your healthiest self.</li>
</ol>

Medically reviewed in January 2020.

Your Guide to Digital Health Resources

There&rsquo;s no denying it: using preventive health care services is key to improving overall wellbeing and extending life expectancy, as well as keeping health care costs to a minimum. These services may include vital tests for blood pressure, blood sugar levels and cholesterol levels; screenings for diseases such as colon cancer and depression; and immunizations like flu and pneumonia shots. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Americans are meeting with their physicians for these clinical services at approximately half the recommended rate.

The stages of preventative care 
Darria Long Gillespie, MD MBA, FACEP, is Sharecare&rsquo;s Senior Vice President of Clinical Strategy and author of the upcoming book Mom Hacks, and explains that there are three stages of preventive care. &ldquo;Stage one, or primary prevention, is about preventing you from getting a condition in the first place,&rdquo; she says.

These strategies include receiving scheduled vaccines and being informed about the powerful impacts of healthy habits. &ldquo;We are learning that 70 to 80 percent of all chronic conditions that we develop are due to our lifestyle choices,&rdquo; continues Dr. Darria. &ldquo;But if you flip one of those lifestyle choices, you cut your risk by 50 percent.&rdquo; Actions that fall under this category include:

<ul>
	<li>Quitting smoking</li>
	<li>Losing weight</li>
	<li>Improving nutrition</li>
	<li>Getting adequate physical activity</li>
	<li>Implementing stress management techniques</li>
	<li>Practicing safer sex</li>
	<li>Limiting alcohol use</li>
	<li>Taking proper safety precautions (such as wearing bike helmets and seatbelts)</li>
</ul>

Stage two, also known as secondary prevention, involves diagnosing a condition early on, and treating that condition to stop it from progressing. &ldquo;Being diagnosed at this stage impacts both survival and the disease discomfort of the treatment,&rdquo; says Long Gillespie. &quot;For example, someone diagnosed with early breast cancer has a five-year survival rate of 90 percent, but five-year survival rates for cancers that are diagnosed at more advanced stages are significantly lower.&quot;

The third, or tertiary, stage occurs when you&#39;re diagnosed with a condition, and your doctor&#39;s priority becomes helping you avoid its complications. &ldquo;Let&rsquo;s take diabetes,&quot; she says. &quot;Primary prevention is to prevent you from getting diabetes, secondary prevention is being diagnosed early on and starting treatment&mdash;and tertiary prevention is about treating diabetes so you don&rsquo;t get the downstream effects, like kidney disease, blindness and heart disease.&rdquo;

Dr. Darria adds that understanding the importance of these three categories explains why making an appointment with your doctor only when symptoms appear is the wrong approach. &ldquo;You&rsquo;ve missed primary and secondary prevention and you&rsquo;re already into tertiary&mdash;which means you&rsquo;re already on your way to developing complications,&rdquo; she stresses.

Other vital reasons for preventive services 
Keep in mind that not all health conditions come with symptoms. &ldquo;Hypertension is a silent killer because it&rsquo;s silent until it causes something that can kill you, such as a heart attack or a stroke,&rdquo; says Dr. Darria. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m an emergency room doctor and I have seen patients come in and they have blood pressure of 185 over 115, for instance&mdash;and they had no idea because they&rsquo;ve been living this way for so long.&rdquo; In fact, she says the rates of death caused by heart disease have dropped by almost two-thirds over the last 40 years, in part due to preventive care.

Taking full advantage of preventive services also helps establish a good rapport with your doctor. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just like auto insurance&mdash;if you wait until you have an accident, it&rsquo;s going to be pretty hard to find insurance,&rdquo; explains Long Gillespie. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the same thing with a physician. Whether it&rsquo;s time for a screening or you need to be treated for pneumonia, the best way to that is to have a physician with whom you have maintained a regular relationship.&rdquo;

As a general guideline, she suggests that adults without chronic conditions visit their primary care physician annually for a check-up, though your doctor can offer a more specific evaluation based on your age, risk factors and overall health. Too many people tend to take better care of their car or their pet than they do their own body, says Long Gillespie. &ldquo;So, if you&rsquo;re giving your pet their flea and heartworm medicine but not having your blood pressure checked, then you need to get in to see your doctor.&rdquo;

Medically reviewed in June 2018.

Why Preventive Care Matters

Overall well-being among U.S. adults has declined substantially this year. The Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index score so far in 2017 is 61.5, down 0.6 points from 62.1 in 2016 and on par with the lower level recorded in 2014. This decline is both statistically significant and meaningfully large.

These data are drawn from more than 135,000 interviews with U.S. adults across all 50 states from Jan. 2-Sept. 30, 2017, and more than 176,000 interviews each year in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

The <a href="http://www.well-beingindex.com/about" target="_blank">Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index</a> is calculated on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest possible well-being and 100 represents the highest possible well-being. The Well-Being Index consists of metrics drawn from each of the five essential elements of well-being:

<ul>
	<li>Purpose: liking what you do each day and being motivated to achieve your goals</li>
	<li>Social: having supportive relationships and love in your life</li>
	<li>Financial: managing your economic life to reduce stress and increase security</li>
	<li>Community: liking where you live, feeling safe and having pride in your community</li>
	<li>Physical: having good health and enough energy to get things done daily</li>
</ul>

Democrats&#39; Well-Being Drops Sharply; Republicans&#39; Unchanged 
Democrats have suffered a significant decline in overall well-being so far in 2017 compared with 2016. The 0.9-point drop in Democrats&#39; Well-Being Index score is at least triple the decline seen among Republicans and independents. Independents had a statistically significant decline of 0.3 points, while Republicans&#39; well-being is statistically unchanged. The decline among Democrats comes after a notable improvement in 2016, and their well-being is now below 2014 levels.

Women, Blacks, Hispanics, Low-Income See Large Drops 
The overall decline in well-being is concentrated among demographic groups that tend to align with the Democratic Party. Women have had a substantial 1.1-point drop in their Well-Being Index score, while the score for men is unchanged. Across the four major racial and ethnic groups, well-being has dropped the most among blacks and Hispanics, although it has also come down to a lesser degree among whites and Asians. Americans living in lower-income households saw a significant drop in well-being, while their higher-income counterparts saw a smaller decrease, no change or a slight increase.

Emotional Health, Social and Purpose Well-Being All Worsen 
The overall decline in well-being in 2017 is driven by dips in emotional health, social well-being and purpose well-being.

In terms of emotional health, the percentage of adults who report experiencing significant worry on any given day is up, as is the percentage who report having little interest or pleasure in doing things at least some of the time.

Social well-being shows similar declines. Fewer Americans agree that their friends and family provide them with positive energy every day and that someone in their life always encourages them to be healthy, while more disagree with the statement.

Purpose well-being indicators have also receded. Fewer agree and more disagree that there is a leader in their life who makes them enthusiastic about the future and that they like what they do each day.

All of these metrics were highly stable from 2014 through 2016, and in each case the negative movement so far in 2017 is highly statistically significant.

The remaining three elements, financial, physical and community well-being, have had much smaller changes thus far in 2017. Community well-being is unchanged, while financial and physical well-being are both down slightly.

Implications 
After rising in 2016, the Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index score has reversed course this year. This drop comes even as key economic metrics closely related to well-being have improved, including <a href="http://news.gallup.com/poll/189068/bls-unemployment-seasonally-adjusted.aspx.aspx" target="_blank">unemployment</a>, perceptions of <a href="http://news.gallup.com/poll/218981/americans-ratings-standard-living-best-decade.aspx?g_source=&amp;g_medium=&amp;g_campaign=tiles" target="_blank">standard of living</a>,&nbsp;<a href="http://news.gallup.com/poll/125735/economic-confidence-index.aspx" target="_blank">confidence in the economy</a> and <a href="http://news.gallup.com/poll/221060/americans-best-holiday-shopping-mood-years.aspx" target="_blank">optimism about spending</a>.

Other signs of worsening well-being in the U.S. include an <a href="http://news.gallup.com/topic/category_wellbeing.aspx" target="_blank">uptick in the uninsured rate</a> for three quarters in a row and reports of elevated <a href="http://news.gallup.com/poll/204590/daily-worry-sharply-presidential-election.aspx?g_source=&amp;g_medium=&amp;g_campaign=tiles" target="_blank">daily worry</a>, particularly among <a href="http://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/215657/hispanics-emotional-during-trump-era.aspx" target="_blank">Spanish-speaking Hispanics.</a>

This drop in well-being is important for leaders to monitor and address because research shows the Well-Being Index predicts <a href="http://info.healthways.com/hubfs/Science_and_Research/Well-being-5_Science_Paper.pdf" target="_blank">key health, business and social outcomes</a>.

Read more about the decline in social well-being this past year on the new website, <a href="https://quartzy.qz.com/1121777" target="_blank">Quartzy</a>.

Survey Methods 
Results are based on 135,426 telephone interviews with U.S. adults across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, conducted from Jan. 2-Sept. 30, 2017. In 2016, 2015, and 2014, a total of 177,192, 177,281 and 176,702 interviews, respectively, were conducted from Jan. 2-Dec. 30 of each year. Gallup conducts 500 telephone interviews daily, resulting in a sample that projects to an estimated 95% of all U.S. adults.

The Well-Being Index margin of sampling error for the reported groups will range from about &plusmn;0.2 points for the U.S. and for whites to about &plusmn;0.3 points for blacks and Hispanics to about &plusmn;0.6 points for Asians. The margin of error for demographic groups will be no larger than &plusmn;0.3 points. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects due to weighting.

Each daily sample of national adults for data collected between Jan. 2, 2014 and Sept. 1, 2015, comprised 50% cellphone respondents and 50% landline respondents. Each daily sample from Sept. 1, 2015-Dec. 30, 2016, comprised 60% cellphone respondents and 40% landline respondents. Daily samples in 2017 comprise 70% cellphone respondents and 30% landline respondents. Additional minimum quotas by time zone and within region are included in the sampling approach.

Learn more about how the <a href="http://www.gallup.com/209189/gallup-sharecare-index-work.aspx" target="_blank">Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index</a> works.

This content originally appeared on <a href="http://news.gallup.com/poll/221588/americans-declines-2017.aspx" target="_blank">Gallup.com</a>.

News: Americans' Well-Being Declines in 2017

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;

Life and Family