Trying to stay off social media? There's a word for that: Appstinence. More specifically, Appstinence is a movement founded by Harvard grad student Gabriela Nguyen built around the idea that social media is optional — not a requirement for socializing as a member of Gen Z or Alpha. It promotes a simple, alliterative five-step method for detaching from the apps: decrease, deactivate, delete, downgrade, and depart. Dive more into what each step entails.
Must Reads
David Beckham and Elaine Paige were among those regally recognized in King Charles III's birthday honors list: See who else was granted royal distinction
Cuddling With Your Sweetheart Before Sleeping May Decrease Relational Stress, Study Says
gorodenkoff/ iStock
If you share a bed with your sweetie, consider incorporating this step into your nighttime routine if you aren't already: a snuggle sesh before sprawling out in starfish position or firing up the CPAP machine. A study found that couples who cuddled prior to drifting off experienced less stress and more feelings of security in the relationship. The research was conducted by psychologist Josh Novak and cognitive development researcher Kaleigh Miller from Alabama's Auburn University. They analyzed data from 143 heterosexual couples who had been together for an average of 13 years, and accounted for factors like sleep disorder diagnoses and whether kids or pets also slept in the bed. In general, individual sleep position preferences didn't match up with the positions couples took when cuddling. But regardless of preferred sleep positions, the subjects who were most physically close to each other at sleep onset reported feeling lower levels of stress, which was indirectly linked to lower levels of relational insecure attachment. Noting that while further research is needed, the study authors concluded that "physical closeness at sleep onset may be a promising and amenable avenue for improving relational and physiological well-being." Learn more about their findings (and check out this list for cuddling inspo).
Together With Timeline
A Scientific Breakthrough in Human Aging
The first signs of aging happen where you can't see them — inside your cells. Beginning in your 30s, the mitochondria, responsible for 90% of your body's energy, take on damage with time, and your cells slowly lose the ability to repair it. This decline wears down your energy and physical strength, leaving you feeling weak and fatigued. Luckily, Swiss scientists have revealed a way to restore this process and support healthy aging. Mitopure®, a clinically proven longevity supplement, replaces aging mitochondria and helps to rebuild new ones, giving you your energy back. The results? Studies found participants saw energy and muscle strength increase without any changes to exercise. Take aging into your own hands and take 30% off Mitopure, while supplies last.
Could This Cute Aquatic Species Help Humans Regenerate Limbs?
Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University
The smiling creature above isn't just Pixar-level cute — it belongs to a species with the power to regrow limbs that have been lost or amputated. And now scientists think the skillful salamanders, called axolotls, may hold the secret to helping humans to do the same one day. In a study published last week, researchers gene-edited the amphibians to be able to glow in the dark, allowing them to better visualize how axolotls' regenerative cells work. They found that retinoic acid, a derivative of vitamin A and an ingredient in the acne medication Accutane, is key to the animals' limb regeneration process. The molecule instructs cells where to regenerate and what type of tissues to form. "This is really a question that has been fascinating developmental and regenerative biologists forever: How does the regenerating tissue know and make the blueprint of exactly what's missing?" Catherine McCusker, a developmental biologist who was not involved in the new research, told Popular Science. It just so happens that humans also produce retinoic acid — so the question now is how to harness it like a salamander: "I really think that we'll be able to figure out how to regenerate human limbs," McCusker added. "I think it's a matter of time."
Environment
Scotland's First "Champagne" Started Out on an Old Potato Field
Katielee Arrowsmith / SWNS
A married couple who created Scotland's first "champagne" from grapes grown on an old potato field finally took a sip of the bubbly beverage to toast their granddaughter's first birthday — and they said it has a "light and fruity taste." Back in 2016, Lorna and Trevor Jackson were left with a spare acre-and-a-half piece of land on their farm in the Scottish Borders. The region had seen a series of unseasonably warm summers, so the pair decided to plant 1,000 vines on the land, hoping the hot weather would give the vines a chance to grow. It did: They bottled their first crop of "Borders Bubbly" last year, but hadn't popped it open until the special event. "My husband and I were really surprised. We jumped up and down," Lorna, 64, shared with SWNS, adding: "We were just trying to make a product that didn't taste like vinegar — so we're very pleased that we've got a nice product that we think is very drinkable." She noted that the wine was "really bubby" and will "only get better" as it matures.
In Other News
"Try not to smile": Bruce the bat retrieval dog fetched his Major League debut Saturday — watch him in action (read more)
Pope Leo XIV delivered a recorded message of hope in his hometownto around 30,000 at Chicago's Rate Field (read more)
Texas allotted $50 million toward drug research that may help veterans treat addiction and PTSD (read more)
An aviation startup plans to build a factory in North Carolina that would create more than 14,500 local jobs (read more)
This quirky species was thought extinct, but scientists used tech and Indigenous knowledge to track it down (read more)
Nice News Today
Ready to have more Nice News in your life? Nice News Today, the podcast companion to the newsletter you know and love, is just one week away from officially launching. Host Case Kenny will be in your ears on Mondays and Fridays, recapping the week's top positive news stories in around 10 minutes. The first episode drops June 23, but you can check out the trailer and follow us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify in the meantime. We can't wait for you to hear it!
Just months after Chappell Roan called for better support for small artists in her Grammy speech, change is already happening. Spotify announced a new initiative called "Heart & Soul: Mental Health for Creators" to provide free resources to small artists. "It's clear that the mental health challenges artists face are real, and that the current support systems often fall short. It's on all of us in the industry to respond with action," said Spotify's head of artist and label partnerships, Monica Herrera Damashek.
Photo of the Day
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
You might recognize Noah Wyle for playing a doctor on TV — in ER and, more recently, The Pitt. But last week, the actor swapped his scrubs for a suit to advocate on Capitol Hill for real-life frontline doctors and nurses, like his own mother, who was a nurse for more than four decades. "To anyone who's ever benefited from the knowledge, care, and courage of a health care professional, now's the time to show up for them and take action," he wrote in an opinion piece for USA Today. "They've had our backs. It's time we have theirs."
Keep Muscles Strong as You Age
Maintaining muscle strength is key to healthy aging, but over time, our muscle integrity naturally decreases. Mitopure® is a powerful healthy aging solution shown in clinical studies to significantly increase muscle strength and endurance, starting in as little as two months. Even better? Studies show participants saw significant increases without any change in exercise. Start your journey to stronger muscles today with 30% off.
"The Welcoming Hands" by Louise Bourgeois (1996) How can I help? I try to ask this of everyone I love or meet or who appears to be in need. This, to me, is what it means to be human: to see the face of God in the next person we see. To lend a hand. To take a hand. The inclination of many is to see themselves as alone, isolated, shackled to a bitter past or complicated present. Allowing others to know they are seen, that their struggle is something we notice, are sensitive to, and are concerned about, changes everything. Louise Bourgeois's sculpture leaves who is providing and who is seeking help ambiguous. Her point is that it doesn't matter. Helping others helps ourselves. And there is no higher act than to be of service. Interested in adding a little more art to your day and learning how to live artfully? Sign up for the About Art newsletter.
Written by Heidi Zuckerman
Heidi is the CEO and director of the Orange County Museum of Art and author of Why Art Matters: The Bearable Lightness of Being.
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