Working in an office has its own set of problems. Work stress has become a common occurrence, to the point where it is considered something people must deal with if they wish to be employed. However, this amount of stress is not natural for the body and can cause adverse effects as stress has been shown to affect a person’s mental health, heart health as well as hormones.

So how does one tackle this issue, while also not sacrificing their financial well-being? Self-employment may be the answer. Many people these days are opting for it as this helps them have their own time and freedom, while also allowing them to earn a living.

Being your own boss might seem like it would add stress, but a new study suggests that self-employed women actually have healthier hearts than those who work for a company.

Why Self-Employed Women May Be Healthier

Researchers recently reported in the journal BMC Public Health that women who work for themselves showed lower rates of several factors that contribute to poor heart health. These include:

• Obesity: Carrying too much body fat.
• Physical Inactivity: Not getting enough exercise.
• Poor Diet: Not eating healthy foods.
• Sleeplessness: Not getting enough quality sleep.

These findings hint that the type of work environment someone is in could really influence their risk for heart attack and stroke.

Link Between Work and Heart Health

Researchers explained that there's a strong connection between being self-employed and having fewer heart disease risk factors, and this link seems even stronger for women than for men.

Experts emphasized that it's crucial to understand how our work environment impacts our health so we can create healthier workplaces for everyone. Previous studies have already shown ties between the kind of job someone has and their heart disease risk. For example, people in high-stress jobs with little control over their work have been linked to higher blood pressure and heart disease.

What the Study Found

For this study, researchers looked at data from nearly 20,000 working adults who participated in a large health survey between 1999 and 2018. This survey included physical exams and questions about their jobs and daily habits.

The results clearly showed that self-employment was beneficial for heart health risks in both white women and women of color:

White women who were self-employed had notably lower rates of obesity (7.4% lower), physical inactivity (7% lower), and poor sleep (9.4% lower).

Women of color saw similar benefits, with lower rates of poor diet (6.7% lower), physical inactivity (7.3% lower), and poor sleep (8.1% lower).

While it's not realistic for all women to become self-employed, the study's authors suggested that companies could learn from the positive aspects of self-employment, like increased freedom and flexibility. For example, offering flexible work schedules could give women more control over their time and potentially improve their health.

Interestingly, white men who were self-employed also saw some benefits, such as a drop in poor diet (6.5% lower) and high blood pressure (5.7% lower). However, these same benefits weren't found for self-employed men of color. This might be because men of color often face greater challenges when starting their own businesses, like higher costs to get started, less money available, and fewer mentors to guide them.

Sleep hygiene is something we should all keep up with constantly. While you may think you can skimp on sleep, your body needs it to keep functioning properly. Not only does sleep help us make sure our body runs all its functions smoothly, but it also keeps a sleep debt. Losing an hour of sleep may not seem like much, but your body requires 4 hours more to make up for that lost hour of sleep. Understanding this, many people opt for afternoon naps that span a few hours to help them recover lost energy. However, these naps are also not all safe for your health, especially for older adults.

An afternoon nap might seem like a good idea for middle-aged and older adults, but these short rests could actually come with a significant cost. New research suggests that certain napping habits might increase the risk of an early death. These findings are expected to be presented at an upcoming meeting of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).

Napping Patterns and Early Death

Researchers explained that people who slept longer during the day, had irregular napping schedules, or napped more around midday and early afternoon faced a greater risk. This was true even when other health and lifestyle factors were considered. These findings challenge the popular idea of the "power nap."

For the study, researchers looked at information from over 86,500 people taking part in the UK Biobank, a long-term health research project. The sleep habits of these individuals were tracked for a week using wrist devices, and then researchers compared these habits to death records. On average, the participants were 63 years old when their napping was monitored.

What Did The Research Find?

Over an 11-year follow-up period, nearly 5,200 people in the study passed away. The results showed a higher risk of dying sooner for:

• People who usually took longer naps during the day.
• Those whose napping times changed often.
• Individuals who napped between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

This last point goes against current AASM guidelines, which suggest that adults limit themselves to "power naps" of no more than 20 to 30 minutes in the early afternoon. Researchers noted that naps longer than half an hour can actually make you feel groggy, canceling out any potential benefits.

What Does Healthy Sleep Look Like For Different Ages

According to the Mayo Clinic, healthy sleeping patterns differ according to age. The recommendations give are,

Infants (4 to 12 months): Aim for 12 to 16 hours within a 24-hour day, including naps.

Toddlers (1 to 2 years): They need 11 to 14 hours in 24 hours, including naps.

Preschoolers (3 to 5 years): Target 10 to 13 hours within a 24-hour period, including naps.

School-aged Children (6 to 12 years): 9 to 12 hours every 24 hours is ideal.

Teenagers (13 to 18 years): 8 to 10 hours within a 24-hour period is recommended.

Adults: Most adults need 7 or more hours of sleep each night.

Other Factors Affecting Your Sleep Needs

Besides age, several other things can influence how much sleep you require,

Sleep Quality

It's vital not just how long you sleep, but how soundly. Frequent interruptions mean poor quality rest. Getting truly restful sleep is equally important as the total hours.

Previous Sleep Debt

If you haven't been getting enough sleep lately, your body needs extra rest. You'll have to make up for lost sleep to feel refreshed and function well.

Pregnancy

Hormonal shifts during pregnancy can make sleep difficult. Physical discomfort also contributes to poor sleep quality, leaving expectant mothers feeling less rested than usual.

Aging

While older adults need similar sleep amounts as younger adults, their sleep patterns change. They might sleep lighter, take longer to fall asleep, wake up more often, and have shorter sleep cycles at night.

While AIDS-related deaths have dropped to their lowest since 2004, the world is still battling against HIV. Amid all this, a United Nations statement highlights the serious global health issue that it has become. Despite the years of progress and scientific breakthroughs, the disease still claims one life every minute, and continues to the global toll of the epidemic.

More than 30 million people across the world at this moment are receiving life saving antiretroviral treatment. As per the UN Under Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, this is a testament to the power of multilateral action. Speaking at the UN General Assembly’s review of the global AIDS response, she called it a “clear example of multilateral success.”

Impact of Funding Cuts

However behind these figures, is also a fragile system that Mohammed too stressed upon. "Global commitment is fading, funding is falling, and HIV services are being disrupted." This could undo years of hard work. The Health and Me has previously reported that the United States government also abrupted halted funding for a seminal mRNA-based HIV vaccine study, just days before its scheduled start in March 2025.

Health and Me also reported on the US' plan to freeze all foreign assistance, along with the UNAIDS, which could become a global threat for HIV cases. The UNAIDS takes up less than 1% of the overall US budget and since Trump's re-election, audits for cost-cutting and executive orders, especially in the healthcare sector has changed the shape of how aid worked before.

UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima noted that HIV infections have in fact decreased in the recent years. In 2023, 1.3 million new cases were recorded, which is a 60% decline since the virus peaked in 1995. However, with this abrupt cut off in funding, it has created a situation of "panic, fear and confusion" in many of the African countries which are hit hardest by AIDS.

Urgent Need for Action

“We cannot let short-term cuts destroy long-term progress,” Mohammed urged. She called for the funding crisis to be treated with urgency and seriousness. In many low- and middle-income countries, healthcare budgets are being squeezed by the burden of debt servicing. In sub-Saharan Africa, half of the countries spend more on debt payments than on healthcare.

To counter this imbalance, Mohammed advocated for debt relief, global tax reform, and stronger international collaboration. She also emphasized the need for national governments to show stronger leadership and invest in sustainable HIV financing models.

Human Rights Are Health Rights

Beyond finances, Mohammed pointed to another major challenge: attacks on human rights. Marginalised groups—including LGBTQ+ individuals, sex workers, and people who use drugs—are often criminalised or face violence, hate speech, and stigma. Such punitive laws and attitudes only push people further away from testing, treatment, and prevention services.

“Protecting health means protecting human rights,” Mohammed stated, urging nations to remove discriminatory laws and support inclusive healthcare services. She also highlighted the role of community-led organizations, many of which are now facing defunding. These groups are often closest to at-risk populations and play a crucial role in delivering services, especially in hard-to-reach areas.

The Road Ahead

While the global community has made historic progress, the fight against AIDS is far from over. “The end of AIDS is not a mystery,” said Mohammed. “But success is not guaranteed.” She reiterated that with the right investments, policies, and leadership, eliminating AIDS by 2030 is still within reach—but only if the world “keeps up the fight.”

Having a family pet is a favorable idea considered by many. While parents of young children are worried about bacteria and germs being an issue, there are also other factors to consider. Many studies, like ‘The Power of Pets’ published in the News in Health, have shown how pets play a very important role in a child’s development. They explain how pets have been observed to lower cortisol levels as well as lower blood pressure. They also pointed out that studies have found pets to lower the feeling of loneliness, increase social support as well, and boost your mood.

A new study shows a favorable result for families who wish to have pets, especially dogs, as they not only passively help your kid’s health, but they can also have an active effect on them.

New research suggests that having a family dog might lower a baby's chances of getting eczema later in life. This study, published on June 4th in the journal Allergy, indicates that being around dogs could actually change how a child's genes react to eczema, by calming down skin inflammation.

How Does Eczema Affect Kids?

Researchers explained that while we know genes play a role in eczema risk and that dogs might be protective, this is the first study to show how this happens at a very basic level. Eczema happens when something irritates the skin, causing it to become dry, itchy, and inflamed. We know some people are born more likely to get eczema, but exactly how their genes and their surroundings work together to either increase or decrease this risk hasn't been clear.

How Was The Research Conducted?

The researchers conducted a comprehensive analysis of data from 16 previously conducted studies. Their goal was to identify interactions between 24 specific genetic variants already known to be linked to eczema and a list of 18 environmental factors that could potentially influence a baby's susceptibility to the condition later in life.

which included over 25,000 people, narrowed down the environmental factors to seven key ones: antibiotic use, owning a cat, owning a dog, breastfeeding, having an older sibling, smoking, and hygiene.

Dogs, Genes, and Inflammation

The team then applied these findings to data from another 254,000 people to see which genes and environmental factors had the biggest impact on eczema risk. This second look found that a baby's exposure to dogs affects the interleukin-7 gene. This gene is involved in making a type of immune protein that helps control inflammation. Lab tests showed that being around dogs interacts with a gene variation that might otherwise cause eczema, essentially reducing skin inflammation by changing how interleukin-7 proteins work in human skin cells.

The experts explained that their research aims to answer common questions parents ask, like "Why does my child have eczema?" and "What can I do to protect my baby?" While these findings are exciting, the researchers also stressed that more studies are needed to confirm what they found in the lab and to better understand exactly how dogs might affect human genes in this way. Researchers believes these findings give us a chance to tackle the rise of allergic diseases and protect future generations.