On May 15, 2025, Japan's Sakurajima volcano erupted and sent a massive ash plume which soared 3,000 metres above the crater. This information has been confirmed by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA).

Ever since, the JMA has maintained a Level 3 volcanic alert, which warns people to stay away from the volcano. Ash fall is also expected in surrounding areas, including in areas Kagoshima, Kumamoto, and Miyazaki.

While it is a natural disaster, however, this also impacts one's health. Let us look at how can volcanic eruption can impact one's health.

Volcanic Eruptions' Impact On Health

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), volcanoes are geographical formations where lava, small rocks, and steam are released onto the surface of the earth.

When a volcano erupts, it can release harmful particles, including volcanic gases and ash, into the air. These volcanic gases may have an adverse impact on your health, including:

• Carbon Dioxide (CO2)
• Sulfur Dioxide (So2)
• Hydrogen Chloride (HCL)
• Hydrogen Sulfide (H2s)
• Radon (Rn)
• Hydrogen Fluoride (HF)
• Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4)

How Each Toxic Gas Impacts Health

Carbon Dioxide

As per the USDA Food and Safety Inspection Service, CO2 is colorless, odorless, non-flammable gas that naturally occurs in the atmosphere. As the CDC mentions, it is also released when a volcanic eruption takes place. CO2 is considered to be minimally toxic by inhalation. The primary health effects caused by CO2 are the result of its behavior as a simple asphyxiant.

A simple asphyxiant is a gas which reduces or displaces the normal oxygen in breathing air.

Symptoms of mild CO2 exposure may include headache and drowsiness. At higher levels, rapid breathing, confusion, increased cardiac output, elevated blood pressure, and increased arrhythmias may occur. Breathing oxygen-depleted air caused by extreme CO2 concentrations can lead to death by suffocation.

Sulfur Dioxide

As per the National Park Service, Sulfur dioxide is a colorless, reactive air pollutant with a strong odor. This gas can be a threat to human, animal and plant health.

It can irritate the skin and mucous membranes of the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs. High concentrations of SO2 can also cause inflammation and irritation of the respiratory system. This can then lead to pain when taking deep breaths, coughing, throat irritation and breathing difficulties. This gas can further affect lung function, worsen asthma attacks, and exacerbate existing heart diseases.

Hydrogen Chloride

As per the CDC, hydrogen chloride is a colorless to slightly yellow gas with a pungent odor. On exposure to air, the gas forms dense white vapors due to condensation with atmospheric moisture.

Upon inhalation, the odor could irritate and affect the lungs. While it cannot be absorbed through the skin, its direct contact could irritate the skin and cause chemical burns. The ingestion could also lead to corrosive injury to the lips, mouth, throat, esophagus, and stomach.

Hydrogen Sulfide

As per the US Department of Labor, hydrogen sulfide causes a wide range of health effects, especially if you breathe it and are exposed to it for a longer duration. Its exposure to very high concentrations could also lead to death.

It is a highly flammable, explosive gas, and can cause a life-threatening situation when not handled properly. Its exposure to skin can cause "blue skin" or frostbite.

Radon

As per the US Environmental Protection Agency, radon could lead to lung cancer. It is also the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers.

Hydrogen Fluoride

As per the CDC, it is also a colorless gas or liquid that could cause severe damage to the body. The effects could also depend on how long one is exposed to the gas. If it is breathed in, it can irritate the eyes and respiratory tract. Breathing in a large amount could cause death from irregular heartbeat or from fluid buildup in the lungs. It can also cause rash and deep, slow-healing burns.

Sulfuric Acid

As per the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water run by the Australian Government, sulfuric acid is the world's largest volume industrial chemical. It is corrosive in nature and can severely burn the skin and eyes. It can also cause third-degree burns and blindness on contact. It can also irritate the eyes, nose, throat, and lungs.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a condition where the force of blood against artery walls is consistently too high. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it's often called the “silent killer” because it typically has no warning signs but can lead to serious heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure over time. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines it as a major global health issue, with over 1.28 billion adults aged 30–79 estimated to have hypertension, most of them unaware of their condition.

Hypertension & the Young: A Growing Concern

While traditionally seen as an older person’s problem, hypertension is now being diagnosed in younger individuals—often silently progressing due to unmanaged mental health issues. According to Ms. Aanchal Choudhary Ahuja, Clinical Psychologist (RCI Recognised), Lissun, one of the major drivers behind this shift is the unique emotional and digital stress young adults face today.

“Social media is tricky,” says Ms. Ahuja. “On one hand, it connects us. On the other, it constantly bombards us with things to compare ourselves to—perfect bodies, perfect lives, perfect careers. That kind of pressure builds quietly.”

The Link Between Hypertension and Mental Health

Hypertension and depression are closely interconnected. Biologically, chronic stress and depression activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which raises cortisol levels—a stress hormone that, when elevated for long periods, can cause high blood pressure. Psychologically, depression can lead to a lack of self-care, poor diet, and disrupted sleep—all of which are risk factors for hypertension.

“I’ve seen patients come in with symptoms of anxiety and low mood, only to find out they’re also dealing with elevated blood pressure,” Ms. Ahuja explains. “It becomes a vicious cycle, where one condition fuels the other.”

Social Media and the Stress Spiral

Constant scrolling, especially late at night, leads to poor sleep and a sense of falling behind. “You open LinkedIn and suddenly feel like you're not doing enough,” says Ms. Ahuja. “It’s a subtle, constant comparison we don’t even realize we’re making.” Over time, this quiet stress impacts both mental health and cardiovascular health.

One of her clients, a 24-year-old tech employee, came in for therapy due to insomnia and anxiety. She was later found to have early-stage hypertension. “Her daily stress included back-to-back meetings, no breaks, and social media-induced sleep deprivation,” Ahuja recalls.

Signs You Shouldn't Ignore

In young adults, the early symptoms of co-existing hypertension and mental health strain can be subtle. These may include:

• Persistent fatigue
• Difficulty concentrating or brain fog
• Headaches or chest tightness
• Mood swings or emotional numbness
• Loss of interest in hobbies and relationships

“These are the body’s early warning signs,” Ms. Ahuja stresses. “Often, they’re easy to dismiss, but they’re the mind and heart asking for help.”

Long-Term Effects of Digital Overload

Poor sleep, endless comparison, and doom-scrolling quietly alter your baseline stress levels. “These habits, over months or years, change your body. You may feel 'used to it,' but your heart isn’t,” says Ahuja. Chronic stress can eventually lead to hypertension, digestive issues, weakened immunity, and emotional burnout.

Preventive Steps: From Screen Breaks to Therapy

According to Ms. Ahuja, prevention starts with awareness. “Mental health check-ins should be routine, just like blood tests. Even if nothing feels ‘wrong’, it helps catch the buildup of stress early.” She also advocates for regular digital detoxes. “Our brains weren’t designed for constant content. Taking breaks—even just keeping your phone away during meals—can reduce cortisol levels and help reset your nervous system.”

Her Advice to the Overwhelmed

“Don’t wait until it gets bad,” she says. “Waiting for a breakdown to act is like waiting for your car engine to explode before checking the oil.” Her practical suggestions:

• Limit screen time, especially before bed
• Build boundaries between work and rest
• Talk to someone—friend, mentor, or therapist
• Don’t dismiss your feelings just because they don’t seem ‘serious enough’

The search for ways to extend one’s biological life in one way or the other has become a popular notion. While we may not have found how to extend one’s biological years, increasing the average age of survival is a goal many people and countries are trying to achieve. Many studies have pointed out things that increase the biological age of our organs, making them older than our chronological age, however, what are the things that can influence our biological age positively?

A new study suggests that what women choose to eat when they are middle-aged really matters for how healthy they will be when they get older. Specifically, eating more foods with lots of fiber and good types of carbohydrates during midlife seems to make women much more likely to be both mentally sharp and physically fit in their later years, which is great news for long-term well-being.

Diet's Influence on Later Life Quality

While we already know a lot about how our diet can impact how long we live and whether we get serious diseases, this recent research takes a closer look at how our food choices impact the overall quality of life we experience as we grow older. The study wanted to understand how the foods we eat influence our overall quality of life as we age – things like being able to think clearly, move easily, and feel good mentally, not just avoiding illness. This gives us a more complete picture of how food shapes our aging process.

Researchers at Tufts University looked at information from a very large group of 47,512 women who were part of the long-running Nurses’ Health Study. This study has been going on for many years and is highly respected for its work in figuring out what causes long-term diseases in women. The researchers analyzed the women's eating habits over several decades, paying close attention to what they were eating during their middle ages.

What You Eat In Your Midlife Can Affect You Long Term

The researchers specifically concentrated on the dietary information gathered in 1984 and 1986, a period when the women in the study were in their middle age. This focused on the types of carbohydrates the women were eating. They found that the best kinds were whole grains (like brown rice and whole-wheat bread), whole fruits and vegetables, and legumes (like lentils and beans). These are considered high-quality because they have lots of fiber and starches that take longer for our bodies to break down, which is better for our blood sugar and helps us feel full. Low-quality carbs were things like white bread and sugary drinks.

What Is Healthy Aging Other Than Eating Healthy?

The researchers had a specific way of defining what "healthy aging" looked like. For the women in the study, it meant living to at least 70 years old without having any of 11 major long-term diseases, plus having good memory and physical abilities, and also being in good mental health. This definition shows that healthy aging is about more than just not being sick; it's also about being able to enjoy life and function well in both mind and body as we get older.

The results of the study were quite interesting. They found that women who regularly ate more of those high-quality carbohydrates during their middle years had a significantly higher chance – about 31% higher – of aging in a healthy way. On the flip side, women whose diets were heavy in low-quality carbohydrates had a lower chance of healthy aging. This really highlights how the choices we make about carbohydrates in our middle age can have a big impact on our health and well-being in our later years.

At this stage of technological advancement, most people carry their smartphones around with them all the time. Many of us use it for our daily needs like phone calls, placing orders and keeping track of our activity levels. However, what you may not have known, is that this daily activity tracking could be the key to proper recovery if you ever run into an accident.

A new study has found that the information your smartphone collects about your daily movement can tell doctors a lot about how quickly and well you'll get back on your feet after breaking a leg or a hip. It's like your phone holds clues to your body's natural ability to heal and get moving again, even before the injury happens. This could be a really helpful tool for doctors and patients.

Pre-Injury Mobility Could Be Key To Recovery Success

The study's findings, published in the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, researchers discovered that the data from smartphones, like how many steps a person took each day, how fast they walked, how long their steps were, and their walking style (gait), all give a clear picture of how well they are likely to recover after their bone break. It turns out that your body's usual way of moving before the injury is a strong indicator of how your recovery will go and how well you'll regain your physical abilities later on.

How It Revolutionizes Orthopedic Care with Personalized Insights

Researchers believe that using smartphone data in this way has the potential to really change how doctors provide care for broken bones. It can help doctors give patients a better idea of what to expect during recovery, spot any problems earlier, and create recovery plans that are specifically tailored to each person based on their own movement history. This means a more personalized and effective healing process.

How Did The Study Find This?

To do this study, the researchers asked 107 adults who had already had surgery for a broken hip or leg at least six months earlier to share the data collected by their Apple iPhones. This information included things like their daily step count, their usual walking speed, how long their steps were, and the way they typically walked. By looking at this past movement data, the researchers could see patterns related to their recovery.

The study's results clearly showed that there's a strong link between a person's activity levels before they broke their leg or hip and how active they were during their recovery. For example, people who regularly took more steps each day before their injury also tended to take more steps as they were healing and getting back to their normal routines. This shows how important baseline fitness is for your body in general as well as in case of recovery.

Doctors Can Now Use Phone Data for Treatment

The study concluded that one’s doctors and physicians could use this information about how people moved before their injury, gathered from their smartphones, to create much more precise plans for surgery, give better advice about recovery, and set more realistic goals for physical therapy. This way, the treatment and recovery process can be designed specifically for each individual, potentially leading to better and faster healing and a return to normal activities.