When most people get sick with COVID-19 today, they think of it as a brief illness, similar to a cold. However, for a large number of people, the illness doesn't end there. The World Health Organization (WHO) calls this condition long COVID, which is when a person's symptoms continue for at least three months after they first get sick. While much research has focused on the specific symptoms like fatigue and brain fog, a new study from the Australian Journal of Primary Health looks at how these symptoms affect people's daily lives.

The study found that long COVID is far more than just a minor annoyance; it can seriously limit a person's ability to do normal daily tasks and participate in their community. The participants reported severe difficulties that could be compared to conditions like stroke, rheumatoid arthritis and Parkinson’s disease. So, it is not just more fatigue, but a serious health complication

How Does Long COVID Affect Your Quality Of Life?

The study involved 121 adults in Australia who were dealing with long COVID. Most were between 36 and 50 years old and didn't need to be hospitalized for their initial illness. But months or even years later, they were still struggling with activities that were once easy for them. To get a full picture of the impact, the participants answered two well-known health surveys that measure disability and quality of life. The results were quite powerful.

Does Long COVID Cause Disability?

People with long COVID reported a level of disability that was worse than 98% of the general Australian population. An overwhelming 86% of them met the standards for having a serious disability. On average, they had trouble with daily activities for about 27 days a month and were unable to function for about 18 days. While simple tasks like eating or getting dressed were less affected, more complex activities like doing housework and spending time with friends were severely impacted.

Long COVID and Quality of Life

The condition also had a major negative effect on their overall quality of life, which was 23% lower than the general population's. Their energy levels and social lives were the most affected, showing how fatigue and brain fog can strain relationships and a person's connection to their community.

Should Long COVID Be Taken More Seriously?

The results of this study are similar to what has been found in other countries, showing that long COVID often leads to high levels of disability. The research also highlights how important it is to listen to patients. Since there isn't a single test to diagnose long COVID, a person's own description of their health and recovery was found to be a strong and reliable way to measure their disability and quality of life. This proves that what patients say is not just a "story" but a valid health indicator that captures details medical tests can't.

The study points to an urgent need for better support. A 2023 government inquiry estimated that hundreds of thousands of Australians are living with long COVID. Ignoring this problem could worsen social inequality, as communities that are already struggling are often hit the hardest.

To move forward, we need to create comprehensive support services that go beyond basic medical care. This includes rehabilitation programs to help people manage their fatigue and workplaces that are flexible with hours and job duties. By listening to and respecting the experiences of people with long COVID, the healthcare system can help them regain not only their health but also their dignity and ability to fully participate in life.

In life we are always chasing the next adventure or new things, looking for ways we can make our lives easier. However, in this constant state of change, our bodies also struggle.

Sometimes, the secret to a better life isn't a complex new plan or a dramatic change. It's found in the simple, "boring" habits you do every day. Experts believe that by focusing on a few consistent, easy-to-do routines, you can make a huge difference in your long-term health and well-being. These are the small actions that, over time, build a foundation for a healthier, more successful life.

A heart surgeon named Dr. Jeremy London believes that success comes from doing simple, consistent things every day. He calls these "boring habits" because they aren't exciting, but they add up over time to make a big difference in your health and life.

Boring Habits That Can Change Your Health

In a YouTube video, Dr London said that although these habits may be slow and seem boring, they are the reason why he was able to accomplish so much.

Get Up Early

Dr. London says that waking up early is a game-changer. Even though he wasn't a morning person, he started getting up at 4 a.m. This quiet time is perfect for focusing on your most difficult task of the day. Finishing something hard early on gives you a feeling of freedom and success for the rest of the day.

Move Your Body Daily

Moving is like medicine for your body. You don't need to be a serious athlete; even a daily walk is helpful. Regular movement keeps your body healthy, improves your mood, and helps prevent disease.

Get Sunlight

Exposure to sunlight helps your body's internal clock, which improves your sleep. It also helps your body make vitamin D, strengthens your bones, and can even help with your mood. Try to get outside and into the sun every day, even for a short time.

Lift Weights

As we get older, we naturally lose muscle. Lifting weights or doing bodyweight exercises is the best way to fight this. Being strong as you age helps you stay active and healthy. It also helps your body control blood sugar and reduces inflammation.

Cook Your Own Food

Cooking at home most of the time gives you control over what you eat. You can choose high-quality ingredients and avoid extra sugar, bad oils, and preservatives that are often in restaurant food. Eating whole, healthy foods is key to keeping your body at its best.

Don't Drink Alcohol

Dr. London says that quitting alcohol was one of his best decisions. He realized that drinking was hurting his body, even as he tried to be healthy in other ways. Being sober provides clarity and allows you to experience life's good and bad moments without a filter.

Make Time for Loved Ones

According to Dr. London, this is the most important habit of all. Spending time with family and friends is essential for your happiness and well-being. He says that people on their deathbeds don't wish they had worked more; they wish they had spent more time with the people they love. Making an effort to maintain these relationships is what truly makes life meaningful.

Step into any café, co-working space, or even a college dorm, and you’ll notice something striking. Gen Z doesn’t just live online—they work, study, socialize, and unwind with screens as their constant companions. A laptop perched on the knees, a smartphone clutched in one hand, or a controller gripped for marathon gaming sessions has become the new normal. This lifestyle is flexible, creative, and undeniably digital—but it comes at a physical cost many don’t realize until pain sets in.

Unlike earlier generations that largely associated posture-related health problems with decades of office desk jobs, Gen Z is experiencing orthopedic injuries in their teens and twenties. Shoulder pain from gaming, hip stiffness from laptop use, and joint strain from copying viral fitness challenges are no longer rare occurrences. What looks like harmless daily habits are silently reshaping bones and muscles, creating conditions once seen only in athletes or middle-aged professionals. And the trend is global. From the U.S. to India, orthopedic clinics are seeing an alarming rise in these “new-age injuries” that reflect the culture of always-on devices.

Digital life has blurred the lines between leisure, work, and study—and with it, the body has become the biggest casualty. Constant gaming, lounging with laptops, poor nutrition, and unstructured workouts all create strain patterns that weren’t common two decades ago. To understand this shift better, we spoke with Dr. Amyn Rajani, a Mumbai-based orthopedic surgeon specializing in arthroscopy, joint replacement, and sports injuries, who has witnessed firsthand how lifestyle is reshaping the bones and joints of Gen Z.

What Is A 'Gaming Shoulder'?

When asked what exactly a “gaming shoulder” is, Dr. Rajani explained how the profile of patients has dramatically shifted. “Twenty years ago, when we saw shoulder injuries in young patients, they were usually from sports, falls, or accidents. Today, I am treating youngsters with labral injuries and SLAP tears, conditions which were earlier seen mostly in athletes,” he said.

Hours of holding arms forward with small, repetitive movements during gaming. Unlike a quick workout or a short sports match, gaming sessions can last for hours without breaks. This constant strain puts unnatural stress on the shoulder joint. Over time, cartilage and the labrum—the cushioning structures of the joint—wear down, leading to chronic pain, reduced mobility, and, in severe cases, lasting joint damage.

“What people don’t realize is that while gaming looks like a harmless hobby, it is, in fact, creating professional-level injuries in casual gamers,” Dr. Rajani emphasized.

How Does 'Laptop Hip' Develop?

Another condition increasingly showing up in younger patients is what Dr. Rajani calls “Laptop Hip.” The term didn’t exist in orthopedic vocabulary two decades ago, yet it’s now a frequent diagnosis.

Gen Z’s tendency to use laptops on laps while sitting cross-legged on beds, sofas, or the floor leads to unnatural postures. “This twists the hips and back, tightening some muscles like the hip flexors and weakening others, like the stabilizing muscles in the core,” Dr. Rajani explained.

Over time, this results in hip pain, stiffness in the lower back, and even early postural deformities. Unlike earlier office workers who sat at desks in more standardized postures, Gen Z grew up studying, streaming, and working sprawled across soft furniture. These micro-postural imbalances accumulate, leaving long-term effects on hip joints and spinal alignment.

What Daily Habits Make Gen Z More Prone To Difficult Bone Conditions than Older Generations?

Orthopedic issues don’t stem from posture alone. Lifestyle choices are equally to blame. “Joint health is not just about posture, it is also affected by lifestyle,” said Dr. Rajani.

Gen Z spends long hours indoors, reducing exposure to natural sunlight and, by extension, vitamin D—a nutrient crucial for bone strength. Diets low in calcium and high in processed foods further weaken the skeletal foundation. Add prolonged sitting and reduced outdoor activity, and the result is a generation entering adulthood with fragile bones.

“A teenager leading an inactive lifestyle today may have the bone strength of someone ten years older. This not only makes them vulnerable to fractures and injuries but also slows recovery when these occur,” he warned.

How “Insta workouts” Can Cause More Harm?

In addition to sedentary habits, there’s also the other extreme—social media-driven fitness culture. Platforms like Instagram are full of influencers demonstrating high-intensity workouts, advanced yoga poses, and complex weight-lifting routines.

“Social media glamorizes high-intensity workouts,” Dr. Rajani said. “What we don’t see is the years of conditioning behind those moves. Many youngsters try to copy these advanced routines without preparation or supervision, leading to ligament tears, disc herniations, and shoulder dislocations.”

The pressure to keep up with trends means many approach fitness recklessly, treating workouts as viral challenges rather than long-term training. Injuries from these unprepared attempts can take months to heal, often discouraging young people from pursuing structured exercise later.

Alarming Drop in Age for Bone-Related Injuries

Traditionally, orthopedic surgeons dealt with joint-related injuries in athletes or older adults. But that pattern is changing rapidly.

Dr. Rajani recalled, “The youngest joint injury I ever treated was a 13-year-old boy who had torn his knee cartilage while playing football. With proper treatment, he recovered fully. Young joints have a strong capacity to heal if treatment starts early. However, prevention is always better than repair.”

The concern, he explained, is that while young bodies heal faster, repeated injuries at a young age set the stage for chronic orthopedic conditions later in life. Without awareness and preventive action, Gen Z could face mobility issues much earlier than previous generations.

How Can You Prevent Bone-Related Injuries?

The good news is that many of these conditions are preventable. Awareness is the first step. Experts recommend:

• Taking frequent breaks during gaming or laptop use.
• Using ergonomically designed setups instead of sitting on the bed or floor.
• Prioritizing outdoor activity for natural vitamin D and bone strength.
• Building fitness gradually under guidance rather than chasing online trends.

Simple lifestyle shifts can help Gen Z avoid what is increasingly being described as “the orthopedic epidemic of the digital age.”

The story of “gaming shoulder” and “laptop hip” is bigger than just two quirky medical terms—it’s about a generational shift in how daily habits shape long-term health. Gen Z, raised in a screen-saturated environment, faces challenges that weren’t on the radar for previous generations. The combination of digital leisure, remote study, and lifestyle shortcuts is pushing their bodies into patterns that orthopedic surgeons are only now beginning to name and understand.

The question isn’t whether gaming, laptops, or Instagram workouts are inherently bad—it’s how they are used, and whether balance and awareness can be brought back into daily life. As Dr. Rajani summed up, prevention is always better than repair. Gen Z may be the first generation to face these new-age injuries, but with smarter habits, they don’t have to carry them into adulthood.

For many of us, beauty is in the details: a glossy jet-black hair, a lighter, even-toned complexion. But those bottles promising instant glow or hair transformation may be doing more harm than good. They could be straining your kidneys. Expert warns that chemical-based products like synthetic hair dyes and skin whitening creams are not as harmless as they seem.

Hair Dyes: Not Just Colour, But Chemicals Too

Covering grey hair or experimenting with a new shade is often just routine. But most synthetic dyes are cocktails of chemicals like paraphenylenediamine (PPD), ammonia, resorcinol, and lead acetate. According to Dr Deepa Usulumarty, Consultant Nephrologist and Kidney Transplant Physician, these chemicals can seep through the scalp or even be inhaled during application, eventually making their way to your kidneys, the body’s natural detox machines.

Kidneys have the unenviable job of filtering toxins and maintaining fluid balance. When chemical exposure is frequent, Dr Usulumarty explains, “the nephrons—the kidneys’ functional units—can get damaged over time, raising the risk of chronic kidney disease or, in severe cases, kidney failure.”

PPD, for instance, is notorious for allergic and toxic reactions. Ammonia and resorcinol can irritate your skin and lungs. And lead acetate, being a heavy metal, does not just leave quietly; it can settle in your tissues, slowly adding to organ damage. So, while a box of hair dye might look affordable and harmless, the hidden cost may be paid in kidney health.

Safer Ways to Switch Shades

If dyeing your hair feels non-negotiable, there are still ways to play it safe. Dr Usulumarty recommends skipping dyes with PPD or ammonia and instead opting for herbal or plant-based alternatives. Gloves are a must; always wear them to reduce skin contact. And do not forget your water bottle: “Staying hydrated helps the kidneys flush out toxins more effectively,” she adds.

Regular kidney function tests are also wise if you colour your hair often. Pair that with a kidney-friendly lifestyle, like low in salt and processed foods, high in fruits and vegetables, and you will give your organs the best chance to keep up with your beauty routine.

Skin Whitening Creams Do Equal Harm

Many of these creams, especially unregulated ones bought online or from local markets, contain mercury, hydroquinone, or steroids. “Mercury is particularly dangerous because it accumulates in the kidneys, leading to nephrotoxicity,” says Dr Usulumarty. Over time, this can reduce kidney function and cause long-term damage.

The scary part is that symptoms of mercury poisoning are not always obvious. Fatigue, swelling, or changes in urination may creep in gradually, often dismissed until the damage is significant. The risk multiplies if creams are applied frequently or across large body areas.

Choosing Safer Skincare

Not all fairness or lightening creams are equal. Dr Usulumarty advises steering clear of products that do not list ingredients or come from dubious sources. Always look for creams approved by health authorities, and better still, consult a dermatologist before experimenting. Safe alternatives exist; you just need to be choosy.

Protecting Your Kidneys

Your kidneys rarely complain until it is too late, which is why prevention is key. Here is Dr Usulumarty’s quick checklist to keep them happy while you still indulge in beauty rituals:

• Avoid products with PPD, ammonia, mercury, or steroids
• Stay hydrated and stick to a balanced, low-salt diet
• Get regular kidney function tests if you frequently use chemical cosmetics
• Check labels, buy only from trusted sources, and consult healthcare professionals when in doubt

Looking good is fun, but not at the expense of organ damage. As Dr Usulumarty reminds us, “Kidney disease often progresses silently. Being mindful of what you apply to your body is just as important as what you put into it.”