Weekly Health Horoscope For December 15-21, 2024: Spend Time Relaxing With Deep Breathing Exercises

Updated Dec 16, 2024 | 03:40 PM IST

SummaryThis week's wellness horoscope provides personalized tips for each zodiac sign, offering guidance on maintaining mental, physical, and emotional health. Focus on balanced nutrition, mindful practices, exercise routines, and self-care rituals to support overall well-being and vitality.
Weekly Health Horoscope

Weekly Health Horoscope

Aries

Aries people are advised to adopt a regular weekly health regimen. Yoga or stretching first thing in the morning helps set a good tone and strengthen resistance against stress. Because of a higher workload, midweek may cause mental tiredness; hence, keeping balance depends mostly on giving relaxation and enough water top priority. To increase general wellbeing and raise energy levels, your diet should consist in lots of fruits and vegetables. Tension might be released by spending quiet times in nature or by engaging in a creative pastime. If you follow these ideas, by the weekend you could find a difference in mental clarity as well as physical energy.

Taurus

Taurus people have the opportunity to realign with their health goals this week. Starting a new exercise program—such as team sports or gym membership—will revitalize your body and mind. Improving digestion and preventing pain will depend on cutting back fried and processed foods. After engaging in mindfulness activities or a relaxing meditation session, you could experience a sudden mental clarity. Set aside some time toward the end of the week for a spa day or leisurely nature walk to decompress and revitalize. Your strength and concentration will be much enhanced by simple but controlled routines.

Gemini

For Gemini people who want to include holistic health techniques into their way of life, this week is perfect. Yoga and Ayurveda could become transforming friends in enhancing mental and physical health. Midweek could bring some tiredness; hence, give mild exercise top priority and make sure your meals include raw fruits, leafy greens, and hydrating foods to replenish your energy. Steer clear of overworking and missing meals since these could throw off your normal rhythm. The weekend presents a great chance for you to get back in touch with friends and relatives, therefore improving your mental state and attitude. Focusing moderation and balance can help you to feel rejuvenated.

Cancer

Cancer natives should concentrate on creating a regular wellness schedule. To increase endurance and strength, think about looking at outdoor activities or a fitness class. If you follow a rigorous schedule early in the week, you might find improvements in chronic medical conditions. Short meditation breaks during the day or deep breathing techniques help one to properly control stress. Steer clear of decadent meals and give clean eating first priority if you want to stay active. A reflective weekend spent journaling or practicing self-care will boost your general vigour and help you to build mental tranquillity.

Leo

Leos should concentrate on giving self-care top priority and tackling any long-standing health issues this week. Including whole grains and fresh fruits—nutrient-dense foods—into your diet will help digestion and increase your energy. A light workout program or a fast morning walk will help you start your day in a good attitude. You might feel some tiredness midweek, thus it's important to have enough breaks and peaceful sleep. Meditating or a peaceful yoga practice will enable you to clear your mental state. If you follow these ideas, by the weekend you should probably feel more grounded and energised.

Virgo

For Virgo people trying to improve their health, this week seems bright. While a nutrient-dense diet will help you complement your efforts, dedication to a disciplined fitness program will produce great results. Even little health problems should be taken note of and quickly addressed to prevent consequences. Stress will be reduced by include relaxing techniques as journaling or nightly meditations. Maintaining energy requires a mix between rest and physical exercise. Treat yourself to a soothing exercise that works your body and mind at the conclusion of the week.

Libra

If libras concentrate on mindfulness and exercise, they probably will have a health improvement this week. Beginning your mornings with a yoga or walking practice can help you to establish the mood for a good day. Including lean meats and a range of vibrant veggies in your meals helps increase your energy. Time spent on joyful hobbies or artistic interests helps one control stress. If you follow these behaviours by midweek, you can find a boost in energy and optimism. The weekend is ideal for rejuvenation via silent meditation or nature treks.

Scorpio

Scorpios should concentrate this week on striking a balance between their mental and physical states. Maintaining your energy all through the week will depend mostly on hydration and appropriate diet. Your stamina will be much enhanced by daily light activities as stretching or walking. Now is the moment to take care of little health problems you have been neglecting. Light-hearted activities and socializing will help one find mental release and a feeling of connection. Spend time relaxing with deep breathing exercises, which will also help to properly control stress.

Sagittarius

This week will be good for Sagittarius natives to start new healthy practices. Positive comments from a regular check-up could inspire you to keep up a better lifestyle. Including nutritious grains, fresh veggies, and greens into your meals will boost immunity and help digestion. Midweek, concentrate on breathing exercises to keep balance and quiet your thoughts. Your great energy will help you easily reach your fitness objectives; but, remember to rest enough. By the weekend, you could be rejuvenated and ready to create fresh wellness goals for the next week.

Capricorn

Capricorns should use this week to reaffirm their health-conscious objectives. Including consistent exercise into your daily schedule will increase mental as well as physical resilience. Staying hydrated and eating meals high in nutrients will help you fight tiredness and keep concentrated. Problems at work could surface, but keeping a cool head and a good attitude helps to avoid too much stress. The weekend is a great time to indulge in leisurely, mental and physical rejuvenating activities like reading or gardening. Most likely, you will leave the week feeling inspired and invigorated.

Aquarius

Aquarius people will gain from a week emphasizing consistency in health habits and discipline. Establish reasonable objectives and keep a diet high in proteins to renew your will to be physically fit. Cycling or hiking can help you increase your stamina and improve your mood; midweek is the perfect time to investigate these pursuits. Steer clear of too indulging in processed or sugary foods since they could throw off your energy level. By means of yoga or meditation, mindfulness will allow you to maintain a focused and pleasant attitude. By the conclusion of the week, you might find fresh drive toward long-term wellbeing.

Pisces

Native Pisces people are encouraged to focus especially on their physical activity and dietary consumption this week. Regular health visits could show changes, thereby increasing your confidence in your present way of living. Including additional fiber and water into your diet will help with hydration and digestion. Light workouts include yoga or swimming will keep you moving and away from stress. Spending leisure time in serene surroundings might help you to rejuvenate your spirit and mind. By the conclusion of each week, you will probably feel more balanced and ready to keep up these good practices moving ahead.

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30 Second Dementia Test That Can Reveal Early Symptoms - All You Need Is Pen, Paper And A Timer

Updated Jul 7, 2025 | 07:00 PM IST

SummaryDementia is much more common than you may know, a disease that can change everything about a person without many signs or symptoms. However, there is a test that can help early diagnosis.
30 Second Dementia Test That Can Reveal Early Symptoms - All You Need Is Pen, Paper And A Timer

Dementia is not often a big issue for younger generations; it becomes a problem as we start to age. It is a cognitive degenerative condition that affects our memory, behavior as well as the way we think. However, many times the signs and symptoms of the same can show up earlier than usual as well. While dementia may not be a big concern for younger people, early onset dementia could still be an issue. The Alzheimer’s Society explains that young people who are at risk of early on-set dementia have a wide array of symptoms. Another way to identify it is this simple 30 second test.

Simple 30-Second Test for Early Dementia

A quick and easy test, sometimes called the "clock test," is getting attention. It might help spot early signs of dementia. You just need a pen, paper, and a timer, and it takes less than a minute. Dr. Eric Berg DC showed how to do it in a video: you just have to draw a clock showing 10 minutes past 11 o'clock within 30 seconds.

How to Check Your Drawing

After you draw the clock, you can check it yourself using six simple questions:

  • Were any numbers mixed up?
  • Did you write all 12 numbers?
  • Were they spaced out evenly?
  • Were the clock hands pointing the right way?
  • Were the hour and minute hands the correct length?
  • Did you have enough time to finish?

Dr. Berg says this simple test is "one of the most sensitive ways to spot early thinking problems." Some brain doctors even think it's "more accurate than memory tests."

What is Early-Onset Dementia?

Early-onset dementia means someone gets dementia symptoms before they turn 65. Even though dementia is usually seen in older people, it can, though rarely, affect younger people too.

Dr. Berg also talked about other things that might lead to dementia as we get older. He said that eating too much sugar could make the brain shrink, especially the part important for memory. Also, being stressed a lot might increase the chance of having thinking problems like dementia.

The Alzheimer's Society says that at the beginning, the symptoms of early-onset dementia are often mild and not easy to notice. It's also important that younger people with dementia might not lose their memory first, unlike older people. Instead, they might mostly have trouble with:

  • Speaking or understanding language
  • Seeing things
  • Behavioral changes
  • Movement, balance, and coordination

Early-onset dementia is also more likely to be passed down in families. For more information, you can visit the Alzheimer's Society website.

How Dementia Differs in Younger People

Diverse Causes

For younger people, a wider range of different diseases can lead to dementia, making the causes more varied than in older individuals.

Rarer Forms

Younger individuals are much more likely to develop rarer types of dementia, such as frontotemporal dementia (FTD), which is less common in older patients.

Varied Early Symptoms

Unlike older people, younger individuals with dementia often don't experience memory loss as their first symptom, but rather problems with language, vision, or behavior.

Movement Issues

Additionally, younger people with dementia might first notice difficulties with movement, balance, and coordination, which can be an early indicator of the condition.

Higher Inherited Risk

About one in ten younger people diagnosed with dementia have a form that is inherited, meaning it's passed down through their genes.

Fewer Other Health Problems

Many younger individuals who receive a dementia diagnosis typically don't have other serious or chronic long-term health conditions at that time.

Unique Life Concerns

A younger diagnosis brings specific worries about its impact on family, relationships, finances, and daily life, affecting their ongoing responsibilities and future plans.

Family Risk Worries

They may also be concerned that their children or siblings could have a higher risk of developing dementia due to the inherited nature of their condition.

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Does Venting Really Help? Studies May Suggest Otherwise

Updated Jul 7, 2025 | 04:00 PM IST

SummaryVenting may feel helpful, but a major study shows it often worsens anger. Experts recommend calming activities like deep breathing or yoga to truly reduce physiological arousal and manage emotions effectively.
Does Venting Really Help? Studies May Suggest Otherwise

Credits: Canva

Venting when angry may feel cathartic, but a meta-analysis suggests it might do more harm than good. According to a 2024 study published in Clinical Psychology Review, researchers at Ohio State University analyzed data from 154 studies involving over 10,000 participants and found that venting rarely helps and may, in fact, intensify anger.

“I think it’s really important to bust the myth that if you’re angry you should blow off steam – get it off your chest,” said senior author Brad Bushman, a communication scientist, in a statement. “Venting anger might sound like a good idea, but there’s not a shred of scientific evidence to support catharsis theory.”

To dig deeper, we spoke to Dr Sumalatha Vasudeva, psychologist at Gleneagles BGS Hospital, Kengeri in

Bengaluru, India. She explains, "There’s a strong belief that venting—shouting, hitting objects, or going to a rage room—helps release anger. This idea, often referred to as catharsis, is deeply rooted in early psychological theory and pop culture."

However, she further adds, "While it feels intuitive, aggressive venting can sometimes amplify anger by increasing physiological arousal and reinforcing aggressive neural patterns. You're addressing the response, not the root cause, which makes the behavior more likely to repeat."

Why Venting Doesn’t Work

The popular “pressure cooker” analogy, which compares venting to releasing steam to prevent emotional explosion, may be outdated. According to the study, activities that increase physical arousal—such as yelling, punching pillows, or even exercising—can heighten physiological responses, which may worsen anger rather than reduce it.

"Not all expressions lead to healing. Aggressive venting provides temporary relief but not true emotional release. Real healing involves working with the root cause of the anger—not just letting off steam," explains Dr Vasudeva. She also notes that true healing often comes from somatic awareness, breathwork, mindfulness, or energetic practices like Reiki. These help us soothe, witness, and integrate anger instead of acting it out.

“To reduce anger, it is better to engage in activities that decrease arousal levels,” Bushman explained. “Despite what popular wisdom may suggest, even going for a run is not an effective strategy because it increases arousal levels and ends up being counterproductive.”

The Dangers of Rumination

While expressing emotions is important, the line between healthy reflection and toxic rumination is thin. The study found that what often passes as "venting" becomes repetitive mental replaying of upsetting events, which only deepens the emotional distress. However, it is true that we do feel better after we went, why is that? To this, Dr Vasudeva has an answer, "People often feel better after venting because they believe their emotional needs have been met. But this sense of control is temporary—a surface-level discharge, not a deep emotional resolution."

The idea for the review was also sparked by the growing popularity of rage rooms—commercial spaces where people pay to smash objects as a form of release.

First author Sophie Kjærvik, a communication scientist at Virginia Commonwealth University, said, “I wanted to debunk the whole theory of expressing anger as a way of coping with it. We wanted to show that reducing arousal, and actually the physiological aspect of it, is really important.”

What Works Instead: Calm the Body, Calm the Mind

The research draws from the Schachter-Singer two-factor theory, which explains emotions as a mix of physiological arousal and cognitive interpretation. While cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is often used to address the thinking side of anger, this study emphasized the importance of physical calm as well.

The most effective anger-reducing strategies included:

  • Slow-flow yoga
  • Diaphragmatic breathing
  • Mindfulness meditation
  • Progressive muscle relaxation
  • Taking a timeout

“It was really interesting to see that progressive muscle relaxation and just relaxation in general might be as effective as approaches such as mindfulness and meditation,” said Kjærvik.

Even yoga, which can be moderately arousing, proved useful due to its focus on breath control and bodily awareness. Fun-based physical activity like ball sports, which involve play rather than intense exertion, also helped by lowering physiological arousal.

Dr Vasudeva also seconds this and says, "Mindfulness and breathwork activate the parasympathetic nervous system—the 'rest and digest' state—which promotes emotional balance, clarity, and the ability to respond constructively."

Reinforcing Aggression

So why do people feel better after venting? According to Bushman, it’s likely due to a false sense of emotional relief. “Any good feeling we get from venting actually reinforces aggression,” he said. The short-term high may trick people into believing venting works, even as their anger worsens beneath the surface.

The researchers emphasized that effective anger management doesn't require therapy sessions or expensive tools. “You don’t need to necessarily book an appointment with a cognitive behavioral therapist to deal with anger,” Kjærvik said. “You can download an app for free on your phone, or you can find a YouTube video if you need guidance.”

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Heart Attack Rates Have Decreased, But Number Of Chronic Cardiac Diseases Have Risen: Study

Updated Jul 7, 2025 | 01:00 PM IST

SummaryHeart diseases are one of the leading causes of deaths all over the world. However, a new study has revealed some interesting facts, showing the rise and fall in numbers of what we thought to be the biggest heart concern, heart attacks.
Heart Attack Rates Have Decreased, But Number Of Chronic Cardiac Diseases Have Risen: Study

(Credit-Canva)

Heart health or cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of mortality in the world. In 2019, 17.9 million people died due to cardiovascular diseases with 85% of these deaths attributed to heart attacks and strokes. There are many types of cardiovascular diseases, many of which are chronic diseases. While the numbers of death due to heart attacks may seem high, new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association shows these numbers have actually decreased. However, while these numbers went down, chronic diseases have seen a rise.

How Have Heart Disease Deaths Changed Over Time?

To understand how heart disease deaths have changed, researchers looked at national data from 1970 to 2022, focusing on adults aged 25 and older. Heart disease covers many different heart problems. Even though heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S. (responsible for 24% of all deaths in 2022), the total number of deaths from heart disease actually went down by 66%.

Deaths from ischemic heart disease (the most common type, caused by blocked arteries) dropped significantly, from 91% to 53% of all heart disease deaths. Deaths from heart attacks (often the first sign of ischemic heart disease) fell by a huge 89%, making up less than a third of all heart disease deaths in 2022. But the study also found a big increase in other heart conditions, which now account for nearly half of all heart disease deaths. The three conditions that rose the most were:

Hypertensive heart disease

Deaths from this condition, caused by long-term high blood pressure, went up by 106%. It now makes up 13% of all heart-related deaths.

Heart failure

Deaths from this condition, where the heart can't pump enough blood over time, rose by 146%. It now accounts for 12% of all heart-related deaths.

Arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats)

Deaths from arrhythmias, where the heart beats too fast, too slow, or unevenly, soared by 450%. They now make up 4% of all heart-related deaths.

One of the study's authors mentioned that while these trends are "quite clear," some changes in how deaths were categorized might have caused small inaccuracies. Also, the study didn't fully consider how other health problems or things like race might have affected the results. For example, some heart problems might have been underestimated if they stemmed from ischemic heart disease.

Despite these minor points, experts agree the study provides "valuable insights" and is a "well-designed, large-scale study" using over 50 years of data.

Why the Shift to Chronic Heart Conditions?

Experts believe the drop in some heart disease deaths is due to better ways to diagnose problems and improved care. This includes new medicines and procedures that help restore blood flow to the heart.

However, many people who survive a heart attack go on to develop other heart conditions like heart failure or arrhythmias. When you combine this with a growing older population and rising rates of obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure, it creates "the perfect storm for chronic cardiac disease." This new "wave of chronic heart disease deaths" mainly affects older adults and those with several health issues.

How to Protect Your Heart?

To keep your heart healthy, focus on a few key areas: know your numbers by tracking your blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, and weight, as early detection of issues is vital. Stay active with at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise weekly; even walking can significantly improve heart function. Eat a nutritious diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats, following heart-healthy guidelines. Avoid smoking or seek help to quit, as it's a primary cause of heart disease. Finally, manage stress and get enough sleep, as these often-overlooked factors are crucial for reducing your heart risk.

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