Latest / Silver FM 100.6 / A head-to-toe check in for your health

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A head-to-toe check in for your health · Silver FM 100.6

0:00
Speaker 1: This November, there's a wave of Democrats running for office
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Speaker 1: who are all members of the clergy. But can they
0:06
Speaker 1: convince the party's secular base?
0:08
Speaker 2: I don't think religion should play into government and politics
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Speaker 2: at all.
0:12
Speaker 3: I thought the country was founded on that.
0:14
Speaker 1: On the Sunday Story, how Democratic pastors are reframing the
0:17
Speaker 1: role of faith in American politics. Listen now to the
0:20
Speaker 1: Sunday Story from the Up First podcast on the NPR app.
0:24
Speaker 4: You're listening to Life Kit from NPR.
0:30
Speaker 5: Hey, it's Marielle.
0:32
Speaker 4: A lot of us treat our bodies like they're our employees.
0:35
Speaker 4: You know, they work for us. And when they don't
0:37
Speaker 4: work for us, we get mad. We say mean things
0:41
Speaker 4: about them. We're frustrated. We're disappointed. The way I see it, though,
0:47
Speaker 4: our bodies don't work for us. They work with us.
0:50
Speaker 4: And if we want to give them the best chance
0:52
Speaker 4: at doing that, we have to take care of them,
0:54
Speaker 4: to give them regular attention so they can support us. Now,
0:58
Speaker 4: I need to do a quick plug here for going
1:00
Speaker 4: to the doctor. Make sure you're getting your annual physicals
1:03
Speaker 4: and checking in with your health care providers as needed,
1:05
Speaker 4: because as we know, a podcast is not the same
1:08
Speaker 4: as professional medical advice. But beyond that, we want to
1:12
Speaker 4: help you take care of your bodies. So on this episode,
1:15
Speaker 4: Life Kit reporter Andy Tagle has put together some of
1:18
Speaker 4: our favorite health tips from head to toe. We've got
1:20
Speaker 4: advice from an audiologist, an ophthalmologist, a dermatologist, and more.
1:26
Speaker 5: That's after the break.
1:30
Speaker 6: As the political landscape shifts beneath our feet, we're all
1:34
Speaker 6: vulnerable to a well-funded distraction economy determined to take our
1:37
Speaker 6: eye off the ball. Our weekly politics series, If You
1:40
Speaker 6: Can Keep It, is here to help, where our focus
1:42
Speaker 6: is not the horse race, but the state. We tackle
1:45
Speaker 6: the big political stories of the day and why they
1:47
Speaker 6: matter for our democracy. Join me, Todd Zwilich. And me,
1:50
Speaker 6: Jen White, on the 1A podcast from WAMU and NPR.
1:55
Speaker 7: Austin Tice is an American journalist who disappeared over a
1:58
Speaker 7: decade ago while reporting in Syria. And for years, we've
2:03
Speaker 7: been searching for him. This looks like a secret passage.
2:06
Speaker 7: I'm just pushing a door so he.
2:07
Speaker 8: Can get in.
2:08
Speaker 9: Go, go, go.
2:10
Speaker 7: Listen to Where Is Austin Tice from NPR's Embedded and
2:14
Speaker 7: BBC Radio 4 on the NPR app or wherever you
2:17
Speaker 7: get your podcasts.
2:19
Speaker 10: All right, first up on our tour through the body,
2:22
Speaker 10: magic school bus style. Shout out to all my fellow
2:24
Speaker 10: millennials who will forever adore Miss Frizzle.
2:27
Speaker 5: Our ears. Feels appropriate.
2:29
Speaker 10: Since you're listening to a podcast right now. How's the
2:32
Speaker 10: volume on this episode, by the way? Is my voice
2:35
Speaker 10: coming through loud and clear?
2:37
Speaker 9: Good.
2:38
Speaker 10: So you can listen closely to our first reminder for
2:40
Speaker 10: hearing health. Learn the signs of noise-induced hearing loss and
2:44
Speaker 10: don't forget to protect your ears, especially when you know
2:48
Speaker 10: you'll be around loud noises for a long time. Now,
2:52
Speaker 10: when you think about hearing loss, you might assume it's
2:54
Speaker 10: an older person's problem. But with the advent of personal
2:58
Speaker 10: audio devices, perhaps like the one you're listening to right now,
3:02
Speaker 10: over 1 billion young people aged 12 to 35 are
3:07
Speaker 10: at risk of hearing loss due to prolonged and excessive
3:10
Speaker 10: exposure to loud sounds at dangerous levels. This is according
3:15
Speaker 10: to a 2019 report from the World Health Organization. And
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Speaker 10: the WHO projects nearly 2.5 billion people will have at
3:23
Speaker 10: least some degree of hearing loss by the year 2050. So,
3:27
Speaker 10: How do you know if you're at risk for noise-induced
3:29
Speaker 10: hearing loss? And what can you do about it? Well,
3:32
Speaker 10: it sounds different for everyone, but it often happens gradually.
3:36
Speaker 10: And there are a few common symptoms to be on
3:39
Speaker 10: the lookout for.
3:40
Speaker 9: When we have hearing loss, that becomes harder to filter
3:43
Speaker 9: out the speech from the noise, or I should put
3:46
Speaker 9: it as the sound source that we want to hear
3:48
Speaker 9: versus the sounds that we don't want to hear.
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Speaker 10: This is Ariella Naeem, senior audiologist at AudioHelp Hearing Center
3:55
Speaker 10: in New York City. talking here in her office to
3:58
Speaker 10: LifeKit producer Margaret Serino, who originally reported on this topic.
4:02
Speaker 10: She says hearing loss is a result of damage either
4:05
Speaker 10: over time or from one big sudden noise to these
4:09
Speaker 10: teeny tiny hair cells in our ears that help convert
4:12
Speaker 10: sound frequencies into electrical signals.
4:15
Speaker 9: They won't transmit that sound as well to the brain
4:18
Speaker 9: because at the end of the day, it's all about
4:20
Speaker 9: our brain hearing and our brain processing what's going on.
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Speaker 10: So noise-induced hearing loss isn't just about your ability to
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Speaker 10: hear external sounds. It's also about your brain's ability to
4:32
Speaker 10: interpret them. For example, have you ever walked out of
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Speaker 10: a concert and turned to talk to a friend, but
4:38
Speaker 10: you can't quite understand what they're saying? That muffled feeling
4:42
Speaker 10: is one sign to watch out for. Other signs, if
4:46
Speaker 10: you have trouble following a conversation in noisy places, or
4:50
Speaker 10: if you struggle with or have hypersensitivity to particular sounds
4:53
Speaker 10: or tones of voice. But one of the most common
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Speaker 10: symptoms to pay attention to is tinnitus. And yes, that
5:01
Speaker 10: is the correct pronunciation. It's usually defined by a ringing
5:05
Speaker 10: or buzzing in the ears, or like the static on
5:07
Speaker 10: the TV or radio turned all the way up.
5:10
Speaker 9: And the number one cause of tinnitus is hearing loss.
5:14
Speaker 10: If any of this feels familiar, it's a good idea
5:17
Speaker 10: to get your hearing tested and establish what your baseline
5:19
Speaker 10: level of hearing is. You can talk to your primary
5:21
Speaker 10: care doctor about a referral for a full audiological exam
5:23
Speaker 10: or Or try a free test online. Hearingnumber.org or hearing.org
5:29
Speaker 10: are two good places to start. Now, the best way
5:32
Speaker 10: to prevent noise-induced hearing loss, no big shocker here, is
5:36
Speaker 10: to protect your ears. But what might surprise you is
5:41
Speaker 10: how often they need protecting.
5:42
Speaker 9: The rule of thumb is that when you're listening to
5:44
Speaker 9: a sound at what's considered 85 decibels, you are safe.
5:49
Speaker 10: Some examples of 85 decibels of sound.
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Speaker 5: City traffic. a vacuum cleaner, a garbage disposal.
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Speaker 10: So a fair amount of noise, but eight hours of
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Speaker 10: exposure at 85 decibels can lead to hearing loss.
6:02
Speaker 9: And then... When you increase that sound by five decibels,
6:06
Speaker 9: you have to cut the time in half.
6:08
Speaker 10: And let's note, recommendations vary here. Like the CDC's number
6:12
Speaker 10: is three decibels, not five. And our everyday world is loud.
6:16
Speaker 10: An approaching subway train, roughly 100 decibels. The music and
6:20
Speaker 10: sounds of a nightclub or bar, around 110 decibels. That
6:24
Speaker 10: level can actually damage your hearing in less than five minutes. Basically,
6:29
Speaker 10: it's like one big exponential curve where the louder the noise,
6:33
Speaker 10: the less time you can listen to it unprotected. Earplugs
6:36
Speaker 10: can help minimize that risk, although depending on the type,
6:39
Speaker 10: they likely won't block out everything you hear. They're usually
6:42
Speaker 10: just a good tool to take everything.
6:44
Speaker 5: Down a notch.
6:46
Speaker 10: In fact, if you love music and you want to
6:47
Speaker 10: preserve how it sounds, you can even get filtered plugs
6:51
Speaker 10: that can maintain that natural resonance of sound and music.
6:54
Speaker 10: And while over-the-ear muffs are better, those foam earplugs are
6:57
Speaker 10: still much better than nothing. You know, the kind that
7:00
Speaker 10: they give out on airplanes. Just make sure you put
7:02
Speaker 10: them in properly.
7:03
Speaker 9: You roll them really thin into a small, small cylinder,
7:07
Speaker 9: pull your ear back and up, and then push them
7:09
Speaker 9: in nice and deep and let them expand.
7:11
Speaker 10: Besides earplugs, the other thing to watch is your phone volume.
7:15
Speaker 10: There's actually no official guidance on how loud is too loud,
7:19
Speaker 10: but here's Arielle's rule.
7:20
Speaker 9: As long as you play your music or... podcast, audiobook,
7:24
Speaker 9: anything like that, at 60% of the volume bar or less,
7:28
Speaker 9: you would be safe.
7:29
Speaker 10: Which should still be plenty loud enough to enjoy this
7:31
Speaker 10: sweet outro music as we move into our next section,
7:34
Speaker 10: the eyes. To start, if you're over 18, a comprehensive
7:41
Speaker 10: eye exam is recommended every two years. If you're in
7:43
Speaker 10: between visits and find your peepers give you trouble from
7:46
Speaker 10: time to time in our screen-laden land, our top tip
7:49
Speaker 10: for eye health when dealing with digital eye strain... Aim
7:52
Speaker 10: for less screens, more sky, and don't forget to blink.
7:58
Speaker 10: There are a lot of myths and misconceptions out there
8:00
Speaker 10: about what affects the quality of your vision. One big example,
8:05
Speaker 10: blue light. This is a super hot topic in the iWorld. Like,
8:08
Speaker 10: maybe you're one of the many, many people who went
8:10
Speaker 10: out and got a pair of blue light glasses to
8:12
Speaker 10: protect your eyes.
8:12
Speaker 5: In the beginning of the pandemic. Here's the thing.
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Speaker 11: There have been absolutely no studies that have demonstrated any
8:19
Speaker 11: kind of negative effect of blue light on your retina,
8:22
Speaker 11: on your cataracts, on your macula. I think people get
8:24
Speaker 11: a little confused with ultraviolet light and blue lights from
8:27
Speaker 11: that perspective. But what blue light does is it affects
8:31
Speaker 11: your melatonin. It affects your circadian rhythms.
8:34
Speaker 10: This is Dr. Rupa Wong. She's an ophthalmologist and assistant
8:37
Speaker 10: clinical professor at the University of Hawaii John Burns School
8:40
Speaker 10: of Medicine. And it's true. While research is still ongoing
8:44
Speaker 10: about the potential long-term negative effects of blue light, Rupa
8:48
Speaker 10: and the American Academy of Ophthalmology say as things stand,
8:52
Speaker 10: blue light isn't really the bad guy people often make
8:54
Speaker 10: it out to be. Sure, if you have a computer
8:57
Speaker 10: screen right next to your bed, it might mess with
8:59
Speaker 10: your sleep in the same way any other bright light would.
9:02
Speaker 10: But the real reason for your screen-induced eye fatigue is
9:05
Speaker 10: likely much simpler.
9:07
Speaker 11: So digital eye strain, really it comes down to the
9:11
Speaker 11: fact that when we are on devices, whether it be
9:13
Speaker 11: a computer or a phone or a tablet, we tend
9:17
Speaker 11: not to blink as much. And we are focusing up
9:19
Speaker 11: close for many hours at a time.
9:22
Speaker 5: Yep, blinking.
9:23
Speaker 10: See, when you don't blink, your eyes get drier. Might
9:26
Speaker 10: not sound like a big deal, but.
9:28
Speaker 11: The amazing thing is that your tear film is responsible
9:33
Speaker 11: for a good part of the clarity of your vision.
9:36
Speaker 11: When you have dry eyes, the vision becomes blurry. People
9:39
Speaker 11: don't come in saying, I have dry eyes. They come
9:42
Speaker 11: in oftentimes saying, my eyes hurt or my vision is blurred.
9:47
Speaker 11: There are a lot of different medical problems that can
9:49
Speaker 11: be associated with severe dry eye syndrome.
9:51
Speaker 5: Some quick fixes. You could keep artificial tears handy. Not
9:55
Speaker 5: eye drops. There is a difference.
9:57
Speaker 10: You could start or end the day with a few
9:59
Speaker 10: minutes of warm compresses. over your eyes to moisturize the
10:02
Speaker 10: oil glands on your eyelids. But if nothing else, try
10:05
Speaker 10: to regularly practice the 20-20-20 rule. That is, for every
10:10
Speaker 10: 20 minutes of screen time, take a 20-second break and
10:13
Speaker 10: look 20 feet away. And that doesn't have to be
10:16
Speaker 10: 20 feet exactly, mind you. It just means you look
10:20
Speaker 10: at something off in the distance. Because when your eyes
10:22
Speaker 10: are looking farther away, they're more relaxed. And that's important
10:27
Speaker 10: because some of the things that can actually affect your
10:29
Speaker 10: prescription aren't always in our control. Some conditions, like cataracts,
10:34
Speaker 10: are age-related. Others can be related to diabetes or high
10:38
Speaker 10: blood pressure. But there is one factor we do have
10:41
Speaker 10: some power over.
10:42
Speaker 11: Near work is associated with becoming nearsighted.
10:44
Speaker 10: Near work is what it sounds like. Any work that
10:47
Speaker 10: you focus on up close, like within arm's reach. So
10:50
Speaker 10: almost all screen time would apply, but also reading, drawing, sewing.
10:55
Speaker 10: And studies have shown that increased and continuous time spent
10:59
Speaker 10: on near work is linked to increased risk of nearsightedness.
11:02
Speaker 5: Luckily, the fix is as simple as you think.
11:05
Speaker 2: It might be.
11:07
Speaker 11: Being outside is so crucial, especially in my younger patient population.
11:12
Speaker 10: Recent research suggests regular outside time for kids, like up
11:16
Speaker 10: to two hours a day, may help slow or even
11:19
Speaker 10: prevent nearsightedness. That might be because when you're outside looking
11:23
Speaker 10: at nature, you're spending less time looking at things so
11:25
Speaker 10: close up, and thus letting your eyes rest. Or maybe
11:29
Speaker 10: because sunlight slows eye growth. That could help eyes from
11:32
Speaker 10: unnaturally elongating, which is a cause of nearsightedness. So get
11:37
Speaker 10: out in the sunshine and go look at some trees,
11:38
Speaker 10: will ya? Ophthalmologist orders. Up next, a quick break, then
11:44
Speaker 10: back to checking in with our bodies.
11:52
Speaker 12: Public media is no longer federally funded, but the NPR
11:55
Speaker 12: network remains yours in service to and powered by you.
12:00
Speaker 12: Keep public media public with a donation today at donate.npr.org.
12:05
Speaker 12: And thank you.
12:10
Speaker 3: This week on Sources and Methods, an eyebrow-raising message from
12:14
Speaker 3: President Trump to the U.N., Quote, to the victor belong
12:18
Speaker 3: the spoils. Also, President Xi Jinping of China meets with
12:22
Speaker 3: Trump in D.C. We'll tell you what to watch for.
12:25
Speaker 3: Stay ahead of the week's biggest national security news with
12:28
Speaker 3: sources and methods from NPR.
12:33
Speaker 10: All right, now that you've gotten a big dose of sunshine,
12:35
Speaker 10: let's quickly check in on that great big nature-induced smile
12:38
Speaker 10: on your face before we move into our next section.
12:42
Speaker 10: Here are a few quick dental health reminders to chew on,
12:44
Speaker 10: inspired by our teeth episode. The American Dental Association recommends
12:49
Speaker 10: seeing your dentist regularly for prevention and treatment of oral disease.
12:54
Speaker 10: So if you can't remember the last time you went,
12:56
Speaker 10: it's probably been too long. And it's important to keep
13:00
Speaker 10: those appointments. Oral health is a window to the overall
13:03
Speaker 10: health of your body as the entry point for your
13:06
Speaker 10: digestive and respiratory tracts. So having poor oral health, like
13:10
Speaker 10: gum disease, can play a part in other conditions, like
13:13
Speaker 10: cardiovascular disease, pneumonia... even pregnancy or birth complications. Finally, for
13:20
Speaker 10: clean teeth, focus on technique, not just tools. You should
13:24
Speaker 10: replace your toothbrush every three to four months. And yes,
13:28
Speaker 10: a good toothpaste will make your mouth feel clean. But
13:31
Speaker 10: as long as you're doing it right, brushing with just
13:34
Speaker 10: water can be enough. So you want to brush each tooth,
13:38
Speaker 10: slightly sweeping the gum line with your brush at a
13:40
Speaker 10: 45 degree angle for two minutes, making sure to hit
13:43
Speaker 10: each quadrant of.
13:44
Speaker 5: Your teeth twice a day.
13:46
Speaker 10: And floss once a day to keep those pearly whites strong. Okay,
13:51
Speaker 10: now how does that song go? Head, shoulders, knees, and toes.
13:57
Speaker 10: Let's get you walking into this next season feeling fresh
13:59
Speaker 10: and fancy footed. Our next tip, good footwear is good
14:05
Speaker 10: foot care. And so is going to the foot gym. Okay,
14:09
Speaker 10: now I know a lot of people don't like to
14:11
Speaker 10: look at, talk about, or even think about their feet.
14:15
Speaker 10: Toes and toenails, heel skin evoke a general sense of ick, perhaps.
14:20
Speaker 10: But let's all take a step back from the aesthetics
14:22
Speaker 10: of feet and just think about their utility.
14:24
Speaker 6: They're our base of support.
14:26
Speaker 13: They can become a spring. They become mobile adapters to
14:30
Speaker 13: uneven terrain, and yet sometimes they have to be rigid
14:33
Speaker 13: for push-off. So, yes, they're really critical structures, and I
14:38
Speaker 13: think they're very highly underappreciated.
14:40
Speaker 10: Irene Davis is a professor of physical therapy and rehab
14:43
Speaker 10: sciences at the University of South Florida. She has spent
14:46
Speaker 10: decades researching the biomechanics of feet and the lower extremities.
14:51
Speaker 10: And she says our feet do so much for us.
14:54
Speaker 10: For starters, they take 5,000 steps a day on average.
14:58
Speaker 10: So why wouldn't you do everything you can to take
15:01
Speaker 10: care of them? Like when it comes to footwear, for example.
15:05
Speaker 10: Irene says it's pretty simple. It shouldn't feel better to
15:08
Speaker 10: take your shoes off.
15:09
Speaker 13: I guess it'll always feel a little bit better. Maybe
15:11
Speaker 13: that's extreme. But you know how people are like, I
15:13
Speaker 13: just can't take my shoes off? That shoe's not a
15:16
Speaker 13: good shoe for you.
15:17
Speaker 10: There are a lot of little assumptions we make about
15:18
Speaker 10: our footwear. For example, when was the last time you
15:22
Speaker 10: got your shoe size checked? Even though generally the bones
15:25
Speaker 10: of your feet stop growing longer when you stop growing
15:28
Speaker 10: in height, your shoe size can still change. Famously from pregnancy,
15:32
Speaker 10: but also weight fluctuations, aging, or just general wear and tear.
15:36
Speaker 10: And when it comes to walking or running shoes specifically,
15:39
Speaker 10: It's a good idea to wear a half or even
15:41
Speaker 10: a full size up because your feet often swell when
15:44
Speaker 10: you walk or run for long periods of time. General
15:47
Speaker 10: guidance says you want to replace these kinds of shoes
15:50
Speaker 10: every 6 to 12 months or.
15:52
Speaker 8: We typically will say 350 to 500 miles. Common errors,
15:56
Speaker 8: of course, are that maybe you both run and walk
16:01
Speaker 8: around in the same pair of shoes. Well, all those
16:04
Speaker 8: miles count.
16:05
Speaker 1: That's Dr.
16:05
Speaker 10: Adam 1040. a professor in physical medicine and rehabilitation at
16:09
Speaker 10: Harvard Medical School. He says it's important to regularly replace
16:13
Speaker 10: your shoes because any padding will slowly wear away from use,
16:18
Speaker 10: friction with ground, weather, and that shoe will start to
16:21
Speaker 10: put more and more demand on your foot and ankle,
16:23
Speaker 10: which can make you more prone to injury.
16:25
Speaker 8: Another piece is that we're asking our foot to be
16:28
Speaker 8: supported by this footwear. And so if other aspects of
16:32
Speaker 8: the footwear are wearing out, it affects our biomechanics with
16:35
Speaker 8: walking and with other daily function.
16:37
Speaker 10: For the front of your shoe or your toe box,
16:40
Speaker 10: you need the rule of thumb. As in, you want
16:42
Speaker 10: about a half a thumb to a thumb's width between
16:45
Speaker 10: the end of your longest toe and the top of
16:47
Speaker 10: your shoe.
16:48
Speaker 8: The third part is really the width of the shoe.
16:51
Speaker 8: We don't want to crowd our toes.
16:53
Speaker 9: In fact?
16:54
Speaker 10: You want wiggle room in all directions for all types
16:57
Speaker 10: of shoes, including those super cute but highly impractical six
17:02
Speaker 10: inch heels. Yes, you can still wear them and have
17:05
Speaker 10: healthy feet.
17:06
Speaker 13: As long as you're not wearing them all day long,
17:08
Speaker 13: because there's been a lot of studies that have shown that,
17:10
Speaker 13: you know, wearing them all day long ends up causing
17:13
Speaker 13: problems with the Achilles and you get problems with the forefoot.
17:17
Speaker 5: So just be smart. Take breaks, bring backups.
17:20
Speaker 10: And make those show-stopping but toe-numbing-after-10-minutes type of shoes the.
17:25
Speaker 5: Exception, not the rule.
17:27
Speaker 10: Now, arguably even more important than what you put on
17:29
Speaker 10: your feet is how you train them, especially if you're
17:33
Speaker 10: prone to aches and pains. Your feet have lots of muscles,
17:36
Speaker 10: and just like any other part of the body, the
17:39
Speaker 10: stronger they are, the better protected you'll be against future injury.
17:43
Speaker 10: But for now, we're just dipping our toes in the
17:46
Speaker 10: water of that foot health pool. We've got a whole
17:48
Speaker 10: episode on this topic. plus an article complete with GIFs
17:51
Speaker 10: of foot strengthening exercises to.
17:53
Speaker 5: Help get you moving. So don't walk.
17:55
Speaker 10: Run on over to npr.org slash life kit after this.
17:59
Speaker 13: Because we have to show our feet love because they
18:02
Speaker 13: got to last us a lifetime.
18:08
Speaker 10: Now, before I let you go, an episode on head
18:10
Speaker 10: to toe health just would not feel complete without one
18:13
Speaker 10: last incredibly apropos tip from dermatologist Sonia Batra. She's here
18:18
Speaker 10: to lead us through our last section. best practices for
18:21
Speaker 10: bathing and skincare.
18:22
Speaker 14: Head to toe is the way to go because surprisingly
18:25
Speaker 14: there are a lot of questions about this, like something
18:27
Speaker 14: we all do every day.
18:29
Speaker 10: That is, when it's time to hop in the bath
18:31
Speaker 10: or shower after a productive day of health maintenance and such,
18:34
Speaker 10: you want to work from top to bottom, front to back.
18:37
Speaker 10: You know, shampoo, conditioner, face wash. Then soaping and scrubbing
18:41
Speaker 10: all your bits. Or at least your most sweat, odor,
18:45
Speaker 10: and bacteria prone places. Working down to your feet. That
18:49
Speaker 10: way you're not bringing any dirt or debris back up
18:53
Speaker 10: your body.
18:53
Speaker 14: Especially if you're acne prone or breakout prone, I always
18:57
Speaker 14: recommend that you do your shampoo and your conditioner first
19:00
Speaker 14: because any residue from those products you're going to want
19:03
Speaker 14: to make sure isn't left on your back, which can
19:05
Speaker 14: break you out and cause bacne.
19:07
Speaker 10: It might sound super simple, but you want to be
19:09
Speaker 10: brilliant in the basics, as they say. That's why our
19:12
Speaker 10: final bit of advice for a healthy body this fall
19:15
Speaker 10: is bathe better. Be it bath or shower, Keep them
19:19
Speaker 10: not too hot, not too long, and don't forget to
19:22
Speaker 10: clean your cleaning products. It might surprise you to know
19:26
Speaker 10: the subject of bathing can get a bit controversial. For example,
19:30
Speaker 10: if you love a long, luxurious soak in the tub,
19:34
Speaker 10: you're probably not going to like what Sonia has.
19:36
Speaker 3: To say next.
19:37
Speaker 14: I would say less than five minutes if you can,
19:39
Speaker 14: maximum 10 on a really long shower day. It's also
19:43
Speaker 14: obviously not wasting water that way too, because let's face it,
19:46
Speaker 14: we can all get clean in a pretty efficient window
19:49
Speaker 14: of time.
19:49
Speaker 10: Sonia sympathizes with anyone out there like me who loves
19:53
Speaker 10: collecting shower thoughts and slowly turning into a raisin at
19:56
Speaker 10: the end of a hard day. But she says long, hot,
19:58
Speaker 10: steamy showers are really not a good idea, especially as
20:02
Speaker 10: the weather starts to turn.
20:04
Speaker 14: Every organ in your body has a function, right? Like
20:07
Speaker 14: your heart is designed to pump, your lungs are designed
20:09
Speaker 14: to breathe. And your skin's function as an organ is
20:12
Speaker 14: to be a barrier that keeps the outside world out.
20:15
Speaker 14: And so one of the really critical components of that
20:18
Speaker 14: barrier is the fats in your skin. Immersion and long
20:23
Speaker 14: extended exposures to hot water really dehydrate your skin and
20:27
Speaker 14: break down the barrier.
20:28
Speaker 10: So if you're used to your bathwater steaming and sizzling,
20:31
Speaker 10: turning your skin itchy, splotchy, red, it's time to turn
20:35
Speaker 10: the temperature down. You could go for cold water instead.
20:38
Speaker 10: Cold plunges won't dry you out and are awful popular
20:41
Speaker 10: these days for benefits like increasing circulation and reducing inflammation.
20:46
Speaker 10: But in Sony's opinion, lukewarm water, like somewhere around the
20:49
Speaker 10: range of body temperature, is the best way to take
20:52
Speaker 10: care of your skin so that your skin, in turn,
20:55
Speaker 10: can take care of you.
20:57
Speaker 5: Next up, bath or shower. Washcloth or loofah.
21:00
Speaker 10: There's no scientific hardline on either of these, although from
21:04
Speaker 10: an eco-friendly standpoint, the EPA says showers generally save more water.
21:08
Speaker 10: So that's something to consider. When it comes to cleaning tools,
21:12
Speaker 10: Sonia prefers options that will be gentler on your skin.
21:15
Speaker 10: But she says whatever you use, just clean them daily.
21:18
Speaker 14: Remember, yeast, bacteria, they love a really warm, moist environment,
21:24
Speaker 14: which is, of course, your shower.
21:25
Speaker 10: So if you use a loofah, washcloth, or similar, be
21:28
Speaker 10: sure to thoroughly wash and rinse it after every use.
21:31
Speaker 10: Then wring out your tool and leave it somewhere.
21:34
Speaker 5: It can dry all the way.
21:36
Speaker 10: That means not just hanging it on the wall of
21:38
Speaker 10: the shower or the head of the bath faucet, where
21:41
Speaker 10: it's likely to get wet again when your partner takes
21:43
Speaker 10: a dip in half an hour. If you're team washcloth,
21:46
Speaker 10: change them out regularly. Sonia throws hers in the wash
21:48
Speaker 10: at least once a week with the rest of her towels.
21:50
Speaker 10: For loofah users, a weekly deep clean by submerging it
21:54
Speaker 10: in boiling water is a good idea to disinfect it.
21:58
Speaker 10: Be on the lookout for any signs of mold with
22:00
Speaker 10: any type of tool, but for loofahs especially.
22:02
Speaker 14: And in general, even if it's not changing color and
22:05
Speaker 14: it's not smelly, I would say throw it out every
22:07
Speaker 14: two months regardless.
22:09
Speaker 10: Guidance from the Cleveland Clinic suggests an even smaller window
22:11
Speaker 10: of time for safety. You want to discard natural-made loofahs
22:14
Speaker 10: after one month, plastic loofahs after two, or right away
22:18
Speaker 10: if you notice any mold, discoloration, or unsavory odor.
22:22
Speaker 5: Surprising, right? Was for me.
22:25
Speaker 10: And also potentially pretty wasteful. So maybe this is the
22:29
Speaker 10: moment for all of us on Team Lufa to consider
22:31
Speaker 10: switching sides. But no matter your preference, don't forget to
22:36
Speaker 10: enjoy a little care and keeping of you. Brief, though
22:39
Speaker 10: these moments may be, here's to hoping we can all
22:41
Speaker 10: luxuriate in good health in the future.
22:44
Speaker 14: So even if it's that two minutes, I'm sorry it's
22:46
Speaker 14: not 20, but even if it's that two minutes in
22:48
Speaker 14: the shower, just to reconnect with yourself, I'm all in
22:51
Speaker 14: favor of it. And if you follow best practices, even better.
22:57
Speaker 5: All right, let's review.
22:58
Speaker 10: For your ears, learn the signs of noise-induced hearing loss.
23:03
Speaker 10: Protect your ears anytime you're around sounds louder than a
23:05
Speaker 10: vacuum cleaner. And keep some earplugs close. You never know
23:09
Speaker 10: when you might need them.
23:11
Speaker 5: For eye health, remember 20-20-20.
23:12
Speaker 10: For every 20 minutes of screen time, take a 20-second
23:17
Speaker 10: break and look 20 feet or so away. The more
23:19
Speaker 10: you can get your eyes outside, the better. Quick reminder
23:22
Speaker 10: for oral health, it's a window to your health overall.
23:25
Speaker 10: So use the right technique twice daily, and don't forget,
23:27
Speaker 10: floss first. Also, good footwear is good foot care. Get
23:33
Speaker 10: resized every so often, replace old walking and running shoes
23:36
Speaker 10: to avoid pain and injury, and make sure the new
23:39
Speaker 10: ones give your tootsies enough room to breathe. We only
23:41
Speaker 10: get one pair of feet.
23:42
Speaker 5: Be good to them.
23:44
Speaker 10: Finally, to treat your whole body well, bathe better. Be
23:47
Speaker 10: it bath or shower, keep them not too hot, not
23:50
Speaker 10: too long, and don't forget to clean your cleaning products.
23:56
Speaker 4: That was LifeKit reporter Andy Tagle, who also produced this episode.
24:00
Speaker 3: And that's our show.
24:01
Speaker 4: Before we head out, if you found something useful in
24:04
Speaker 4: today's episode, there's probably somebody else in your life who would, too.
24:08
Speaker 4: Why not hit that share button and send them this
24:10
Speaker 4: episode now? This episode of LifeKit was edited by Megan Cain.
24:16
Speaker 4: Our digital editor is Malika Garib, and our visuals editor
24:19
Speaker 4: is CJ Rigolon. Megan Cain is our senior supervising editor,
24:23
Speaker 4: and Lauren Gonzalez is our executive producer. Our production team
24:27
Speaker 4: also includes Claire Marie Schneider, Lennon Sherburn, Margaret Serino, and
24:31
Speaker 4: Sylvie Douglas. Engineering support comes from Jimmy Keeley, with fact-checking
24:35
Speaker 4: by Tyler Jones. I'm Mariel Segarra. Thanks for listening.
24:48
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25:12
Speaker 2: The company behind Flock cameras sold itself as a boon
25:15
Speaker 2: for public safety. But these cameras have had another consequence,
25:19
Speaker 2: more surveillance.
25:20
Speaker 7: When you kind of give evidence thousands of cops access
25:24
Speaker 7: to this very powerful system, they're going to touch the
25:27
Speaker 7: electric fence and see like what they can do.
25:29
Speaker 2: Is flock making communities safer? Find this and more stories
25:32
Speaker 2: from the Indicator from Planet Money on the NPR app.