Many people feel their to-do list is overloaded, but there is also such a thing as too much free time, a new study suggests. In a series of studies, researchers found that having either too little or too much free time seemed to drain people’s sense of well-being. It’s no surprise that constantly feeling pressed…  read on >  read on >

President Joe Biden is slated to announce an ambitious six-point plan to double down on a resurgent COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, including more pressure on government, business and schools to implement vaccine mandates, news sources report. A speech outlining the new plan is scheduled for 5 p.m. Eastern on Thursday, The New York…  read on >  read on >

Workers, take heed: Your place of work can help bring on or exacerbate asthma, a new study suggests. Common workplace triggers include poor ventilation and moldy air conditioning systems, cleaning products and even the toner used in printers, the researchers said. Employees with asthma caused by the office environment often quit, the researchers said, especially…  read on >  read on >

Wildfires are killing people around the world — even those with limited exposure to wildfire-related pollution, an international team of researchers reports. The new research revealed that short-term exposure to wildfire-related fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the air is increasing deaths worldwide from any cause as well as from respiratory and heart-related causes. “The pollution…  read on >  read on >

One of the keys to good health could be in the hands of those who decide zoning policies for their communities. Inclusionary zoning policies that provide for affordable housing were associated with lower rates of heart disease for those who benefited from these dwellings, according to a new U.S. study. “Many cities around the country…  read on >  read on >

It’s more than just an annoyance: Long-term exposure to traffic and train noise may increase the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, Danish researchers report. The study authors said that more than 1,200 of Denmark’s nearly 8,500 cases of dementia in 2017 may have resulted from exposure to noise, which means that reducing traffic noise…  read on >  read on >

Eczema doesn’t just irritate kids’ skin. The often disfiguring condition may also be tied to depression, anxiety and sleep difficulties, new research warns. A study of more than 11,000 British children and teens found that those with severe eczema were twice as likely to become clinically depressed as eczema-free kids. “Eczema is an itchy red…  read on >  read on >

The highly transmissible Delta variant of COVID-19 has highlighted a fear shared by infectious disease experts worldwide: That increasingly dangerous mutations will continue to crop up until most people around the globe are vaccinated. “There are going to be more variants and they may eventually be variants of concern or variants that pose problems for…  read on >  read on >