In theory, maternal instinct sounds like a great concept since it makes it seem like motherhood is the most natural thing in the world. And while there’s plenty to love about being a mom, most parents would agree that the transition into parenthood is anything other than easy and seamless. Either way you look at the concept, it almost exclusively focuses on women and children. This reinforces an idea about women not only wanting children but also being innately equipped to care for them....

With so much change in our lives from day to day, consistency in all forms can be hard to come by—and that’s especially true for our diets. In fact, research shows that many of us aren’t consuming the recommended daily amount of multiple important (actually essential) vitamins and minerals1. That’s where a daily multivitamin comes in. Despite some of the back-and-forth out there about the value of multivitamins, the science is clear: For most Americans, supplementation is necessary3 if they want to consistently achieve the recommended amount of necessary micronutrients....

Millions of people around the world are going to utter the same phrase that we have used for centuries: أحبك Je vous aime. わたしは あなたを愛しています A few years ago, I learned that there is one phrase even more powerful than “I love you.” It forever changed the way I would share love with the people I care about. It all started at Burning Man. My fiancée Miki and I were riding our bikes around the cracked, hard sand surface known as “the playa....

If so, you’ve likely heard these beneficial bacteria have a number of research-backed benefits, like supporting digestion and promoting gut health.* In order to maximize all these benefits, you may find yourself wondering: What’s the best time to take a probiotic? You’ve heard that fat-soluble vitamins are absorbed better when you take them with food or some healthy fats, but does the same hold true for probiotic bacteria? Experts set the record straight on whether or not there’s actually a best time to take probiotics and what other factors affect their effectiveness....

We can characterize all our relationships along two dimensions of negativity and positivity. With our true friends, we have high levels of positivity and low levels of negativity. With our enemies, we have the opposite—these relationships are clearly toxic. When it comes to our acquaintances, we don’t spend much time and energy on them because we have low levels of both positivity and negativity with them. But then, what about the people with whom we experience both high positivity and high negativity?...

Plus, there are some seriously awesome health benefits of yoga that you can score from daily practice. Because yoga has a ton of postures that are performed to improve flexibility and build muscular strength, it also retrains our deep connective tissue, says Emilie Perz, a yoga movement therapist and teacher in Los Angeles. “Stress and anxiety can leave our tissues tired, tight, and stuck,” she explains. “[But] yoga focuses on whole body movement and awareness, so we can often use the poses to release and lengthen these chronically tight regions....

Maybe sex has decreased in your relationship, or maybe sex is just feeling dull, uncomfortable, or obligatory instead of actually fun. Let’s talk about the facts when it comes to sex in long-term relationships: Another study3 found good sex can even offset the negative effects of communication problems in relationships. Furthermore, having less sex than you wish you were having can make your relationship less stable and increase the likelihood of a breakup, according to a study published in the 4Archives of Sexual Behavior4....