Spring cleaning for your brain, why so many pets packed on pounds during the pandemic, and more.

Vivian Le's reads

Spring cleaning for your brain. Throughout the pandemic, people have endured illness, economic upheaval, and many other hardships that have left their minds stressed and cluttered. Now, as spring comes, it may be time to "take stock of our mental wellbeing" and offer "our brains a respite." Writing for the New York Times, Christina Caron outlines five ways to calm your anxiety, reduce stress, and avoid information overload in an increasingly overwhelming world.

A family's legacy of the paranormal. The Parapsychology Foundation is an organization dedicated to the scientific study of psychic or paranormal phenomena and—despite what many might assume—is really more closely linked to academia rather than supernatural hoaxes. Writing for the New York Times, Suzanne Clores explains the history of the organization, which spans four generations, and how it was founded largely based on skepticism rather than belief.

Alyssa Nystrom's reads

Why so many pets packed on pounds during the pandemic. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, many pet owners started to notice that their pets were gaining weight. In fact, veterinarians around the country reported that almost 40% of cats and nearly 35% of dogs were diagnosed as overweight in 2020—an increase from less than 20% a decade ago. Writing for the New York Times, Aishvarya Kavi explains what's driving the increase in overweight pets.

Why you shouldn’t sleep with the lights on. Between streetlights, lamps, televisions, and smartphones, sleeping with some type of ambient lighting has become the norm for many people. Writing for the Washington Post, Erin Blakemore explains how sleeping in a moderately lit room can have a negative impact on your sleep quality and overall health.