The benefits of "thinking for pleasure," how to prevent stress and anxiety from ruining your vacation, and more.

Allie Rudin's reads

Why you don't need to drink 8 cups of water a day. According to a recent study in the journal Science, the longtime advice to drink eight glasses of water per day is not accurate. While not dangerous, there isn't actually any benefit for most healthy adults to consume 64 ounces of water daily. Writing for the Washington Post's "Eating Lab," Anahad O'Connor explores the origin of this misleading guidance and provides research-backed tips for those wondering exactly how much water they need.

How to talk to your relatives like an anthropologist over the holidays. For as much time that we spend with our parents, grandparents, and other family members, how can it be that we truly know so little about their lives? One may find themself wondering this after learning some unknown detail about the experiences of someone closest to them. Elizabeth Keating explains for The Conversation how this is a matter not of listening to a loved one, but of asking the right questions in the first place. Learn how she came to this discovery and what it means to approach conversations with your relatives as an anthropologist this holiday season.

Alyssa Nystrom's reads

How to prevent stress and anxiety from ruining your vacation. Decades of research suggest that time away from the office can help boost workers' mental and physical health. However, for many people, taking time off work often feels like "more stress than it's worth, especially if you're just going away for a couple of days." Writing for the New York Times, Alisha Haridasani Gupta outlines six strategies to help workers manage the stress and anxiety associated with returning to work after a vacation.

The benefits of 'thinking for pleasure.' Studies show that most people "find it challenging and not all that satisfying" to spend time alone "just thinking." However, this practice can be good for us—and we can even learn to get better at it. Writing for the Washington Post, Richard Sima explains the benefits of learning to think for fun.