If you take a break from the gym you may lose muscle and gain fat, but it isn’t as simple as one turning into the other‘This is not true,” says Prof Leigh Breen, a specialist in muscle physiology at the University of Leicester. But it’s a statement he hears a lot, particularly from people who have taken a long break from exercise. “They’ll often refer to the notion that their muscles have ‘softened’ or don’t feel as toned.”The reality is that there’s no biochemistry linking the two types of tissue. Muscle and fat are distinct. “There’s no known process in the human body that would support muscle turning into fat, or vice versa,” says Breen. Continue reading...

12 Oct 2026 07:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

The idea is popular in wellness circles, but experts say there’s no evidence that trauma uniquely affects the hips. Here’s what causes hip tightness and what can helpIn yoga classes, on TikTok and throughout other wellness spaces, you’ve probably heard the saying: your hips hold tension. These joints have a reputation of being emotional storage units of sorts – but is it true that they are affected by old traumas and painful memories?Pain and muscle tension hit harder when you’re going through a difficult time. But should tight hips make you question your mental health? And what can you do to reduce hip tightness? Here’s what you need to know. Continue reading...

11 Oct 2026 16:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Could a drug intended to prevent painful rashes also protect our brains as we get older? The signs are promising – but not conclusive. Yet that’s enough to be driving a boom in shingles jabsWhen Jenny, a 50-year-old marketing and branding professional from Cambridge, went for her shingles vaccine last year, an entirely different disease was on her mind. Having witnessed three of her four grandparents succumb to dementia, with all the distress that brought, she wants to avoid the same fate. She hopes the shingles vaccine might help.Jenny is far from alone. Britain’s high street chemists have reported a rise in demand for the shingles vaccine, at least some of which is driven by people more worried about dementia than shingles. And while the vaccine is free for some on the NHS, most under-65s pay around £450 for the full two doses. Continue reading...

11 Oct 2026 13:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Thinking about writing a book and doing it are two very different things – so how to get started and follow through? At some point in their lives, many people are confronted with a big question: what if I wrote a book?Writing a memoir, murder mystery or steamy romance is an accomplishment. Like running a marathon or successfully filing your taxes, it speaks to grit, determination and hours of research and effort.How to start meditatingHow to start weightliftingHow to start budgetingHow to start running Continue reading...

15 Oct 2026 16:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

After losing a few stone, Abdeen now likes to plan his meals ahead, but Claire says he is taking the joy out of going to restaurants. Whose argument carries more weight? You decide• Find out how to get a disagreement settled or become a jurorI want him to be more spur-of-the-moment because that will improve my dining experience Continue reading...

15 Oct 2026 07:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

As a new film about Sherpa Tenzing Norgay is released, we visit Pen-Y-Gwryd, the Snowdonia hotel that served as British ‘base camp’ for the 1953 expedition and where the spirit of adventure lives onIn the early hours of 2 June 1953, guests at the Pen-Y-Gwryd hotel in the heart of Eryri (Snowdonia) were woken from their sleep by the sound of footsteps running down the corridor outside their rooms. The commotion was followed by gleeful shouting and the sound of champagne corks popping. A late-night telephone call to the hotel’s owner had moments earlier confirmed that Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay had successfully summited Mount Everest. It had taken two days for the news to travel from the Himalayas to London. Serendipitously, news of the historic achievement coincided with the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II later that day.In the days and weeks that followed, the two mountaineers were feted across the front pages of newspapers around the world. Posing awkwardly for the cameras, their beaming smiles shone out of frost-burnt faces. In the decades that followed, Tenzing Norgay’s role in the expedition was increasingly marginalised – he was a Sherpa, indigenous to the area, and the load-carrying guide, while Hillary firmly planted his ice axe in the history books. Continue reading...

15 Oct 2026 06:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

When a New Zealand bank tried to suppress sleazy comments about its virtual sheep mascot, it got a lesson in going viral and online censorshipNick, this cute green cartoon from New Zealand is all over my social media. Why are people falling for an animated sheep?This is a truly online story. A few months ago, Kiwibank, a state-owned financial institution, unveiled a new mascot: Buck, a green-wooled, brown-eyed emblem meant to embody the idea of “better paths, better possibilities and better outcomes” for customers. Continue reading...

14 Oct 2026 23:28 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN