Health

By Lily Hautau, CNN (CNN) — If you’re someone who thrives after dark, you might want to pay extra attention to your heart health. Night owls — those who naturally stay up late — may be more likely to develop heart disease, a new study has found. But experts say there are steps you can

By Michal Ruprecht, CNN (CNN) — Scientists have long believed that longevity is shaped by lifestyle choices; however, a new study reveals that genes may play a larger role in determining how long people live. Genetics accounts for over half of differences in lifespan — two times higher than earlier estimates. Still, the finding may

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — People in the United States can expect to live longer than ever, as death rates returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2024. Life expectancy in the US had been trending up for decades before dropping by nearly a year and a half between 2019 and 2021, but it’s been on

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — The US Department of Homeland Security says a person in detention at an Arizona Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility has measles, a highly contagious virus that can cause high fevers and a distinctive rash. Earlier this month, “the Arizona Public Health Department confirmed an active measles infection of a

By Jen Christensen, CNN (CNN) — How a person will be diagnosed with mental illness could look significantly different in the near future. The American Psychiatric Association announced Wednesday that it is radically reconceptualizing the main manual that clinicians use to make a mental health diagnosis. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders will

By Meg Tirrell, Deidre McPhillips, Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN (CNN) — The fast-growing measles outbreak in South Carolina is now the largest in the United States since the disease was declared eliminated in this country more than two decades ago. With 789 cases reported as of Tuesday, the South Carolina outbreak surpassed a massive outbreak in

By Kara Alaimo, CNN (CNN) — These days when it’s cold out and gets dark early, it can be tempting to hole up at home and keep to ourselves. But that’s not good for our health and well-being now or at any time of year, according to a new book. The secret to thriving is

By Jen Christensen, CNN (CNN) — Terry Sigmond thought it was a cold. She even tried to get out of a New Year’s celebration, but her friend encouraged her to go. So began her weeks-long flu ordeal, when she dozed to Hallmark Channel movies and swapped bed-rest photos with the same friend she rang in

By Lily Hautau, CNN (CNN) — Benjamin Chipman has met with his friend Nikita Suri every Tuesday since July, usually over a grilled chicken sandwich, fries and a beer. With a killer happy hour deal, Wi-Fi and outlets at a neighborhood pub, Chipman — an actor and content creator in New York City — began

By Katia Hetter, CNN (CNN) — Much of the United States is experiencing prolonged and extreme cold weather, with recent winter storms, dangerous windchills and record low temperatures affecting millions of people. As winter stretches on, many people still have to commute to work while figuring out how to keep active and safely let children

CNN By Eric Levenson, Mary Gilbert, CNN (CNN) — This weekend’s winter storm and ensuing bitter cold have left at least 30 people dead and caused prolonged power outages for hundreds of thousands, particularly across the southern US. The damage from ice and cold was most significant in a swath stretching from east Texas through

By Jen Christensen, CNN (CNN) — The American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday released its updated recommendations for what vaccines children should get. It’s a routine revision, hardly different from last year’s recommendations, but it carries more significance this year: More states and doctors are relying on it instead of a controversial new schedule from

By Jamie Gumbrecht, Brenda Goodman, Deidre McPhillips, CNN (CNN) — As public health departments across the country prepared for a massive winter storm this weekend, notice landed in their inboxes that pivotal grant funding from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was paused. No more money could be spent. Within hours, a US

By Karla Walsh, CNN (CNN) — Go ahead, eat chocolate cake every day. One healthy cookbook author gives us permission — and a recipe that’s protein-packed. Rachel Riggs’ signature unfussy cake asks for just one bowl, a single whisk and 10 minutes to get the oven ready. The result is a chocolate dessert that contains

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — John Seiler was strolling across Virginia Tech’s campus with his students Thursday morning when something stopped them in their tracks: a sweet cherry tree with an unusual jagged scar running along its trunk. Seiler, a professor and tree physiology specialist at the university, knew immediately that the scar was

By Brenda Goodman, CNN (CNN) — The US has completed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization, the US Department of Health and Human Services said on Thursday, finalizing a longstanding goal of President Donald Trump. Trump tried to leave WHO during his first term, then gave notice through an executive order on the first

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — Jenna Scott remembers the joy of being pregnant with her first and only child. She also remembers the immense abdominal pain. During her pregnancy, she let her doctors know about the persistent discomfort. She was told it was normal, that the aches “came with the territory,” she said. But

By Dana Santas, CNN (CNN) — You’ve committed to exercising more consistently. Perhaps you’ve been showing up, following a plan and pushing yourself to shed your sedentary lifestyle. But instead of feeling stronger and more capable, you struggle to get through your workouts — feeling stuck at the same exhausting level of effort week after

By Katia Hetter, CNN (CNN) — We are already midway through the month, and you may have intended to try Dry January but didn’t get to it. You may be wondering whether it’s now too late to start. Or maybe you hadn’t planned to cut back but have started noticing how alcohol fits into your

By Sarah Owermohle, Deidre McPhillips, Meg Tirrell, CNN (CNN) — Ongoing measles outbreaks in multiple parts of the country are threatening the United States’ status as a nation that has eliminated the virus’ spread, but a CDC leader said Tuesday that the potential change is not a big concern. Tuesday’s briefing was federal officials’ first

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of American women and men — and has been for over 100 years. In fact, cardiovascular diseases are the top cause of adult deaths everywhere, responsible for 1 in 3 deaths worldwide. Cardiologists say physical inactivity, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol