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Most people start noticing physical and emotional changes about a week before their period starts. For some, bloating, cramping, and pimples are signs that Aunt Flo is coming to town. But another hallmark symptom of being on your period is pain. While it’s common to experience pain in your stomach, pelvic region, and back, some individuals also find themselves grappling with aching legs. “Period pain is caused by many factors, and everyone experiences it differently,” says Neha Thawani, MD, an OB/GYN resident physician at Stanford Medicine. “Some people experience leg aches and pain during their period.” A little mild leg pain during your period is normal. However, in some cases, the pain can be indicative of an underlying condition. Here are seven reasons why you might be experiencing leg pain during your menstrual cycle. 1. Higher levels of prostaglandins Your period leg pain…

There’s a reason why fancy restaurants tend to offer alcoholic drinks like Amaro, Sambuca, sherry, or port with the dessert menu: Traditionally, the liqueurs—often labeled as “digestifs”—have been used to stimulate digestion, especially after a rich meal. But do digestifs (aka after-meal drinks) actually help with digestion? Especially in Europe, people have been enjoying digestifs for hundreds of years. “Typically offered in small portions, up to 1 to 2 ounces max, they are thought to help the body meet the digestive demands of a large meal,” Danielle VenHuizen, RD, a Seattle-based dietitian who focuses on gut health, tells Well+Good. Though there’s not a *ton* of research to back this up, it’s possible that some types of after-dinner drinks might help your GI tract process a meal. Below are some caveats you also should consider. Do ‘digestifs’ help with digestion? First things first: Your…

Appointment reminder: It’s time to book your manicure for New Year’s Eve. As we count down to the most sparkling night of the year, your outfit is probably picked, but have you given any thought to your nails? Of course, you want them to match the vibe when you’re raising your beverage of choice at midnight. As we’ve seen with some of the winter’s most popular nail trends, you can truly play around with everything from subtle shimmer to full-on gemstone effects, so your New Year’s Eve nails don’t have to fit into one particular style. The best part? Many of these looks can transition seamlessly into January, so you get the best return on your time (and money) investment. Whether you’re planning to dance until dawn or ring in the new year on your couch, we’ve curated a collection of New Year…

You may think of your hips as bones or the focus of pop songs (cue: Shakira, Shakira), but they’re so much more than that. The hip joint is quite complex, including about 20 different muscles that work to move your legs in various directions, stabilize your pelvis, and help your body move as one synergistic unit. Your hip adductors, a group of muscles often thought of as the inner thighs, typically don’t get much attention—but if they’re tight or weak, it can have cascading effects on how your body moves. Everything you need to know about training your adductors (including the five best hip adductor exercises to try), ahead. What Are Your Hip Adductors? Your hip adductors are a group of muscles on the inner thigh, sometimes referred to as the groin muscles or inner thighs. “The hip adductors help stabilize the pelvis,…

Want stronger, more powerful legs? Don’t skip the muscles you can’t see—your hamstrings. These often-overlooked workhorses, located on the backs of your thighs, do everything from powering your stride to protecting your knees and lower back. Whether you’re an athlete chasing a PR or a weekend warrior just looking to stay injury-free, adding targeted exercises for the backs of your thighs to your routine is a must. Let’s dive into the best moves to keep your hamstrings strong, balanced, and ready for anything. But first, the benefits of strengthening your hamstrings Your hamstrings do more than you might think—they’re powerhouses for both hip extension and knee flexion, according to Shawn Collins, PT, DPT, CSCS, a performance physical therapist at Bespoke Physical Therapy in San Diego, California. For hip extension: They help you bend at your waist, like when picking something up off the…

The moon is in peaceful, calming, and beauty-obsessed Libra today, in a friendly conversation with Mercury and Jupiter. Your daily horoscope encourages connection and community—it’s an ideal moment to forge and maintain social bonds, even superficial ones. In other words, don’t go it alone if you don’t have to. If you’re isolated or doing a WFH day, reach out to friends and consider Facetiming so you can see them smiling. Co-regulating your nervous system is key at the moment, with an emphasis on the co. Yay, besties. Bonus: This lunar energy is also excellent for booking a spa visit or just grabbing a quick mani-pedi. Right now, pretty heals.AriesMarch 21–April 19The moon is in your opposite sign, lighting up your seventh house of relationships, Aries. With wounded healer Chiron in your bold and audacious sign at the same time, there could be a…

Of all the surprising fragrance notes popping up in the last few years—milk, violet, and pink peppercorn, to name a few—one of the most unexpected, and a personal favorite, is marshmallow. Not so much “ooey-gooey” as fluffy and sweet, these scents are here to carry you away on a cloud of lightly toasted comfort. First, a quick history lesson: When marshmallows are mentioned, the “roasted at the end of a stick” variety may come to mind, but did you know that their name comes from an actual plant? According to the Farmer’s Almanac, marshmallow (also known by its Latin name althaea officinalis) is an “herbaceous perennial native to Europe” that blooms in the summer months and has long been used as an ingredient for medicinal treatments, dating all the way back to Ancient Egypt. The confectionery treat differs considerably from the original herb…

When I moved to Los Angeles, the first friendships I made were with two girls I’d met at a Thursday morning boxing class. At the time, I was working as a journalist doing the overnight shift, so while catching up on sleep would’ve been ideal, I was there every week purely motivated by seeing my friends. While the class no longer exists, we’re still close over six years later. You’re not alone if you’ve noticed that run clubs and other fitness groups have been on the rise over the past year. People have been turning to sports to find community and the stats back this up. According to Strava’s Year in Sport trend report, 58 percent of their 5,000+ respondents (and 66 percent of Gen Z) said they made new friends through a fitness group in 2024. Meanwhile, 55 percent of Gen Z…

The "color walk" is one of the latest walking and mindfulness trends. While it started gaining traction on TikTok in 2021, it's still around in full force and has even recently spread to Instagram. Seeing all of the videos online lately inspired me to give it a try—and I’ll take any excuse to get moving and get outside, especially in the winter when I need that extra motivation. Want to give a color walk a try yourself? Keep scrolling to learn more about what it is, its benefits, and how to do it. You'll be glad you did. What is a color walk? The color walk is a form of walking meditation, where you pick a color right at the start of your walk and notice that color in your environment during your stroll. For example, if your color is yellow, you might…

Earth has almost completed its annual journey around the sun, and you know what that means—another year is coming to an end. 2024 was a big year for wellness, whether that was adding more gentle movement to our daily routines, following a regular skincare routine, or improving our sleep hygiene. While well-being will always be a core pillar in our lives, our health editors wanted to share which wellness tips from this year were their favorites. We chose from several health categories and rounded up our top 10 tips. See which ones made the cut. 1. Leave your phone in another room before you go to sleep After talking with sleep experts and looking at our habits (doomscrolling, anyone?), we’ve officially determined it’s time to leave phones—and all screens, for that matter—out of the bedroom. Why? The blue-spectrum light emitted from screens keeps…