b'Shorter or Longer Bursts of Activity?3D eye scans can reveal important Short bursts of vigorous activityjust 20 to 30 seconds at a timecan sig-nificantly reduce the risk of major car-diovascular problems, particularly for women. A study published in the Brit-ish Journal of Sports Medicine found that women who incorporated around 3-4minutesoftheseintensebursts daily saw a 45% lower risk of heart is-sues compared to those who did none. Even one to two minutes of such activ-ity reduced heart attack risk by 33%.Alcohols Cancer Risk cers. Alcohols carcinogenic effects Alcohol consumption is a signif- areattributedtomechanismslike icant,preventablecauseofcancerDNAdamagefromacetaldehyde, intheUnitedStates,contributinginflammation,hormonalchanges, to nearly 100,000 cancer cases andandincreasedabsorptionofother about 20,000 deaths annually. De- carcinogens. Health organizations, spiteitsprevalence,with72%ofincluding the WHO and CDC, clas-U.S.adultsreportingalcoholusesifyalcoholasahigh-riskcarcin-in2019-2020,fewerthanhalfareogen,underscoringtheneedfor aware of its cancer risks. Researchpublicawarenessandprevention hasfirmlyestablishedalcoholasstrategies.acarcinogen,linkedtoatleast sevencancers.EvenlowlevelsofAlcoholandCancerRisk,TheU.S. consumption(onedrinkperday)Surgeon Generals Advisory 2025, at canelevaterisksforcertaincan- https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/cers,suchasbreastandoralcan- priorities/alcohol-cancer/index.html.These benefits were observed in a The Sleep-deprived BrainHarringtonM,Karapanagiotidisstudy of over 22,000 adults, aged 40 is Unable to Control Un- T, Phillips L, et al., Memory controlto 69, using movement tracking over aweekandfollowingparticipants wanted Memories deficitsinthesleep-deprivedhumanhealth for an average of eight years. Sleep problems contribute signifi- brain, Proceedings of the Nation- While smaller benefits were noted for cantly to mental health disorders byal Academy of Sciences USA, 2025,men, the findings highlight the value impairing the ability to suppress in- 122(1)e2400743122,athttps://doi. of building heart-pumping activities trusive memories. This study revealsorg/10.1073/pnas.2400743122.like climbing stairs, parking farther that sleep deprivation disrupts brainaway from a destination, or chasing a regions involved in memory inhibi- petinto daily routines.tion, with functional deficits linkedStamatakis E, Ahmadi M, Biswas R, et to reduced REM sleep. These chang- al., Device-measured vigorous intermit-eshindertheabilitytocontrolun- tent lifestyle physical activity (VILPA) wanted memories and affect thoughtand major adverse cardiovascular events: regulation, offering insight into howevidence of sex differences, British Jour-poor sleep fuels mental illness andnal of Sports Medicine, published online highlighting potential pathways forDec3,2024,atbjsm.bmj.com/content/treatment and prevention. early/2024/12/28/bjsports-2024-108484.H ealtHF reedomN ews /w iNter2024 11'