Lifestyle
5 Tips to Upgrade Your Sleep
(Family Features) Good sleep isn’t just about waking up feeling rested and ready for the day. Quality sleep, and plenty of it, is important for your overall health. While you sleep, your body naturally recharges itself, which puts you at lower risk for cardiovascular problems and chronic conditions like diabetes, as well as improving your immune system.
Sleep also contributes to better brain function, memory, concentration and lower stress. According to the National Institutes of Health, most adults need 7-9 hours of sleep every night to achieve maximum health benefits.
If you’re falling short of the recommended amount of sleep, you may be able to make some adjustments that help you reap the health benefits of better rest. Learn what you can do to improve your sleep with these tips from the experts in safer, healthier sleep at Naturepedic.
Reduce Light Exposure
Your body’s natural circadian rhythms are closely aligned with light and dark. When your body senses light, it sends signals to your brain that it’s time to be awake. Light also suppresses your body’s production of melatonin, a hormone linked to sleep. Cutting back on bright lights and avoiding devices at least an hour before bed can tell your body it’s time to wind down, and sleeping in a dark room promotes better rest.
Invest in the Right Mattress
Your mattress plays a major role in your comfort through the night, so making sure it fits your needs is an important step toward getting better rest. Take control of your comfort with a quality mattress such as Naturepedic’s EOS (Ergonomic Organic Sleep) mattress, which is handcrafted and made without polyurethane foam, formaldehyde, flame retardants or fiberglass. The breathable layers of certified organic cotton, wool and GOTS-approved latex ensure better temperature regulation while naturally contouring the body. An added feature is the ability to customize each side of the bed by opening the zippers and adjusting the layered components for the perfect comfort combination.
Find the Right Sheets
Sheets that are too stiff, scratchy or otherwise unpleasant make it nearly impossible to settle in for a good night’s rest. Higher thread counts tend to be softer, higher quality sheets. However, you may need to experiment to find which material suits you best.
Set a Comfortable Temperature
When you’re too hot or cold, your mind tends to focus on those sensations rather than allowing you to slip into a slumber. Set your thermostat at a comfortable temperature, adding fans or adjusting the layers of bedding as necessary to achieve the perfect level of cozy comfort.
Use a Sound Machine
If you’re a light sleeper, noise can wreak havoc on your rest. Many people find sound machines offer two key benefits: They provide a soothing sound, such as rain or ocean waves, that allows you to relax and ease into slumber and constant background noise, so additional sounds are less disruptive.
Find more solutions for achieving better sleep at Naturepedic.com.
Sleeping in Separate Beds
Sleeping in separate beds or rooms is a choice made by many couples, but results show it has less to do with the health of the relationship and more to do with quality sleep.
According to a survey by Naturepedic, more than 40% of couples who share a bed reported that sleep issues have caused them to question their relationship. Snoring, conflicting sleep schedules and different temperature preferences were frequently cited as concerns. However, motion transfer and mattress comfort were also reasons people said they miss having their own beds.
A bed that allows each person to customize their comfort can alleviate those problems. For example, Naturepedic’s EOS mattress allows you to adjust the layered components inside to achieve the perfect comfort combination on each side.
That’s potentially good news for couples who sleep apart, as 33% of respondents reported having different mattress firmness and softness preferences, which ultimately led to their decision.
“When it comes to sleeping together, these survey results bring to light how critical personalized mattress comfort is,” said Barry Cik, founder and technical director of Naturepedic. “Luckily, you don’t have to choose between having a good relationship or a good night’s sleep.”
SOURCE:
Naturepedic
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Summer is supposed to be the season of yes: yes to rooftop drinks, weekend flights, beach clubs, festivals, and finally trying that hobby you’ve been bookmarking since January. But according to a new Dating.com analysis, the “main character summer” lifestyle can come with a very real price tag—especially if you’re paying for everything on your own.
Dating.com’s latest report, Dating.com Reveals the Most Expensive Cities to Be Single in Summer 2026, looked at 50 popular destinations worldwide and ranked them by what it calls a Single Tax Score—a composite measure of the costs singles are likely to face during peak summer months.
Why being single can cost more than you think
The study builds on Dating.com’s earlier findings that 43% of singles focus on self-care—from gym memberships and skincare to solo dates and travel. At the same time, 41% of singles say they’d feel less lonely if they had more money, underscoring how financial flexibility can influence how often people can say yes to experiences that build connection.
Dating.com’s resident therapist, Jaime Bronstein, LCSW, notes that the assumption “single = cheaper” often doesn’t hold up. Couples can split rent, transportation, meals, and entertainment, while singles absorb the full cost alone—plus summer’s calendar tends to be packed with higher-priced social events and trips.
The 10 most expensive cities to be single in Summer 2026
Here are the top destinations where the summer “single tax” hits hardest, based on Dating.com’s ranking.
1) Miami (Single Tax Score: 75)
Miami takes the top spot thanks to steep nightlife and entertainment costs. Dating.com estimates:
- $110 for a solo date night
- $200/night for beach clubs and nightlife venues
- $280/night average summer hotel rates
2) New York (74)
New York lands at #2 with high costs across nearly every category:
- $115 average solo date night
- $380/night average summer hotel rates
Even without flight costs for locals, accommodation and social spending push NYC near the top.
3) Mykonos (72)
Europe’s most expensive destination for singles on the list, Mykonos is priced like a fantasy:
- $1,900 average summer flights from New York
- $280/night beach club and nightlife costs (highest in the study)
- $300/night average hotels
4) Las Vegas (70)
Vegas is built for entertainment—and the bill reflects it:
- $250 average festival/concert tickets (highest among the top ten)
- $180/night nightlife costs
- $145/night average hotels (relatively affordable, but spending adds up fast)
5) Boston (67)
Boston’s biggest driver is lodging:
- $390/night average summer hotel stays (highest of any city in the top ten)
- $108 average solo date night
6) Maldives (64)
A classic “romantic” destination that gets especially expensive solo:
- $480/night average hotels (highest in the top ten)
- $1,300 average summer flights from New York
- $124 average solo date night
7) San Francisco (62)
San Francisco remains costly for both travel and everyday experiences:
- $820 average flights from London
- $100 typical solo date
- $245/night average hotels
8) Los Angeles (61)
LA’s premium social scene pushes it into the top ten:
- $100 average solo date night
- $820 average flights from London
- $22 average rooftop cocktail
9) London (61)
London’s costs are driven by international travel and peak-season lodging:
- $1,900 average flights from New York
- $295/night average hotels
- $108 average solo date
10) Santorini (61)
Like Mykonos, Santorini’s popularity inflates nearly every summer expense:
- $1,900 average flights from New York
- $160/night beach club and nightlife costs
- $310/night average hotels
What to watch for (and how to plan smarter)
The takeaway isn’t “don’t travel” or “don’t go out.” It’s that destination choice can dramatically change the cost of a solo summer, and singles may want to budget differently than couples.
If you’re planning a solo trip (or just trying to make the most of where you live), consider:
- Swapping one premium hotspot for a value city (the ranking includes lower-cost options like Bangkok, Medellín, Mexico City, and Kuala Lumpur)
- Prioritizing experiences that don’t scale with group size (museums, walking tours, day trips, free festivals)
- Booking lodging early in high-demand cities where hotels are doing the most damage
As Bronstein emphasizes, being single isn’t a problem to solve—and solo experiences can be just as meaningful as romantic ones. The goal is to make sure your summer plans support your life, not stress your wallet.
Methodology (in plain English)
Dating.com reviewed 50 popular destinations and analyzed costs associated with being single in summer, including:
- Date night costs for one person
- Summer hotel rates
- Summer flight costs
- Rooftop cocktail prices
- Festival and concert ticket prices
- Beach club costs
- Pet-related surcharges
- Other seasonal leisure expenses
Each factor was normalized on a 0–1 scale (with 1 representing the highest cost), then combined into a final score to rank cities from most to least expensive for singles.
Source: Dating.com, via PRNewswire (June 25, 2026)
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(Feature Impact) Relationships and plumbing have something in common: they can both benefit from practicing smarter bathroom habits. Whether you’re sharing a household with your family, a partner or roommates, good etiquette in these frequently shared spaces can save everyone’s sanity – just like rethinking your flushing routines can save your pipes.
From simple annoyances like leaving the toilet seat up to potentially costly mistakes like clogging your plumbing by flushing the wrong items, a new survey from the Responsible Flushing Alliance (RFA) illuminated a variety of bad habits that cause the most tension in American homes.
In addition to shedding light on these problems, the alliance outlined solutions you can implement at home to restore peace in your restroom. Plus, you can gamify the habit changes to make them more entertaining.
“Our goal is to revolutionize public education by keeping it highly engaging, memorable and fun,” RFA President Lara Wyss said. “We are challenging the public to rethink their everyday habits.”
Get started with these seven tips:
Replace the toilet roll properly
Don’t be the reason someone gets stranded with nothing but a cardboard tube in their moment of need. Keep extra rolls nearby, and when you’re down to the last square of toilet paper, make it a race against the clock to replace it.
Use the (flush) force
An unflushed toilet was listed as the biggest bathroom pet peeve by 37% of survey respondents. To make it fun for the family, introduce a new tradition: before you leave the bathroom, pretend there’s an invisible force field pushing you back to make sure you’ve flushed and are good to go.
Hunt for sink and shower hair
Leaving hair in the drain isn’t just a source of potential plumbing clogs – it’s also an irritant for 35% of respondents. After you shower or style your hair, make it a game to see how many stray strands you can capture and deliver to the trash can.
Clean it and close it
You’ve probably heard jokes about people who leave the toilet seat up, so don’t make yourself the punchline. For a completely un-mockable routine, grab the brush to give the bowl a quick swish after you flush, ensure the seat is down and use an anti-bacterial wipe to leave everything sparkling. You’ll notice cleaning wipes bear the Do Not Flush symbol, which means they go in the trash and never the toilet.
Conquer the counter
Toothpaste and water often splatter all over the place, so to be a polite bathroom roommate, wipe up the mess before it’s even had a chance to dry. Keep cleaning wipes or rags within easy reach and give yourself a 10-second deadline to leave surfaces spotless.
Practice good towel etiquette
Wet towels don’t belong on bathroom floors. If they still have a use or two left in them, banish them back to your towel rack. Otherwise, challenge yourself to a game of laundry basketball, aiming for the hamper.
Don’t flush the un-flushable
According to an RFA survey, half of Americans are still flushing things they know they shouldn’t, like paper towels, feminine hygiene products and non-flushable wipes. Since clearing a clog in your home can cost anywhere from $300-$15,000 or more, the only thing you’ll be draining with habits like these is your wallet.
“Always check wet wipes for the Do Not Flushsymbol and disposal instructions, which helps us protect not only the health of our homes and environment but our relationships, too,” Wyss said.
Visit FlushSmart.org to learn more about good bathroom etiquette, take an interactive quiz and put these tips into practice with a seven-day challenge.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock (throwing away non-flushable wipe)
SOURCE:
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Rotem Rozental, University of Southern California
Film photography is experiencing a resurrection, summoned by unlikely conjurers: Gen Z.
It wasn’t too long ago that analog photography – which uses photographic film and chemical processing – was declared all but dead, relegated to the province of niche hobbyists and professional artists.
Digital cameras had taken over nearly all areas of photographic production. Film industry titans like Polaroid and Kodak had shrunk dramatically from their heyday, becoming shells of their former selves. Darkrooms, where students learned how to manually develop and print film, shuttered at high schools and college campuses across the country, replaced by digital labs. For most people, the spirit of analog photography was mainly channeled through Instagram filters.
But within the past five years, younger people have been increasingly drawn to the old way of doing photography.
In 2025, 35% of the 42 million active film camera users worldwide were reported to be between the ages of 18 and 30. The year prior, online searches for analog photography saw a 41% rise.
Disposable camera sales have been steadily increasing since 2023. The photography journal PetaPixel went a step further and announced 2024 as “film’s best year in decades,” as major brands have introduced new cameras in response to renewed demand and revived classic models. More than 30% of respondents to a 2024 Ilford Photo survey on film photography were in the 25-34 age group.
As I’ve witnessed more and more of my undergraduate art and design students embrace analog photography, I’m not seeing this as a trend rooted in a nostalgic yearning for the past. Instead, I’m seeing it as young people rejecting algorithms, breaking free from the alienation of social media and reacting to childhoods spent on Zoom and TikTok – a deliberate move to redefine the future of art, social connection and engagement with the world.
Pining for a ‘third place’
In my work as a historian of photography and lecturer at the University of Southern California, I’ll often ask my students about how they take photos – whether they’re using digital cameras their smartphones or analog devices.
This year, for the first time, some of my students discussed images they’d printed and the physical photography albums they’d put together of their friends and family. They talked about how they’d also been sending postcards, writing letters and tacking photographs to their bedroom walls.
I couldn’t help but think about how so much of the language tied to early social media seemed to refashion physical gestures for a virtual world – “posting” on a “wall,” “poking,” “tagging” and “bookmarking,” not to mention “friending.”
This was a rhetorical move by social media companies, likely designed to help people feel as though they were in a familiar terrain of social connection. Yet the underlying business model of these platforms depended more on maximizing engagement and advertising revenue than on nurturing authentic relationships.
Everyone knows what happened next: The more connected young people became online, the more isolated and detached they started to feel. The COVID-19 lockdown pushed social life online even further, and researchers are only now starting to see how the combination of increased screen time and isolation negatively affected adolescents’ mental health. By 2023, 51% of American teenagers reported they spend at least four hours a day on social media.
I see the attraction of analog photography as a response to life lived through screens, a pathway toward community engagement and the desire for what sociologists call “a third place.”
Coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg in his 1989 book “The Great Good Place,” third places are meant as a space separate from home and work. They offer a reprieve for the in-between, generating the conditions needed for creative cross-pollination. They might include a local cafe, a neighborhood writing group, a weekly Magic: The Gathering game or a college fraternity – any space that allows for social interaction and personal growth.
These spaces also combat loneliness. They get people out of their heads and into a community. Oldenburg also referred to them as “havens of sociability,” places or gatherings where people can arrive alone to join others, and the atmosphere is “democratic and festive.”
Analog communities IRL
In April 2026, the inaugural AnalogCon took place in Los Angeles. Organized by the Los Angeles Center of Photography, where I serve as executive director and chief curator, it was a festival for all things analog photography. It didn’t just serve as a third place for photography enthusiasts; it also showed how analog photography – as a practice, ritual and community – is flourishing.
Vendors, industry leaders, artists and teachers participated in the two-day event, which included exhibitions, panels, demonstrations and guided photography tours around Little Tokyo. The excitement and thirst for similar events was palpable.
Photography now joins a broader trend of a generational preoccupation with physical cultural objects and media. Although music streaming represents 82% of revenues generated in the music industry, vinyl records sales have been rising for over a decade, crossing the US$1 billion threshold in the U.S. in 2025.
Nearly 60% of Gen Z are now purchasing records. VHS tapes and VCR players are also making a strange comeback, with stores like Be Kind Video and Videotheque in California offering VHS, DVDs and Blu-ray rentals.
But beyond that, record stores and video rental shops have become third places in their own right. There’s a big difference between selecting a film to stream from your bed and getting out of the house, going to a store and talking about movies with a clerk and fellow film enthusiasts.
Think about the sound a tape cassette makes when you open and close it, or the vibrant graphics on the covers of DVDs or VHS tapes. Think about rewinding or making a mixtape for your recent crush. These are objects of belonging that signal specific cultural moments, rituals and aesthetics, and many young people today are starting to experience them for the first time.
Now, think about gently inserting a roll of film into a camera. Think about choosing an angle carefully when snapping a photo, because the number of frames is limited and you want to make them count. Think about the thrill of discovery when the pictures finally emerge as objects on paper.
To me, these are more than fleeting trends. They signal a push against a digital culture that is designed to cultivate envy and reward outrage, insults and humiliation.
Instead, armed with rolls of film, more and more Gen Zers appear to be opting out of their algorithmic feeds in favor of experiencing life in ways that feel more deliberate, personal and tangible.
Rotem Rozental, Lecturer in Critical Studies, Roski School of Art and Design, University of Southern California
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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