Life Style

For many of us, springtime brings a boost in mood and energy – we are drawn to the outdoors and become more physically active.This not only has positive effects on our cardiovascular system, but also on our body’s stress regulation.How does exercise affect levels of the steroid hormone cortisol, known as the primary “stress hormone”?Produced and secreted into the bloodstream by the adrenal glands atop the kidneys, cortisol is one of the most important hormones in the body. Among other things, it helps to mobilise energy reserves and regulate metabolism, and has an anti-inflammatory effect on the immune system.Exercise, especially moderate forms such as swimming, are a great way to help the body stabilise cortisol production and manage stress, according to Kroiss. Photo: ShutterstockIn stre...

In today’s K-pop scene, most idol groups focus on delivering flashy performances to tracks prepared by professional songwriters and producers, which, unfortunately, leaves little room for the idols themselves to participate in the creative process.Under the guidance of rapper and producer Zico – also the head of the group’s agency KOZ Entertainment – BoyNextDoor have distinguished themselves from their peers by having all members take part in songwriting and production.From Jaehyun and Taesan to the youngest member, Woonhak, all have participated in writing the team’s buzzy singles that include “Earth, Wind & Fire”, “Nice Guy” and “If I Say, I Love You”.“What makes a song good is different for every artist,” Jaehyun said in an interview this week.

People who work too hard and for too long can end up altering parts of their brains that manage memory and problem solving, new research suggests.A team of South Korean researchers said their findings “underscore the importance of addressing overwork as an occupational health concern and highlight the need for workplace policies that mitigate excessive working hours”.Published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine, a British Medical Journal publication, the research points to overwork as a potential cause of “neuroadaptive changes that might affect cognitive and emotional health”.“Killing it” at work has long been associated with health risks that can literally kill, such as cardiovascular disease and mental health issues, with the International Labour Organization estimating the wo...

The city of Copenhagen in Denmark will offer special rebates and freebies to eco-friendly tourists this summer, including free bike rentals to those arriving by train and staying more than four days.The CopenPay initiative, which was tested on a smaller scale in 2024, “is about raising travellers’ awareness about travelling more responsibly”, Soren Tegen Pedersen, the head of the city’s tourism board Wonderful Copenhagen, said.The emphasis of the initiative is on transport, a highly polluting sector.Those who make climate-friendly and environmental choices, such as using bikes and picking up rubbish, will also be offered rebates at museums and tourist sites, as well as free yoga classes and vegetarian meals.Ninety sites are taking part in the campaign, including the National Museum of Denm...

The Hong Kong-style egg and beef sandwich is not just a sandwich, but a testament to how a seemingly simple snack, served quickly and conveniently, can stand the test of time and become a collective memory among busy city dwellers.Many restaurants have made it their own by adding salted (corned) beef and various inventive ingredients, infusing even more “Hong Kong-ness” into the dish and increasing the reverence it receives from locals and tourists alike.It has been speculated that the Hong Kong egg and beef sandwich was a product of British colonisation, similar to how the Vietnamese banh mi was influenced by the country’s French colonial history.Corned beef and egg sandwiches were a popular snack among the British Army during World War I and II, while some of the earliest mentions of can...

A historic marble plaque on the wall of Sokolniki underground station marks the opening of the Moscow metro 90 years ago.Considered the most beautiful underground railway system in the world, the metro, which opened on May 15, 1935, was designed by Lazar Kaganovich, a confidant of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.But the plaque bears no sign of that name, as our tour guide and trained engineer Daniil Shopkhoev notes. Instead, metal letters later added spell out the name V.I. Lenin, the first Soviet leader.As Moscow, Europe’s biggest city with an official population of over 13 million, marks the metro’s anniversary, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin plans to expand it further.The inauguration plaque at Sokolniki metro station in Moscow. Vladimir Lenin’s name was added in metal letters at a later date. Pho...

With rural Japan experiencing severe depopulation, unstaffed railway stations and vacant properties are being turned into places for tourists to stay – and it is proving a success.Transport operators are working with local communities to repurpose quiet outposts into hubs of activity, injecting new life into surrounding areas with their creativity.In the tranquil countryside of Shizuoka prefecture, central Japan, a disused part of the unstaffed Futamata-Hommachi Station has been converted into a one-room hotel, giving travellers a unique perspective on rural Japanese life.Inn My Life was opened by Akihito Nakatani in May 2019 to encourage people to explore his hometown of Tenryu, whose once-thriving forestry industry has faded.“For a place to become a tourist destination, it needs attentio...

As a child of the 90s, I distinctly remember cottage cheese being the frumpiest of foods, peddled as a miracle ingredient for those on restrictive Weight Watchers-style diets.High in protein and low in salt and fat, it was often suggested as an accompaniment to that other ghastly anti-gourmet product: rice cakes.Not the deliciously savoury, soy-glazed roasted rice crackers you might buy in a Japanese snack aisle, though – we are talking those squeaky, puffy discs of what could otherwise pass as styrofoam.Yet, in 2025, I found myself a convert to cottage cheese. After decades of eschewing these lumpy curds, I was influenced to go buy a pot by a friend who swore by it – it is worth noting that this friend enjoys actual salt and flavour – after she texted me her latest recipe: “New cottage ch...

Have you ever had a cold sore? They are common, uncomfortable and can be hard to get rid of. But there is new hope on the horizon.Research has discovered that a protein in the herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) – a virus that causes both cold sores and a small proportion of genital herpes, and which can lie dormant for extended periods – is required to activate the immune system and reawaken the virus when it is dormant.When the virus reawakens, it hijacks the body’s antiviral action, allowing it to storm back with a vengeance. A fresh crop of painful sores subsequently develops.The virus can make this protein while it lies dormant.“This is an important finding because it gives us new ways to potentially prevent the virus from waking up and activating immune responses in the nervous system tha...

3.5/5 starsIt has been almost 30 years since Tom Cruise first played IMF agent Ethan Hunt in 1996’s Mission: Impossible. This latest – and presumably last – instalment, premiering out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival, does not let us forget it either.The opening montage, filled with nostalgic clips from the series, is the first of many times we are reminded that Hunt’s three decades have led to this moment with the world on the precipice of disaster.Following directly on from 2023’s Dead Reckoning Part One, this concluding part continues Hunt’s attempt to battle the Entity, an AI program destined to bring the planet to its knees.With a crucial, crucifix-shaped key in his possession, rogue agent Hunt is implored by the President (Angela Bassett) to surrender for the sake of humani...