Don’t smoke. Don’t drink alcohol. Don’t do drugs. Exercise frequently. Eat a healthy diet. Get good sleep.

You’ve probably heard all of this before. It’s the standard advice given by doctors and health advocates. And for good reason: This guidance is solid and forms the foundation for long-term health and quality of life.

But there are a few other things many people do all the time that, as a neurologist, I try to avoid to keep my brain healthy and memory sharp.

GPS has made our lives much more convenient. Before its invention, people had to rely on foldout paper maps, spatial reasoning, and environmental cues to navigate. These days, that’s become a lost art.

Over time, relying too much on GPS can weaken your spatial memory. One study showed that the hippocampi — the memory centers of the brain — are larger in taxi drivers because they need to memorize complex street layouts.

Another recent study found that taxi and ambulance drivers were less likely to die from Alzheimer’s disease than people in other professions. One possible explanation is that these jobs require frequent, real-time use of spatial and navigational skills, which may help maintain or even improve hippocampal health.

This isn’t to say people shouldn’t use GPS for traffic updates, but there are ways to actively engage your spatial memory without it. For example, try planning a route to a new café or exploring a different way home from work.

Many of us work long days and feel like we never have enough energy to get through them. But relying on energy drinks isn’t the solution. These beverages often contain high levels of caffeine, taurine, and B vitamins. Consuming large amounts can lead to cardiovascular issues like high blood pressure, palpitations, and even arrhythmias.

Neurologically, excessive energy drink consumption can cause insomnia, anxiety, restlessness, and, in more severe cases, seizures.

A lesser-known risk is long-term buildup of B vitamins in the body. Normally, excess B vitamins are flushed out naturally since they’re water-soluble. However, a notable exception is vitamin B6, often consumed in sports and energy drinks. Excess B6 can accumulate over time, leading to toxicity and potentially causing peripheral neuropathy.

Just because something is available over the counter (OTC) doesn’t mean it’s harmless. Always follow your doctor’s instructions and the medication label, and don’t exceed the recommended dosage.

For instance, common side effects of overusing aspirin, ibuprofen, and other NSAIDs (or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) include peptic ulcers, GI bleeding, acute kidney injury, and even chronic kidney disease. Tylenol (acetaminophen) is often seen as safer for the stomach and kidneys, but acetaminophen overdose is the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S.

Some lesser-known OTC products can cause surprising side effects. I’ve seen bismuth toxicity from excessive Pepto-Bismol use lead to dementia-like symptoms. I’ve also seen patients who, after following advice from online wellness influencers, consumed too much zinc, resulting in spinal cord injuries.

I love hiking and spending time outdoors. But when I venture into nature, I always: 

1. Know my environment and surroundings
2. Use bug spray and wear long sleeves when appropriate
3. Check for ticks afterward

Each year, especially during the summer, I see previously healthy people come into the hospital with fever, confusion, and sometimes seizures or coma, due to mosquito-borne or tick-borne illnesses. Some of these infections, like Lyme disease, are treatable if caught early. Others can leave lasting damage to the brain and nervous system.

Taking small preventive steps to avoid bug bites can potentially save you from life-altering infections.

Baibing Chen is a double-boarded certified neurologist and epileptologist practicing at the University of Michigan. Find him on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

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As a leadership consultant who studies workplace psychology, I’ve spent 30 years working with high performers across all industries. Again and again, one truth keeps proving itself: Being artistic in some way can transform you.

Even Steve Jobs agreed when he was interviewed for the PBS documentary “Triumph of the Nerds” in 1995: “I think part of what made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians and poets and artists and zoologists and historians, who also happened to be the best computer scientists in the world.”

Of all the artistic fields, I’ve found that mastering a musical instrument is the most powerful for rewiring the brain for greatness. Playing an instrument — whether it’s the piano, trumpet or guitar — activates nearly every part of your brain: motor control, pattern recognition, emotional regulation, creativity and stamina.

That’s why I believe parents should encourage their kids to learn an instrument as early as possible. Studies have consistently found that children who learn music are more likely to have increased IQ scores and better language development.

Plus, it encourages their brain to operate at full capacity, building the neural foundation for mastery in pretty much everything. Here’s why:

1. You make visualizing success second nature

Musicians don’t just practice, they fantasize. They see the stage, hear the notes and feel the outcome long before it happens. Hence, musicians build skill while just visualizing playing. That ability to rehearse and mentally simulate outcomes is a superpower: You learn not just react to reality, but to create it.

2. You develop a sacred relationship with time

When you practice an instrument, time stops being abstract. You feel in real-time the cost of distraction and the miracle of being fully focused.

Over time, you become fiercely time-conscious — not in a stressed way, but in a sacred one. You don’t want to rush, you want to make it count. This discipline shapes everything, from how you run meetings to how you build relationships.

3. You stop running from discomfort

Every musician has to face the parts of the music they hate and struggle with. There’s no shortcut. You can’t outsource it, nor avoid it. You have to lean in until the failure becomes fluency.

While most people avoid uncomfortable moments in life, playing an instrument teaches you to seek those moments. You no longer panic at pain; you see it as a sign of growth.

4. You learn that emotions are designable

Music isn’t just output. It’s a way of regulating your inner world by changing your emotional state with sound, breath, rhythm and in how you prepare.

It becomes an invaluable skill you carry into everything, like before a stressful conversation or during a conflict. You don’t just express emotions anymore — you direct them.

5. You realize boredom is just feedback

Musicians don’t just play scales mindlessly. They know what they’re aiming to improve: precision, control, phrasing. Without that goal, their attention drifts, and practice becomes boring.

We often think stuff we do is boring, but boredom is feedback. It’s your brain telling you: “Show me what this is building toward.” The insight that boredom is the absence of a goal changes everything. Instead of labeling tasks as boring or dull, you ask, “What’s my goal here?”

This makes you sharper, more engaged and harder to distract in any setting.

6. You turn being stuck into invention

Sometimes you can’t play it right. Your hand won’t stretch. Your fingers trip. So, you try it a different way. You improvise, rearrange, compose. Suddenly, the failure becomes fuel. This teaches you a profound lesson: When you can’t follow the map, draw a new one. Innovation isn’t a gift; it’s a response to friction.

7. Your standards rise and stay high

Once you’ve heard the difference between “okay” and “exceptional,” you can’t unhear it. Once you’ve experienced how moments of excellence feels, mediocrity becomes unbearable. Music teaches you to expect more from yourself and others, not out of perfectionism but out of respect for what’s possible.

8. You learn to create for others, not just yourself

When you’re playing an instrument, you can’t help imagining an audience, maybe to impress but mostly to move someone, to say something without words. That habit reshapes how you approach everything.

Your work becomes an expression of your standards, your values, your imagination. It forces you to ask: Is this good enough to matter to someone else? Will this make them think, feel, grow?

Your brain’s plasticity and ability to learn allows you to pick up a new instrument at almost any age, so it’s never too late if you didn’t learn to play music as a kid.

1. Pick the one that sparks emotion. You don’t need logic here. What’s an instrument that moves you? That makes you feel something? Piano, guitar, trumpet — follow the spark.

2. Practice for at least 20 minutes a day. Studies show that 20 to 30 minutes of focused practice can induce measurable brain changes, particularly in areas tied to motor skills and attention.

3. Celebrate improvement, not performance. Don’t worry about being good. Track what you can do today that you couldn’t do yesterday. Mastery is just small progress, compounded with love.

Stefan Falk is an internationally-recognized executive coach, workplace psychology expert, and author of “Intrinsic Motivation: Learn to Love Your Work and Succeed as Never Before.” A McKinsey & Company alumnus, he has trained over 4,000 leaders across more than 60 organizations and helped drive transformations valued in excess of $2 billion. Follow him on LinkedIn.

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There are endless ways to approach parenting. Many parents choose “authoritative parenting,” a widely respected style that balances firm boundaries with nurture and support. Others lean into “authoritarian parenting,” a stricter model that emphasizes rules and consequences.

More recently, I’ve seen lots of “gentle parenting,” which prioritizes empathy and emotional validation.

But what if raising successful kids isn’t about being strict or soft? What if the answer is to create a safe place? After years of studying over 200 parent-child relationships, and from practicing healthy habits with my own child, I’ve seen firsthand what helps kids thrive … and what quietly shuts them down.

That’s why I’ve developed a new parenting framework — one that I believe works better than the rest — rooted in what kids need most but rarely receive: emotional safety.

With emotionally safe parenting, the goal is to be deeply attuned to your child’s emotional needs. I teach parents not just how to manage their children’s behaviors, but also to help them build emotional resilience, trust and connection through open and honest conversations.

Like authoritative parenting, emotionally safe parenting sets clear boundaries and encourages independence. What’s different is that it encourages parents to focus on emotional attunement, self-awareness and inner healing.

Some common traits of emotionally safe parents:

• They accept their child’s emotions without rushing to fix or dismiss them.
• They respond without shaming their child — avoiding phrases that belittle, guilt or embarrass — even if those were the responses they grew up with.
• They view “bad” behavior (i.e., screaming, yelling back, hitting another sibling) as stress signals, not defiance.
• They take responsibility after conflicts by apologizing and reconnecting, rather than punishing or withdrawing.
• They do the internal work — through journaling, therapy, or mindfulness — not to stay calm in the moment, but to become less reactive in the first place.
• They create an environment where their child feels safe expressing big emotions, asking questions and showing up as their full, authentic self.
• They embrace the whole child, showing consistent acceptance of both easy and difficult traits, not just the “well-behaved” version.
• They lead with calm, steady authority — holding boundaries without fear, while welcoming even the biggest emotions with compassion and clarity.

Emotional safety is the missing piece in so many homes — not because parents don’t care, but because most were never taught how to create a steady, safe place during emotional storms.

Here’s how to practice emotionally safe parenting:

1. Do the inner work first

Emotionally safe parenting begins with the adult, not the child. Get into the habit of reflecting on how your own childhood and emotional triggers shape their reactions today.

• When you’re in the heat of the moment, bring awareness to what you’re feeling — not to control it, but to understand it.
• Before correcting your child, ask yourself: “What part of me feels threatened right now?”
• If you notice yourself repeating something your parents said, consider: “Is this how I want to show up for my child?”

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2. See behavior as a signal, not a threat

Instead of viewing misbehavior as disrespect, emotionally safe parents see it as communication — a request for support, not punishment.

• If a child slams a door, see it as “they might feel overwhelmed,” rather than “they’re being rude.”
• Ask, “What is their behavior trying to tell me?” instead of, “How do I stop this?”
• Respond with curiosity instead of jumping to consequences, asking things like, “Can you help me understand what happened?” or, “What were you feeling when that happened?”

3. Set boundaries with empathy, not control

Limits are necessary, but you don’t need to set them with fear or shame. Emotionally safe parents hold firm boundaries while staying emotionally connected.

They might say things like:

• To stay consistent while still offering empathy: “I understand you’re upset, but the answer is still no.”
• To offer support, not just corrections: “This is hard. I’m here to help you figure it out.”
• To validate feelings without changing the limit: “You’re frustrated this isn’t going your way.”

 4. Prevent shame from taking place

Emotionally safe parenting isn’t about being perfect — it’s about modeling what healthy repair looks like. Instead of blaming or withdrawing, reconnect after hard moments and show your child that conflict doesn’t have to lead to shame or disconnection.

This could look like:

• Owning your part and not blaming your child for their reaction: “I shouldn’t have yelled. That wasn’t okay, and I’m sorry.”
• Validating feelings even during correction: “It’s okay to feel angry, but we need to find a safer way to show it than hitting.”
• Restoring connection before problem-solving: “Let’s take a few deep breaths together, then we can talk about what happened.”

The way you speak to your child becomes how they speak to themselves. Emotionally safe parents are mindful that their tone, words and reactions shape how their child sees themselves, especially in hard moments.

I always try to use a calm, respectful tone with my child, even when setting limits. And I let him know that his feelings are valid: “It’s okay to be upset,” or, “I’d feel that way, too.” Most importantly, I want him to know that I’ll always be there for him: “Even when things get hard, I’m still here.”

Remember, you want to give your child something deeper than discipline: the sense that they are safe, supported and unconditionally loved. I always tell parents that the child who feels emotionally safe grows up to be the adult who can regulate their emotions, build healthy relationships, trust themselves and live with confidence.

Reem Raouda is a leading voice in conscious parenting and the creator of FOUNDATIONS — the transformative healing journal for parents ready to break cycles, do the inner work, and become the emotionally safe parent their child needs. She is widely recognized for her groundbreaking work in children’s emotional safety and strengthening the parent-child bond. Follow her on Instagram.

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British universities are preparing to attract international Chinese students after President Donald Trump’s administration cracked down on visas for Chinese students studying in the U.S.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Wednesday that the U.S. will start “aggressively” revoking visas for Chinese students in the U.S., including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party, in efforts to curb immigration.

It comes after the Trump administration also blocked Harvard University’s ability to enroll or retain international students, accusing the elite Ivy League institution of “coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus.”

U.K. universities are now set to profit as they snatch up Chinese students who have been disrupted by this development and are likely to pivot from the U.S. to other study destinations, according to Sankar Sivarajah, head of Kingston Business School.

Sivarajah said the U.S. policy is “disappointing” and “not forward-looking” at a time when higher education institutions should be fostering more diverse talents and perspectives.

The total number of international Chinese students at higher education institutions in the U.K. in the 2023 to 2024 academic year came to 149,885, according to the latest figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency. This was down from 154,260 in the previous academic year, and 151,700 in the 2021 to 2022 academic year.

However, change is underway as a Knight Frank analysis of UCAS’s January 2025 Cycle Application found an 8.9% surge in Chinese international student applications, with 31,160 applicants from China by January 2025 compared to 28,620 at the same time last year.

The U.K. is an attractive study destination for international Chinese students amongst competitors like the U.S., Canada, and Australia, Sivarajah said. It’s appeal is rooted in shorter degree durations, affordable living costs, and global recognition.

“These are quite attractive factors in general for the U.K. being a destination of choice for higher education and the current post-study work opportunities as well places the U.K. at a forefront to seize this opportunity,” Sivarajah said.

André Spicer, executive dean at Bayes Business School, said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” that there’s been a “slow decline in the number of U.S. institutions which are in the top 100,” and it comes down to international institutions upping their game, including in Europe.

“So here in the U.K., we’ve sort of held our own, so if you get on a LimeBike from here ride 10 to 15 minutes, you’re going to find a bunch of globally, leading institutions, leading business schools like my own, like Imperial like London Business School,” Spicer said Friday. “So, we’re one of the highest concentrations of fantastic business schools, but also great universities in Europe.”

British universities are also heavily reliant on funding from international students because undergraduate fees for domestic students are a “loss-making product,” as the tuition fee is frozen and hasn’t kept up with inflation, Sivarajah said.

“So to fund higher education, the model in the U.K. is that universities really rely on international student funding to make sure that they’re financially sustainable … International student funding is quite crucial for the U.K. University’s financial sustainability.”

Chinese students bring in about £5.5 billion ($7.4 billion) in fees across 158 U.K. universities, according to a recent Telegraph analysis. The British newspaper found that 21 universities rely on students from China for at least a tenth of their income, including the Royal College of Art, University College London and the University of Manchester.

Michael Spence, UCL president and provost, said in a statement to CNBC that it highly values its international students.

“International students bring far-reaching economic, social, and cultural benefits to the UK, and we remain dedicated to welcoming the brightest and the best to study with us now and in the future,” Spence said.

With many students set to begin the academic year in September, British universities will be ramping up efforts to make studying in the U.K. more attractive for Chinese students, including creating initiatives with Chinese institutions.

“There might be an increase in the number of strategic level partnerships, working with Chinese institutions to build that so it’s not a short term but a long-term look at how they can build that bridge,” Sivarajah said.

This includes pushing schemes such as 2 + 1 articulation programs where students are able to begin their studies in China for two years and complete the final year in the U.K. Other avenues to attract talent include offering financial incentives such as scholarships, Sivarajah added.

Bayes Business School’s Spicer pointed out that there are long-term benefits to Chinese students pivoting to the U.K. including growth of the European startup ecosystem.

“There’s some economic research which came out last year which showed that the larger percentage of high growth startups in the U.S. are founded by basically foreign nationals who had gone to U.S. universities, either in engineering, sometimes in business schools,” Spicer said.

“Now the question is that, if we can attract that talent here, use the ecosystems that we have in places like London, places like Berlin, places like Paris, to kind of boost those high growth startups, it’s certainly going to benefit,” he added.

A master’s degree may not lead to better job performance, but employers are still willing to pay extra for employees who have one, according to a new survey.

In a survey of 1,000 hiring managers in the U.S., Resume Genius found that 62% of hiring managers say that employees with master’s degrees perform the same — or worse — at work as employees with a bachelor’s degree and two years of experience.

Despite this, 72% of hiring managers still say they would offer higher salaries to a job candidate with a master’s degree than one without.

Of those hiring managers, 64% would offer a 10% salary increase, 20% would offer a 15% increase, and 23% would offer a 20% or higher salary increase.

So why does a master’s degree still command a higher salary?

“I think we’re in a transition where the symbolic value of degrees still affects salary decisions, even if employers don’t actually think the performance of master’s degree holders matched the credentials,” says Eva Chan, senior PR expert at Resume Genius.

According to Chan, having a master’s degree is often perceived as a sign of potential by hiring managers.

“Even if it doesn’t guarantee better performance, it can show that you’re very driven, you’re disciplined, you’re committed, and that you’ve given your time, money and effort into accomplishing a goal,” she says.

However, she says, the survey results demonstrated that “more and more employers are realizing experience can show a lot of these same qualities.”

Skills-based hiring has become increasingly common: JP Morgan Chase has eliminated degree requirements for most jobs at the bank, prioritizing work experience over credentials. Walmart is also moving towards skills-based hiring for their corporate roles by adjusting job descriptions to “factor in the skills people possess, alongside any degrees they hold.”

Chan says that she and her team were surprised to find that Gen Z hiring managers were twice as likely as Boomer hiring managers to perceive master’s degree holders as stronger performers.

In her view, this could be because Gen Z may be more familiar with the school system than the workplace.

“Some younger managers may still be fresh from school, or they just finished their degree so it’s fresh in their minds,” she says. “Maybe they view advanced degrees as more relevant or even aspirational.”

Around 25 million American adults hold master’s degrees, according to statistics from the Education Data Initiative, and the number of people pursuing a master’s degree doubled between 2000 and 2019.

In addition to higher salaries, having a master’s degree can provide several potential benefits for employees, such as opportunities career advancement.

However, those boosts come at a hefty price: on average, getting a master’s degree costs more than $62,000, and the average federal loan debt balance for graduate students is over $94,000.

According to Chan, whether or not a master’s degree will help your career depends on your individual situation.

Having a master’s degree can be helpful in professions like education and urban planning that are “heavily tied to pay scales, promotions or credentials,” Chan says.

However, for fast-moving industries such as tech, media and marketing, prioritizing real-world experience may be a better choice.

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