Scientists reveal surprisingly easy exercise that may boost your mood in just 10 minutes

It might not take an all-out sprint or long trail run to lift your mood and sharpen focus, according to a new study.

A small new study out of the University of Tsukuba in Japan looked at 24 healthy young adults who completed a slow, 10-minute run on the treadmill in one session and rested in another.

After the easy jog, participants performed faster on a test of attention and self-control and reported feeling more alert and pleasant than they did after the resting phase, according to the study, which was published in the journal Imaging Neuroscience in August.

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Brain monitoring after the jog also showed more activity in parts of the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for focus and decision-making.

The jog was purposely kept easy, with participants going at speeds from 1.9 to 3.7 mph on the treadmill. Their average heart rates clocked in at 105 to 107 beats per minute.

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"A single bout of running, even at very slow speed, elicits a pleasant mood and improved executive function," the researchers found.

They added that the finding "sheds light on the slow running benefits to brain health."

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The benefits, they noted, stuck around even after participants' heart rates returned to baseline.

The greater the up-and-down head movement during the jog, the more positive participants' mood was afterward, though that finding was exploratory and does not necessarily prove cause and effect.

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"Easy movement triggers the norepinephrine and dopamine pathways that wake up the part of the brain that is in charge of focus and self-control," explained Dr. John La Puma, a California-based internist and author of "Indoor Epidemic," who was not involved in the study.

Experts agree, however, that it does not mean one brief workout could be a cure-all.

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"A brief jog should help someone get some energy in their system, which may make them feel better about themselves mentally and help them focus," said Dr. Scott Nass, a California-based family medicine physician at SwiftCareMD.

But Nass, who also wasn't involved in the research, said that the effect is likely temporary.

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For people living with depression or anxiety, a jog may briefly clear the mind but is "no substitute for medical care," he told Fox News Digital.

The study was also limited in that it included just 24 healthy, young adults and measured outcomes immediately after just one exercise session. The findings cannot be assumed to apply to older adults, novice runners or people with health conditions and larger studies are needed to confirm the results, Nass said.

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For a practical approach, La Puma suggested taking a 10-minute walk outside before the most mentally demanding part of the day. Add 30-second jogging intervals, keeping the pace easy enough to speak in full sentences without becoming breathless, he said.

People with heart disease, high blood pressure, Type 1 diabetes, recent surgery or joint pain should check with a clinician before starting a new routine, La Puma advised.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the researchers for comment.

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Can faith help patients heal? Veteran doctor reveals what he's witnessed firsthand

Dr. Marc Siegel, physician and Fox News senior medical analyst, explores the intersection of spirituality, clinical treatment and unexplained medical recoveries in his new book, "The Angels Among Us."

Examining how faith, human empathy and modern medicine converge during health crises, the book draws on medical research, historical cases and firsthand clinical experience.

"You don't draw the line between an explanation that's medical or spiritual. They're combined," Siegel told Fox News Digital. "And the more doctors that remember that, the better."

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Siegel cites survey data indicating that 70% of physicians believe in God and 55% report witnessing medical miracles in practice.

In the book, out this November, he expands the definition of "angels" beyond ethereal beings to include doctors, nurses and ordinary people whose timely interventions have led to unexplained recoveries or vital support.

"The messengers are either actual angels from God that come down, that can take human form, that are voices where you don't have a visualization, or they can be humans that God appoints to do angel-like work," Siegel said.

"I started to identify humans who play the role of angels in our lives."

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Among the cases featured in the book are U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Spencer Milo, who received a terminal brain tumor diagnosis after suffering severe trauma in Iraq.

While seeking a second opinion at the University of California, San Francisco, Milo met a Benedictine monk. Subsequent imaging revealed that the tumor was benign.

Milo also credits former President George W. Bush with providing pivotal emotional support during a later personal crisis, identifying both as instrumental to his recovery.

Siegel references his residency training in intensive care units, sharing the story of an ICU patient who remained in a coma for three months following severe brain trauma. Despite receiving a negative prognosis, the patient unexpectedly regained consciousness and eventually returned to work.

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"That embroidered on me the need to not give up — the need to look for explanations beyond just the purely physical," Siegel said. 

"My role is not to decide who lives and who dies. My role is to relieve suffering and prolong life."

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The book also includes personal accounts drawn from Siegel's own family, including his father’s four-year survival on dialysis via a catheter after surviving severe COVID-19 and complex emergency surgery at age 98.

Other cases highlight sudden medical reversals, such as a critically ill ICU patient who reported seeing comforting spiritual figures just before her condition stabilized.

Additionally, the book incorporates historical accounts, including an interview with Dr. David Gens, a lead surgeon who treated President Ronald Reagan following his 1981 assassination attempt. Gens detailed emergency room triage decisions, Secret Service dynamics and Reagan's recovery.

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Siegel also discusses the origins of Alcoholics Anonymous, focusing on co-founder Bill Wilson's spiritual awakening at Towns Hospital in New York and the peer-support model that followed.

Siegel emphasizes that while faith and prayer do not replace clinical care or guarantee survival, spirituality remains a key factor in patient resilience.

"Spirituality affects outcomes because it's a prerequisite to the courage to overcome," Siegel said. "Great doctoring helps enormously, but prayer and hope give patients the strength to keep fighting."

"The Angels Among Us" is available for pre-order. 

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Doctor reveals '10-year rule' for evaluating brain fog and dementia symptoms

Losing a train of thought, struggling to recall once-familiar words, or forgetting the reason for walking into a room can leave older adults wondering if they are experiencing early signs of Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.

However, these brain blips can often be tied to hormone shifts later in life, medical experts note — and women who experience a loss of estrogen during perimenopause and menopause are particularly affected.

According to Dr. Rhonda Voskuhl, a professor of neurology at UCLA and co-founder of Cleopatra RX in Los Angeles, women experiencing memory struggles in midlife should compare their cognitive function to their own past performance before assuming something is seriously wrong.

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"I think they should listen to themselves," Voskuhl told Fox News Digital at the Livelong Women’s Health Summit in New York City on Friday. "They know. Just ask yourself."

To help women gauge whether their memory lapses are tied to hormonal shifts, Voskuhl recommends using a quick benchmark – comparing their current mental state to where it was a decade ago.

"The first question is, are you worse than you were 10 years ago?" she said, referencing the Voskuhl Brain Fog Menopause Assessment used at UCLA's Comprehensive Menopausal Program.

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"Ten years is a pretty good spot. And they think, ‘What was I doing 10 years ago? What was I like? Was I having problems finding the words? Was I at the point where I couldn’t multitask anymore? Was I slow in my processing?’ And they’ll remember."

This comparison can help reveal whether a woman’s cognitive changes may be linked to menopause, while giving patients and physicians a baseline for tracking symptoms over time.

Standard memory tests don’t always catch subtle shifts in everyday cognitive function. In the medical community, this is known as subjective cognitive decline, when patients notice changes even though neurological testing remains normal.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that roughly one in nine adults report subjective cognitive decline, yet less than half discuss these memory concerns with a healthcare professional.

To illustrate why routine tests can miss early menopausal brain fog, Voskuhl compared it to a high-performing athlete.

"If somebody is an NFL football player and he says, 'I'm weaker than I used to be,' and I go and do my neurological test, I say, 'Oh no, you're still strong,'" Voskuhl said.

What the player is feeling still matters, even if a standard test shows no obvious decline, she noted.

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Women, too, can often recognize when their cognitive abilities have changed from their own baseline and should trust those observations, according to Voskuhl.

Understanding the difference between hormonal brain fog and neurodegenerative disease comes down to how memory loss impacts daily function, experts agree.

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Menopausal brain fog typically involves temporary, inconsistent lapses like misplacing items or experiencing slower processing speed, but overall reasoning skills and independence remain intact, according to Mayo Clinic. Symptoms often fluctuate and can be exacerbated by stress or poor sleep.

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By contrast, early dementia causes persistent, progressive memory loss that interferes with basic daily tasks like managing finances, following familiar routes while driving or exercising sound judgment.

Amid cognitive concerns, experts advise seeking a full medical evaluation, including brain MRIs or vascular screenings, to rule out underlying issues like blood vessel disease or thyroid imbalances.

For women who feel their concerns are being dismissed, Voskuhl offered this advice: "When they have doctors who don't listen to them, they need to find another doctor."

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Never smoked a cigarette? You could still be at higher risk for lung cancer

A rare genetic mutation could put people at a dramatically higher risk of developing lung cancer even if they’ve never smoked.

A rare mutation in the gene EGFR T790M was found to increase lung cancer risk by 25 times compared with people who did not have the mutation, according to a new study published in the journal Science.

Among people who had never smoked, carriers of the mutation had about 62 times the odds of lung cancer compared with never-smokers who did not have it.

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The study, led by investigators at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and 23andMe Research Institute, analyzed data from more than 3.3 million people.

The gene variant showed no increased risk across 17 other cancers studied.

"Today, lung cancer screening is driven almost entirely by smoking history," study co-author Jaclyn LoPiccolo, attending physician and lung cancer researcher at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, said in a press release.

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"Our findings raise the possibility that, in the future, screening could also be dictated by inherited genetic risk. If further studies confirm the benefit, people with EGFR T790M could be identified through genetic testing and offered personalized CT screening to identify lung cancers when they are at their most curable stage."

Most U.S. carriers of the mutation were traced to a shared ancestry linked to British and Irish settlers in Southern Appalachia about 200–225 years ago, the researchers found.

The mutation remains rare nationwide, affecting roughly one in 15,000–16,000 people. It is more common in some parts of Southern Appalachia, where researchers estimate as many as one in 2,000 people may carry it.

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"We found that the vast majority of carriers inherited the mutation from the same ancestral lineage," said LoPiccolo. "We could trace that lineage to British and Irish settlers in the United States and show that the mutation became enriched after a founder event and genetic bottleneck in Southern Appalachia about 200 years ago.

"It's a fascinating example of how human migration and genealogy can shape disease risk, generations later."

One of the "remarkable" findings of the study was the fact that a single mutation could have such a strong effect, according to Alexander Gusev, a quantitative geneticist at Dana-Farber.

"To my knowledge, it's one of the strongest, if not the strongest, cancer risk-increasing mutations that has ever been found," he said in the release.

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"Smoking is bad for lung cancer. This mutation is bad for lung cancer. When you do both, your risk is the sum of those two risks," he added. "So, you definitely don't want to smoke."

The researchers suggest that people with a strong family history of lung cancer, multiple lung nodules or tumors or family roots in parts of the southeastern U.S. should consider speaking with a genetic counselor about whether genetic testing or lung cancer screening makes sense for them.

There were some limitations to the study.

Because the mutation is so rare, researchers identified relatively few carriers even among the millions of participants, meaning the exact size of the increased risk remains uncertain.

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The analysis also relied heavily on 23andMe research participants, who may not represent the broader population.

Because the mutation is much more common in certain parts of the U.S., the risk estimates may not apply equally to everyone, the researchers noted.

While the study establishes a strong association with lung cancer risk, it does not demonstrate that genetic testing improves mortality or other health outcomes.

The study was funded in part by the National Institutes of Health and the American Cancer Society.

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Popular weight-loss drugs may play surprising role in cancer outcomes

As GLP-1 medications continue reshaping the treatment of obesity and diabetes, researchers are also investigating whether the drugs could influence cancer risk and outcomes.

The American Association for Cancer Research's 2026 Cancer Progress Report, released earlier this month, noted that obesity is a major risk factor for many cancers.

As glucagon-like peptide-1 medications – including semaglutides like Ozempic and Wegovy, and tirzepatides like Mounjaro and Zepbound – are known to cause substantial weight loss and improve metabolic health, they have attracted significant interest among cancer researchers.

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While the AACR report cited studies suggesting GLP-1 medications may reduce the risk of certain cancers, it emphasized that the overall evidence is mixed and more research is needed.

"Randomized clinical trials remain the gold standard ... however, such trials have not yet been conducted specifically to assess cancer outcomes associated with GLP-1 RA use," the report stated.

Sai Yendamuri, M.D., a thoracic surgeon at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York, reiterated that obesity is a leading cause of cancer, second to smoking. Additional risk factors include alcohol and poor nutrition, he noted, "which are all layered into obesity."

"So if obesity is related to cancer – both in terms of causing it and increasing its progression – the logical question is, would a drug that decreases obesity have an impact?" the doctor, who was not associated with the AACR report, said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

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There are "many lines of evidence" that suggest this would be the case, Yendamuri suggested.

"For example, when people studied patients who were having metabolic surgery to decrease obesity, for example, the incidence of cancer decreased in those patients."

Researchers then started looking at patients who were on GLP-1 receptor agonists, such as Ozempic.

"And then they compared the incidence of cancer in those patients to patients who were not taking GLP-1 receptor agonists – and many of those studies found that the risk of cancer was lower and the survival was higher in the patients taking GLP-1s," the doctor said.

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Although the majority of studies showed this effect, Yendamuri noted that some did not identify a relationship – and a couple of studies even showed an increased risk of some specific cancers, such as thyroid cancer.

"The reason you find this disconnect … is because these are retrospective studies," he said. "That is, they look at existing data and they're trying to derive associations from existing data … but there are many other variables that can impact the result."

Yendamuri and his team of researchers have conducted their own studies of the relationship between obesity and lung cancer.

"We have found in every investigation we've done that obesity does increase the risk of lung cancer," he shared.

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Obesity also depends on how it's defined and measured, Yendamuri noted. While body mass index (BMI) has traditionally been the standard measure, many obesity researchers are moving away from relying on BMI alone and instead using more precise assessments of body fat composition.

Yendamuri shared two key findings from his research.

"If someone's having a resection, a lung cancer surgery, for patients who are on GLP-1 receptor agonists, the recurrence rate seems to be lower."

Additionally, patients with advanced-stage cancers who are in immunotherapy and are taking GLP-1s had lower recurrence rates, he noted.

Based on preclinical laboratory studies, Yendamuri said he believes GLP-1 medications have only a limited direct effect on cancer cells.

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"What we think is happening is that it changes the body’s immune response to cancer cells, and thereby improves its ability to fight cancer cells," he told Fox News Digital.

The effect may differ depending on the type of cancer, Yendamuri said, because the immune response is more important in some cancers than others.

"For example, in some cancers like melanoma, we know that the immune response is incredibly important," he said.

Yendamuri acknowledged that at least some of the cancer benefit likely stems from weight loss.

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"Not every patient who takes GLP-1 receptor agonists responds with a substantial weight loss, so in future trials, it would be interesting to see if the benefit for patients depends on the weight loss," he said.

"If those patients who have weight loss with GLP-1 receptor agonists have the same cancer benefit as patients who do not have weight loss, that will answer that question."

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Depending on the outcomes of future trials, the doctor said he is hopeful that GLP-1 drugs could one day be regarded as a preventive mechanism for cancer.

"More and more, we are realizing that apart from the treatment that you get for cancer, lifestyle modifications – exercise, decreasing weight, and now GLP-1 receptor agonists – will all have a role in both enhancing the treatment of cancer as well as preventing second cancers," he said.

Yendamuri emphasized the importance of continued funding for the National Cancer Institute, noting that it supports researchers working to advance cancer research and develop new discoveries.

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Strokes nearly double among adults under a certain age in disturbing trend

Stroke incidence more than doubled among young adults in a recent study.

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati analyzed data from 2,076 first-ever strokes among adults ages 20–54 in the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region from 1993-1994 to 2020.

Over those three decades, the incidence increased from about 34 to 62 strokes per 100,000 people per year.

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The increase was primarily driven by ischemic stroke, which occurs when a blood vessel supplying the brain becomes blocked.

Among the younger adults who experienced strokes, there was an increase in hypertension, diabetes, atrial fibrillation (irregular heartbeat) and substance use.

"This has major implications, since young people who develop disability from a stroke may no longer be able to work or provide for their families," study co-author David J. Robinson, M.D., an assistant professor of clinical neurology and rehabilitation medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, told Fox News Digital.

"We don't know for sure why strokes are becoming more common, and we really need to study this in more depth if we are going to reverse this trend."

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There was also a sharp increase in documented substance use, which rose from 4.6% to 40.2% in the study period, primarily marijuana.

"It's hard to say whether this is responsible for any of the rise in stroke; there is a relationship between marijuana use and stroke, but most of the evidence is with heavier use," Robinson said. "The relationship between marijuana use and cardiovascular disease needs more study so that we can properly advise our patients."

In contrast to younger adults, stroke rates declined among older adults, falling from about 619 to 453 strokes per 100,000 people per year.

Short-term survival after stroke also improved, the researchers found. The share of younger adults who died within 30 days of a stroke declined from 11.7% to 9.4% – primarily for bleeding-related strokes, including intracerebral and subarachnoid hemorrhages.

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"Our study might provide evidence that we have gotten better at treating people who have hemorrhagic strokes and helping them survive, which is encouraging," said Robinson. "Still, prevention is the most important thing to focus on, because just surviving a stroke doesn't mean you aren't left without disability."

The findings were published in the journal Neurology on Sept. 23.

Dr. Jason A. Gluck, vice chair of the Heart & Vascular Institute and system chief of cardiology at AtlantiCare in New Jersey, noted that while stroke is still uncommon in young adults, that doesn’t mean they have zero risk.

"The concerning findings in this particular trial is that stroke rates are moving in the wrong direction for the younger population," Gluck, who was not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital.

"While many of the risk factors are things that we can identify and treat before a stroke occurs, when you're young, sometimes you don't know about it – so awareness is key."

Risk factors are pervasive across all age groups, the doctor noted.

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"The same things that happen to 70-year-olds can happen at 40 – if you have high blood pressure, if you have diabetes, if you’re smoking, if there's obesity, abnormal cholesterol and activity, all those things can lead to [stroke]," he warned.

"Vascular disease doesn't suddenly begin when you're 65; it develops over time."

The main limitation of the study is that it did not include comparable risk factors for people without stroke.

"We can't say for sure how many of the stroke risk factors are changing in people without stroke in our region," Robinson noted. "This makes it really hard to determine what is causing this rising incidence. We will need to look in other studies to really understand the ‘why’ of this trend."

Also, the findings may have been affected by changes in medical documentation and diagnostic methods over the nearly three decades. One example provided was an increase in MRI use, which could potentially improve the detection of stroke. It was also possible that the rise in substance use was due to increased documentation or disclosure.

The study was also geographically limited, including just five counties in one U.S. state.

"While stroke is still relatively uncommon in younger individuals, it can happen and be really devastating," Robinson said.

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The doctor emphasized that hypertension is the risk factor most tightly associated with stroke.

"Younger people may not have a lot of opportunities to get their blood pressure and other risk factors screened, and we need to come up with solutions that can meet them where they are," he said.

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Robinson recommended using the American Heart Association’s "Life’s Essential 8," which is a checklist for optimizing your cardiovascular health.

"It includes blood pressure control along with eating better, being less sedentary, quitting any tobacco products, sleeping well, managing your weight, controlling cholesterol and managing blood sugar."

Gluck recommends using the "BE FAST" guide to determine whether someone may be having a stroke, as follows.

"If you're having these symptoms or your loved one is having these symptoms, don't drive yourself to the hospital," he advised. "Call 911. Be fast."

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People are ditching their vapes only to pick up another surprising habit

E-cigarettes have long been used as an alternative to traditional smoking, but public health data suggests some adults trying to quit vaping are turning back to cigarettes.

Recent data from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) shows that some smokers and dual users who stop vaping opt for traditional tobacco products instead, a shift that addiction specialists say may be driven by nicotine dependence and the challenges of withdrawal.

Trent Carter, a board-certified nurse practitioner and CEO of Renew Health — a behavioral and mental health practice based in New Mexico — said that while the shift from vapes back to cigarettes might seem counterintuitive, there are behavioral reasons some users make the switch.

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"Vaping can become constant throughout the day, whereas a cigarette is more of a defined episode," Carter told Fox News Digital.

"Subconsciously, you may not even realize that you’re constantly vaping throughout the day, whereas cigarettes you feel like you're more in control because you have to think about it. You [have] to go outside, you [have] to light it up."

Unlike cigarettes, vaping can be done throughout the day and often indoors. That easy access can lead to more nicotine use and reinforce the hand-to-mouth habit, according to the expert.

E-cigarettes can be highly addictive because of the way they deliver nicotine. Many vaping devices use highly concentrated nicotine salts, allowing users to inhale large doses with each puff compared to traditional cigarettes.

"If you're consuming a large amount with every single puff ... it's going to be harder to stop when compared to a lower dose," Carter said.

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Nicotine dependence alters brain chemistry by stimulating neurotransmitters like dopamine that govern mood and pleasure, according to Cleveland Clinic.

When someone abruptly cuts off high-volume intake, it can trigger rapid withdrawal symptoms, ranging from intense cravings and irritability to severe sleep disturbances and brain fog.

Because high-potency vapes drive up physical tolerance, standard quitting aids — like over-the-counter patches or nicotine gum — can sometimes feel inadequate to a user seeking immediate relief.

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"While a patch or gum could definitely help with the nicotine cravings, if you're not addressing the behavioral aspect of it, then you're really falling short," Carter said. "You're leaving a huge component of why they may be smoking — whether it's because of anxiety or even insomnia during the day."

When e-cigarettes first hit the market, early public messaging framed them as a healthier, doctor-approved alternative to smoking, which gave many consumers a false sense of security about how difficult it would be to drop the habit, according to Carter.

"If you're being told something is safe or doctor-approved, we tend to feel we're making the right choice," Carter said.

"While traditional cigarettes have toxins that e-cigarettes do not, if your daily consumption of nicotine becomes much higher, we find ourselves in a nasty cycle. You got rid of the toxins, but now you're consuming much more nicotine."

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The elevated chemical intake carries a physical and mental toll, Carter cautioned. Heavy, uninterrupted nicotine ingestion can trigger blood pressure spikes, elevated heart rates, sleep disruption and heightened anxiety.

For people trying to quit vaping, health providers warn that switching to cigarettes reintroduces harmful toxins, tar and carbon monoxide.

Instead of switching between vaping and cigarettes, addiction specialists recommend medically supervised strategies that combine behavioral therapy with gradual nicotine reduction.

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"The goal shouldn't be to find another way to consume nicotine," Carter said. "The goal should be to treat the dependence itself."

"It's not trading one for the other, but finding the underlying cause and addressing that head-on — that's how someone truly takes steps in the right direction."

For those struggling to exit the cycle, Carter advises building self-awareness and immediately consulting a licensed addiction or mental health professional who can recommend a personalized recovery plan.

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