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Well, actually

Living a good life in a complex world

Well Actually

  • Woman sticks out tongue in mirror

    Red, white or yellow? What your tongue says about your health

  • Graphic illustration of woman looking at doorway that has light streaming through it.

    Why am I like this?
    Is being a cynic bad for you? Here’s what I learned

    I don’t have much faith in the future – but a psychology professor says cynicism doesn’t hold up to scrutiny
  • A man relaxes on grass outside

    Why is it so hard to take a break from work – even if we want to?

    It is essential to slow down the nervous system to become calm, but there can be several obstacles to self-care
  • Close-up of woman touching red light therapy panel LEDs with hand

    Red light therapy is trendy, but does it work? The biggest wellness trends of 2024

  • black-and-white photo of woman smiling with her hands raised in the air

    I’m chatty, outgoing and friendly. But ‘extrovert’ doesn’t feel right to me

  • An illustration of a mother holding her baby while looking out her window to see people doing yoga and playing guitar in a grassy area

    The mothers who regret having kids: ‘I wished I were holding a cat and not a baby’

  • A person at home holds a red light device to their chin

    Does red light therapy work? These are the benefits and drawbacks

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Reclaim your brain

The toolkit

  • A sunscreen’s SPF, or sun protection factor, indicates how much protection a product offers.

    Sun season
    What is SPF and how much sunscreen do you really need? Experts answer

  • a person smokes cannabis

    California sober
    What does it mean and is it good for you?

  • Colourful flat lay view of different types of sliced fruits and vegetables on a pink background.

    The 30-plant challenge
    Experts say we need to eat 30 plants a week. This is how I fared

  • Black cup of coffee on the black and brown table among spilled roasted coffee beans.

    Coffee
    How much coffee is OK for me to drink in a day? I asked the experts

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Columns

  • An illustration of a young child hugging her mother

    Halfway there: a column about midlife
    Oily skin, body parts misbehaving: how perimenopause feels like puberty

  • illustration of woman shouting at toes

    Ask Ugly
    I hate my big, ugly feet. How can I come to terms with them?

  • illustration of woman holding two tubs of beauty product

    Halfway there: a column about midlife
    Menopause tests and anti-ageing face oils: welcome to midlife consumerism

  • illustration of a woman sitting at a table writing a letter

    Why am I like this?
    I want closure – but do I have a hope of ever getting it?

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Health & wellbeing

  • ‘I remember coming home and thinking that I really liked her’ … Lara (left) and Claire in Edinburgh, 2019

    How we met: ‘We were at the circus, talking nonsense in the queue for the toilets. I really liked her’

  • Composite of the view from the driver's seat and TV cameras

    ‘I fell asleep driving around London’: TV workers on fear, danger and fatalities in an industry in crisis

    • Kayla Barnes-Lentz attached to an unidentified wellness machine

      The world’s healthiest lovers? Meet the couple aiming to live to 150

    • G2: Joel Snape on electrolytes

      The electrolytes boom: a wonder supplement – or an unnecessary expense?

    • Emily Usher holding her newborn nephew, with her sister lying in bed

      A moment that changed me: partying was my personality – until I helped my 16-year-old sister give birth

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Relationships

  • Do you still live with your ex?

    Tell us: do you still live with your ex?

  • Close up of a laughing couple hugging.

    The emophilia problem: why falling in love too quickly could be dangerous

  • Man and woman sitting on a bed, the man kissing the woman gently on the side of the head

    Sex with my husband feels loveless – and yet he refuses to provide affection

  • Alison Brahe and Cameron Daddo on the red carpet of an awards ceremony in 1994

    The moment I knew: while I retrieved the car, she was fighting hard to keep the boat off the rocky shore

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Food

  • A head of iceberg lettuce on a plate with a wedge cut out of it, sprinkled with parmesan cheese.

    Lettuce eat cake: Alice Zaslavsky’s iceberg head with retro dressing, plus two more spring salad recipes

  • Felicity Cloake's plum cobbler served with a a dod of ice-cream.

    How to make plum cobbler – recipe

  • The Flygerians' Lekki express Nigerian shawarma.

    The Flygerians’ recipes for jollof pasta and Nigerian shawarma

  • YOTAM OTTOLENGHI's Grilled lamb fillet with almonds and orange blossom AND Puy lentils with roasted aubergine, tomatoes and yoghurt

    Can you reliably scale recipes up and down?

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Puzzles

  • The Soup Dragon with Peter Firmin and Mother Clanger

    Crossword blog
    Crossword roundup: a flurry of Keir Starmer solutions – and some dragons

  • Cryptic crosswords
    Cryptic crossword No 29,505

    • Quick crosswords
      Quick crossword No 16,978

    • Sudoku
      Sudoku 6,641 hard

    • Prize crosswords
      Prize crossword No 29,500

    • Killer sudoku
      Observer killer sudoku

    • Thomas Eaton
      What are the bubbles in bubble tea made from? The Saturday quiz

    • Alex Bellos's Monday puzzle
      Did you solve it? The box problem that baffled the boffins

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