Do you need electrolytes? Will tea cool you down? Is it safe to drink beer? How to stay hydrated in a heatwave

The hotter it gets, the faster our bodies lose water. Obviously, we need to replace it – but is anything better than plain H₂O? And does timing matter? Here’s what the science says

Fit with just five minutes’ exercise a day? I don’t believe it

Everyone these days wants to optimise their workouts, but when a study seems too good to be true, it usually is, says public health expert Devi Sridhar

A moment that changed me: A WhatsApp message about a little-known sport made me an unlikely celebrity in Japan

I’d always wanted to represent my country at something, so when I learned about Mölkky, I got a team together

‘Wear something that makes you feel silly!’ Can Austin Kleon’s tips put the spark back in my life?

If you’re in a rut, kids can show you the way out. That’s the latest message from the author of the bestselling Steal Like an Artist. I asked him to help me rediscover my playful, creative side …

Experience: I sat under an oak tree every day for a year

After a period of burnout, I realised that nature knows what you need, and is always ready to offer it – you just have to be quiet enough to receive it

The doctor who mends broken brains: why there is room for hope after a stroke or head injury

The neurologist Orlando Swayne doesn’t suggest everyone can recover. But he does argue that early, targeted and intense therapy can sometimes bring about life-changing improvements – and we have a moral obligation to provide it

Midwives want to make childbirth miraculous – so what went so wrong in Nottingham?

The acronym ‘FOH’ for ‘Fuck off home’ was used beside the names of expectant mothers. Senior midwives advised others not to be ‘too kind’. But as this and other shocking evidence is brought to light, sexism is only one part of the story, writes Zoe Williams

Every month, my explosive rage would send shockwaves through my family. Then I got a diagnosis that changed everything

Mothers with PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder) explain how it has affected their relationship with their families

Poor sleep linked to rising cancer risk in under-50s

Findings add to growing efforts to explain why cancer rates are increasing among younger adults worldwide

‘My body is fat, not wrong’: how body neutrality – not positivity – helped me shed a lifetime of shame

If I’d been taught this way of thinking as a child, I can’t begin to imagine how much easier things could have been

OurChemist

Our Chemist – Health