Wellbeing

British actor, broadcaster and stage performer Andy Day, who is frontman of the family-focused rock band Andy and the Odd Socks, which will tour Australia in January 2026. Picture: Kerry Spicer

Andy Day has many fans (perhaps your kids) but just the one kidney

Known to millions of children by his first name, this non-stop performer is about to join an Australian tour with his family- focused band. How does he keep up, this kidney donor?

Andrew McMillen

BOOK EXTRACTwellbeing

Smartphone surrounded by barbed wire on yellow background.Concept of cyber security and Social media

A guide to giving your teens a life beyond social media

Children banned from social media accounts now have time on their hands. Here’s what the American psychologist who first called out the ‘anxious generation’ says parents should do to re-engage their kids in the real world.

JONATHAN HAIDT

Fighting MNDwellbeing

10 December 2025; a photo comp of Neale Daniher with a gradient yellow and green behind him. Artwork by Emilia Tortorella. Sources: supplied. Ratio 4:3.

The remarkable resilience of Neale Daniher: ‘Every day, I choose how I show up’

The outgoing Australian of the Year can no longer speak as he battles his terminal illness. But he has a loud message about the importance of choice, and enjoying the best of life | WATCH

Fiona Harari

Daniher speakswellbeing

Neale Daniher, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2013, has revealed the most important things he learned about himself and how to face life in a new book. Pictures: Elke Meitzel, Tim Carrafa

Neale Daniher on the mindset shift from ‘why me’ to ‘what now?’

No longer able to speak or move his hands, the Australian of the Year used technology that tracks a person’s eyes on screen to answer written questions for this interview with The Australian | WATCH AND LISTEN

Fiona Harari

Wealth of knowledgeWish

EMBARGO FOR WISH MAGAZINE, 06 DECEMBER 2025. FEE MAY APPLY. Saint Haven: the new Sydney flagship will be a wellness wonderland, offering everything from cryotherapy and breathwork to magnesium pools and connection in one vast sanctuary-type space. Photo: Supplied

Two decades ago, wellness meant a yoga mat, a diet book and a shot of wheatgrass

Today, Australia’s wellness industry is worth $200bn and has become an increasingly personal pursuit from vitamin C-infused shower filters to health data at our fingertips.

Elle Halliwell

FACEBOOK SHOCKRelationships

Laughter, with your mates, really is the best medicine

While social media can help you connect with old friends, sometimes it’s all a bit too late. There’s nothing like talking to make you realise the value of decades of familiarity.

Matthew Condon

REGRETwellbeing

Tracy Herrmann has one of her tattoos removed by Chroma Tattoo Studio Laser Tattoo Removal owner Jaime Howard on Nov. 19, 2025, in West Bloomfield, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)

The painful, costly reality of erasing that tattoo you regret

From Colin Farrell to Angelina Jolie, even the famous face the same brutal reality when it comes to removing that body art.

Corey Williams

EXCLUSIVETechnology

RendezView. Teeny, tiny newborn baby sucking on the teat of a bottle that had nourishing formula. But it wasn't breast milk so eyebrows were raised. (Pic: iStock)

Lab-grown milk is coming – here’s what it means for mums

A Sydney start-up claims it can create ‘bio-identical milk’ that delivers 90 per cent of breast milk’s nutrition.

Jared Lynch

new pathMental Health

Next Step co-founder Eugene Koning is focusing his career on breath work as part of Tim Gurner's Saint Haven business; and in his rugby playing days. Pictures: Ray Rolla, supplied

From a baggie of cocaine to a breathwork guru

This former rugby international once sat crying outside a party with a bag of cocaine in his hand. Now he is teaching successful executives the healing power of breathing.

Damon Kitney

human trialswellbeing

Carina Kern, 31, and Serena Kern-Libera, 37, the founders of LinkGevity. Two years ago the sisters started LinkGevity, with Kern-Libera — a lawyer who has worked at a “magic circle” firm, the Bank of England and the Treasury — heading the operational and legal side of things, while Kern, an expert on longevity, takes the lead on science. Picture: supplied

The sister act trying to crack the code to a longer life

Billionaires are backing groundbreaking research by two sisters into an anti-ageing drug that could add decades to human life.

Damian Whitworth

The Inner SanctumLeadership

Your Reformer founder Emma Stallworthy with her sons Bodie and Noah. Picture: supplied Picture: supplied

Fertility journey that bore joy and a Pilates revolution

Fertility struggles almost broke husband-and-wife team Emma and Ben Stallworthy but they channelled their darkest years into the foundations of a global fitness empire and family joy.

Damon Kitney

health fearswellbeing

Celebrities like Dua Lipa and Sabrina Carpenter are making smoking cigarettes cool again as cigarettes resurface in pop music and movies, raising fears that a years-long decline in smoking rates could reverse. Pictures: Instagram, Facebook

Pop culture is making smoking ‘cool’ again, sparking warnings

Actors, pop stars and other celebrities are taking up the taboo habit again as ‘dangerous’ cigarettes resurface in music and movies, raising fears that smoking rates will rise again.

LAURA COOPER and TERELL WRIGHT

The Inner SanctumLeadership

Tom Hale, chief executive officer of Oura Health Oy, at the Bloomberg Tech Summit in London, UK, on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024. The event brings together visionaries, investors, founders and policymakers to discuss; how much can we - and should we - trust technology, and why does it matter and how do we build it? Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg

From sleepless CEO to a $1bn wellness empire

A sleepless Silicon Valley executive discovered a Finnish wellness ring that he says changed his life, so he became the CEO of the company.

Damon Kitney

nighty nightwellbeing

25 November 2025; a photo comp of a freight train and an alarm clock with a sleepy teenager superimposed inside of it. Artwork by Emilia Tortorella. Sources: iStocker. Ratio 4:3.

If only I could return to the blissful days of teenage slumber

You remember those teenage days, when literally half your existence was spent under the covers. Before that middle-age freight train arrives to permanently annihilate your sleep.

Matthew Condon

SPLIT OVER C-SECTIONSMedical

Mesmerizing photograph capturing the tender moments of a newborn, symbolizing the beauty of new life, ideal for parenting guides and heartfelt family-related publications

‘A dangerous ideology’: Is the birth culture war putting babies at risk?

A string of shocking baby deaths in UK hospitals has exposed the risks of pushing for natural births over all else, raising concerns for Australian maternity care.

Steve Robson

Exclusivewellbeing

American musician Kenny Rogers performs at the Rosemont Horizon (later renamed the Allstate Arena), Rosemont, Illinois, March 22, 1985. (Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)

Know when to fold ’em: why sometimes it’s better to give up on your goals

Turns out Kenny Rogers had it right. New research shows that sometimes you need to put down the cards before you risk greater stress and depression from failure.

James Dowling

EXCLUSIVEMedical

Chris and his father Craig at a blessing in Bulman. Photograph: National Geographic/Craig Parry

Why Chris Hemsworth’s new doco could help your brain health

Hollywood meets science: Thor star’s most personal battle yet as he helps his father navigate Alzheimer’s through a nostalgic road trip across Australia. We talk to the expert behind the research.

Penny Timms

radical surgeryMedical

Jon Bon Jovi at an announcement of the Forever Tour at London's Wembley Stadium on October 24, 2025, and performing at the summer rock festival Super Rock 84 on US rock band Bon Jovi's first visit to Japan on August 1, 1984. Pictures: Kate Green/Getty Images, Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images

‘It was heartbreaking’: Jon Bon Jovi on his fight to sing again

A problem with the legendary singer’s vocal cords nearly ended his career. Now the 63-year-old with the voice behind Livin’ on a Prayer is ready to rock again.

WILL PAVIS

LONG LIVE COMEDYwellbeing

Late night television talk show host Jimmy Kimmel had legendary comedian and actor Carol Burnett on his show, addressing accusations that she cheats at Wordle. Pictures: AP, AFP

Which Australian city is a world beater at this puzzle?

The great comedian, Carol Burnett, has outlived most of her peers and remains as sharp as a five-letter word. Surprisingly, there’s a hidden connection between this megastar of the 60s and one place Down Under.

Matthew Condon

wellbeing

Young man toasting drinks of beer with a group of happy young women in a bar

How to tipple your way to the top

A Norwegian study has suggested those who indulge in binge drinking in their late teens and 20s have greater education and income success.

Eden Maclachlan

Mental healthwellbeing

Insight Timer CEO Christopher Plowman with his daughter on Bondi Beach . Picture: supplied

The man behind the world’s No.1 meditation app

This entrepreneur’s app already has 30 million users and, with billionaire Gretel Packer a key backer, he plans to make it a global platform for mental wellbeing.

Damon Kitney

Wide-ranging benefitsMedical

The safety of healthcare – especially in our public hospitals – could be improved almost overnight at no cost with a simple change in practice. That change is kindness, and it is a potentially powerful treatment for our ailing health system.

Kindness a prescription for an ailing health system

There are huge gains to be made in safety and quality of healthcare, at minimal cost, if all in the healthcare system showed more kindness.

Steve Robson

body and brainwellbeing

24 December 2024; A collage of various alcoholic drink on an orange and yellow gradient background with a doctor's hand with a stethoscope doing a check up on the mojito. Collage. Sources: supplied. Ratio 4:3.

How alcohol affects your health differently at every age

It’s not only hangovers that impact you differently as you get older. Here’s what to watch out for at every age.

Rosamund Dean

Autoimmune treatmentMedical

Ruth Wilson, who has lupus, nicknamed the disease of 1,000 faces for its variety of symptoms, watches speakers address the crowd at the Walk with Us to Cure Lupus fundraising event, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

How science is taking on the disease of 1000 faces

Lupus and other autoimmune diseases are hard to diagnose, harder to treat and wreak havoc on lives. But treatment paths are forming.

LAURAN NEERGAARD

ExplainerMedical

antibodies contribute to brain pathology associated with autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus and neuromyelitis optica 3d rendering

How our immune system can ‘turn traitor’

Autoimmune diseases are debilitating and complicated to treat. But there is new hope.

LAURAN NEERGAARD

BONE HEALTHMedical

An Australian study uncovered some interesting findings when it came to falls prevention and a certain type of yoga. Picture: iStock

‘Unacceptable crisis’ in falls and fracture care

Scientists investigating yoga’s role in stability have uncovered unlikely results amid calls for a rethink in the prevention of falls and osteoporotic fractures.

Penny Timms

Mindfulnesswellbeing

Health care technology concept. Mindfulness.

The ancient art of meditation transcends into a zen WWE event

Meditation as a ‘socially recognised competitive discipline’? Really? Is there nothing left that can’t be plugged in, measured, gawked at and monetised?

Matthew Condon

Cause identifiedwellbeing

Scientists have identified the cause of brain fog after a poor night’s sleep. Picture: Getty Images

Why our brains feel ‘foggy’ after a bad night’s sleep

Everyone has experienced moments where their mind feels a little fuzzy after poor sleep. Scientists have now identified the precise cause.

Kaya Burgess

Digital detoxwellbeing

27 October 2025; A modern smartphone surrounded by social media notifications and reaction icons contrasts with a classic Nokia mobile phone on a minimal background, illustrating the choice between digital overwhelm and intentional disconnection. Sources: iStock. Artwork by Frank Ling. Ratio 4:3. For DIGITAL or PRINT.

What happened when I ditched my smartphone

I tried ditching my smartphone for a ‘dumb phone’ to reclaim some space in my head. Here’s what happened, and some tips to make it stick.

Jared Lynch

expert adviceHealth

chronic pain experienced by nearly two million women

Combined healing powers to hit it where it hurts

New science recommends eight ways to help chronic pain sufferers manage their condition, without pills.

Peta Bee

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/health/wellbeing