Friends News #1 - "How's medical school?"
the inspiration behind this newsletter, a podcast for optimizing your life, an app for couples, why we sneeze, and what I'll choose as my specialty.
Good afternoon friend!
In this issue: the inspiration behind this newsletter, a podcast for optimizing your life, an app for couples, why we sneeze, and what I'll probably choose as my specialty.
Why you're getting this: this is my Friend's Newsletter. I send it at least once a month to friends I want to stay in touch with and interesting people I've connected with. You can unsubscribe at any time. I won't be mad. I won't even be notified!
Interesting Links
My goal in sharing links with you is to entertain, add value to your life, or show you things maybe you haven't seen before. It's not to sell you anything.
💌 First, I want to credit Nick Gray for inspiring me to start this newsletter. He has a Friends Newsletter of his own and recently published a book called The 2-hour Cocktail Party. I read the book and am excited to apply his "party-hosting formula" to our next gathering. If you get a chance, check him out.
My school days include a 40-minute commute, so I spend a lot of time listening to podcasts while driving. This podcast is one of the few I listen to as soon as episodes come out. It's all about upgrading your life, money, and travel. If you're into self-improvement or optimizing areas of your life, I'm sure you'll find an episode worthy of your time.
📱Paired: Couples & Relationship app for iPhone and Android
This app has fun couple games, question packs, and check-ins. It's one of the tools Ricky and I use to ensure we're continuously learning about one another and discussing relationship topics. All of the exercises are made by relationship academics and therapists and I promise they're not boring. There's a subscription associated with the app, but it's not expensive and only one person in the couple has to pay for it. We look at it as an investment in our growth and we've already had fantastic conversations since we've been using it. Plus, I'm currently beating Ricky in the couples games, and that -friend- makes the $6-$15/month well worth it.
Medical Tidbit
⚕️Medical Tip / Question / Myth-busting: Every issue of this newsletter will include a medical tidbit. I won't be explaining metabolic pathways or lecturing. We're keeping it light. I might share suggestions for health optimization or answer one of your health-related questions. So if there is something you've always wanted to know, drop it in a reply to this email. Chances are someone else has this question too. Chances are I won't know the answer right away. But I will do the research and get back to you. Let's learn together 🤓.
Today's Tidbit: Why do we sneeze?
Sneezing is your body's response to an irritation of the lining of your nose and upper airway. It's the nose equivalent of what a cough is for your lungs and both are reflexes meant to get the offending particle out. Some irritants that can set off a sneeze include chemicals released by viral respiratory infections, allergens, and physical irritants such as smoke, pollution, perfumes, and cold air.
Nothing groundbreaking here. You might have already known that. But have you ever heard of a solar sneeze? Also known as a photic sneeze reflex, some people (like me 🙋🏻♂️) sneeze when they step outside and into the sun. Nothing is irritating the lining here, so what's going on? The exact mechanism isn't known, but the theory I think holds the most water is crossed wires involving the trigeminal nerve, a facial nerve that sends a branch to your eyes and a branch to your nose. When bright light hits the eyes, the pupils constrict, and 🗣 ACHOO! The signal coming from your eyes is misinterpreted as coming from your nose.
Are you a solar sneezer too? Let me know so we can avoid the sun together.