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HAVE YOU HEARD OF HOLIDAY HEART SYNDROME?

Friday, December 22, 2023

In today’s newsletter, we learn how to keep our hearts healthy during the holidays, find remarkably well-preserved mummies … and examine how virtual reality may help people with a hoarding disorder.

Colorized coronary angiogram showing myocardial infarction of the left anterior descending coronary artery, which is the most fatal type of heart attack

JAMES CAVALLINI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

More people die of heart attacks between Christmas and New Year’s than any other time of the year. (Above, a colorized coronary angiogram showing a blockage in the heart in black, which can lead to the most fatal type of heart attacks.)

“The heart does not get to take a holiday,” a cardiologist tells Nat Geo. “Neither does your health.”

Here’s how to have a heart-healthy holiday season.

HEALTHY HOLIDAY HEART

STORIES WE’RE FOLLOWING

A contemporary rendering of the Zeus sculpture depicts its massive scale

PHOTOGRAPH BY WENYING LI, XINJIANG INSTITUTE OF CULTURAL RELICS AND ARCHAEOLOGY

The enigmatic and remarkably well-preserved mummies in the Tarim Basin (Pictured above, one of the most famous mummies found in the Tarim Basin, the Princess of Xiaohe.)

Why we crave sugar and fat—and how they affect our brains

Learn about the 7 principles of Kwanzaa

The potentially record-breaking seismic activity in Iceland

What to do with moldy food

What archaeologists can tell us about the real Jesus

Foods that help fight inflammation

Why you shouldn't feed wild animals

This Nat Geo Explorer seeks to revive the Amazon’s depleted soil

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

A man with a hoarding disorder is seen in his garbage-filled apartment, where he lives alone.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ARNAUD CHOCHON, HANS LUCAS/REDUX

How can we help people declutter? One in 40 people in the United States have hoarding disorder. This means they are compelled to hold onto the majority of their belongings, even when it means severe clutter (above, a man with hoarding disorder is seen walking through in his apartment). While treatments currently exist for the condition, a first-of-its kind study shows that therapy using virtual reality technology can help patients let go of their treasured objects.

The Tempe, Arizona home of Steve Lanzillo was literally swarmed by inflatable Santas during Christmas season 2017. The displays were not inflated until dusk, when almost as many passersby gathered just to see the limp figures rise awkwardly and come alive. “The density of color when they’re inflated is fascinating, somehow Dali-esque,” Photographer Jesse Rieser says.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JESSE RIESER

A very American Christmas: As part of a project, photographer Jesse Rieser toured 18 states across the United States to document intriguing and visually arresting holiday decorations. From dozens of inflatable Santas (above) to an electrified Moses parting the Red Sea, he was on a mission to capture the extraordinary range of expression through Christmas decorations.

SEE WHAT HE FOUND

Today’s soundtrack: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, Michael Bublé

Happy weekend! This newsletter has been curated and edited by Nancy San Martín, Jen Tse, Nishita Naga, and David Beard. Know someone who might want our newsletter in their inbox? Here’s the signup.

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