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Greg Sullivan
February 13, 2026
"Placebo sleep" can be extremely powerful.
By Evan Porter
The benefits of getting a good night's sleep are too vast to name. Sleep is as essential for our brains as food and water are for our bodies. If you're not getting enough, sleeping better has been shown to elevate your mood, improve your memory, and even boost your physical health. And then there's the obvious: when you don't sleep well, you'll have less energy and generally perform worse on tasks that require any kind of effort or thought.
However, we're all human, and, sometimes, humans sleep terribly. Your infant might wake you up, or a car alarm might go off outside, interrupting your regularly-scheduled REM. It's not always our fault when we don't sleep well, but there might be an interesting way to fix it.
A study from 2014 may have demonstrated the existence of something called "placebo sleep," or tricking your brain into believing you slept better than you did.
It's an easy mindfulness technique for anxiety.
Dealing with anxiety is a battle for many Americans. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 19.1% of adults in the United States have an anxiety disorder.
With anxiety, it can be easy to settle into catastrophic thinking, especially when life is full of unknowns. But dwelling on anxious thoughts does little to ease them, and you may be looking for ways to quiet your mind.
One mindfulness technique that may help you avoid going down that rabbit hole is the 3-3-3 Rule.
Oh Gracie. 😭♥️
Our giveaway ends at 11:59 PM PT on February 15th!
Don't miss this opportunity to enter for a dreamy ocean-inspired date of any kind. Whether that’s a movie night with your best friend, an ocean adventure with your sibling, a romantic dinner, or quality time with mom - plus a chance to protect what we love most. 💙 Enter now before it's too late!
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Go to upworthy.com/oceandate and complete the quick form for a chance to win—it’s that easy.
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Huge thanks to our friends at All In, BeachLife Festival, and GOT Bag for making this possible.
Giveaway ends 2/15/26 at 11:59pm PT. Winners will be selected at random and contacted via email from the Upworthy. No purchase necessary. Open to residents of the U.S. and specific Canadian provinces that have reached age of majority in their state/province/territory of residence at the time. Please see terms and conditions for specific instructions.
Using everything from Roombas to babies, people are embracing the joy of curling.
By Annie Reneau
When curling became an official Olympic sport in 1998, it was met with a fair amount of curiosity and confusion, at least among people outside Canada, Scotland, and the Scandinavian countries where it has long been a winter sport tradition. Without an explanation of what's happening, curling can look downright bizarre: large stones sliding across the ice toward a target, while people vigorously sweep the ice in front of them as the person who threw the stone yells unintelligibly.
It's not obvious what skills are required for curling just by watching, which initially led people to poke fun at the event. More recent Olympic Games, however, have seen interest in curling grow as people find the sport strangely riveting. Now, curling has reached even greater heights of popularity, as evidenced by satirical curling-at-home videos popping up on social media.