Explainer
Background pieces that explain a concept or mechanism.
Does Ashwagandha Actually Reduce Stress?
The most searched supplement of 2026 has more randomised trials than most, and the numbers they produce are part of the problem.
Do Standing Desks Actually Do Anything?
The original version said the effect probably fades. Newer evidence tracking full-day sitting to twelve months says otherwise. What still has not been shown is the…
Do Digital Detoxes Actually Work?
Most detox research found nothing much, across randomised and non-randomised designs alike. One controlled trial found effects large enough to be worth interrogating.
Do You Understand Less When You Read on a Screen?
The paper advantage is real, small, and almost entirely dependent on two conditions. Both of them describe a normal working day.
Does Creatine Do Anything for Your Brain?
The headline says memory improves. The subgroup analysis says it improves for people over 65 and not for people in their twenties.
Does Eating Every Few Hours Keep Your Energy Up?
The government review could draw no conclusion. Two randomised-trial meta-analyses have since arrived, and they do not support the grazing advice either.
Does a Drink Before Bed Actually Help You Sleep?
The most cited review on this was formally contested by eight sleep specialists. The original version of this article could not retrieve their argument. Now it…
Do Ergonomic Keyboards Prevent Wrist Pain?
Two reviews, one of which separates mouse use from keyboard use and finds only one of them associated with anything. That distinction was missing from the…
Does Having Your Phone on the Desk Hurt Your Focus?
One 2017 study launched a thousand desk-drawer policies. The replication record since then is worth knowing before you build a habit on it.
Does Working Out at Night Ruin Your Sleep?
The meta-analyses cleared evening exercise years ago. Then a study of four million nights complicated it. The two findings turn out to be compatible.
Does Breakfast Actually Improve Concentration?
The claim that breakfast sharpens your focus rests on a research base that looks very different once you separate adults from children. Here is what the…
Does Dark Mode Reduce Eye Strain?
Dark mode is the default aesthetic of technical work, but the research on display polarity mostly points the other way. Here is what the studies measured,…
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How these articles get written
Every claim is traceable to a named source, and where the evidence is thin that gets said rather than smoothed over. Read the research standards to see what a claim has to clear, or read about TorpidLife.