Toby Geeks Out!

It’s honestly alarming that the US withdrew from the WHO last month. They are already cutting 2,300 jobs by summer. We just stepped away from 70+ yrs of global flu tracking — our vaccines will feel it

“Global cooperation and communication are critical to keep our own citizens protected because germs do not respect borders.” — Infectious Diseases Society of America, January 2026

Expect real unpredictability ahead. China pledged $500M to fill the void — but it remains to be seen if that’s enough. Without the US, can the WHO still keep the world safe?

Have you heard of dark showering? Showering with the lights dimmed or off before bed. TikTok is obsessed, and the science is actually interesting.

“Showering with the lights off promotes melatonin release, preparing the brain for sleep ahead of time.” — Dr. Chelsie Rohrscheib, neuroscientist & sleep expert

Warm water raises your body temp, then the drop when you step out mimics what your body naturally does before sleep. I’ve tried it and find it really relaxing. Worth adding to your nighttime routine!

Photo by Victor Furtuna on Unsplash

Just read this fascinating study where older adults (65+) did brain training for 10 weeks and reversed about a decade of brain aging. They actually measured brain chemistry changes. Kind of makes me think about what I could be doing now at 50 to keep my brain sharp down the road. Read more here.

Here’s something that’s been sitting uncomfortably in my brain lately: I don’t really experience what I’d call “screen stress,” but I’ve definitely found myself in those loops where I’ve been on screens for hours and hours, and I look up and feel… exhausted. Not stressed exactly, just drained. And somehow in all that scrolling time, I’ve been neglecting analog things I actually need to do. Errands that keep getting pushed to tomorrow, books sitting unread, walks not taken. It’s that damn infinite scroll, right? You start out thinking you’ll just check one thing, and suddenly it’s been two hours and you haven’t moved.And here’s the kicker: the …

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This year: more bloom than doom. Bloomscrolling means intentionally curating uplifting content instead of doomscrolling. I won’t avoid hard topics—open wounds need discussion—but I want scrolling that serves me, not just drains me. Small shifts, better mental space. Read more about it here

I knew hugs were good for stress, but I had no idea they boost immunity, lower blood pressure, help you sleep better, and reduce pain by 31%. A 2025 study says hugging 1-3 people daily is ideal. Most of us are touch-deprived. Time to get our daily dose of free medicine. Read this article here.

You know how some people collect stamps or vintage records? I collect random things. It’s honestly my favorite thing - shuffling through the vast web, discovering stuff I never knew existed. So here’s what caught my attention lately. Someone once said, “The more you know, the more you realize you don’t know.” Turns out that’s annoyingly true. Especially when you discover entire personality types you never knew existed. Ready? Let’s dive in. The Great French Toast Identity Crisis French toast. Not French. At all. Plot twist: it’s Roman. Back in the 4th century, Romans soaked stale bread in milk and eggs, fried it up, drizzled honey on top. …

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“Women and girls struggle with anorexia—the feeling they’re never thin enough. Now there’s something affecting men and boys that’s just as serious, but way less talked about. It’s called bigorexia. Ever heard of it? I hadn’t. Here’s what parents need to know.

TrumpRX launched this week with discounts on prescription drugs—but it’s not the only game in town. GoodRX and Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs have been doing this for years. Good to have choices, though TrumpRX prices run higher than the other two. Read more here (NPR)

70% of U.S. grocery stores are ultraprocessed. New study shows cutting back improves insulin sensitivity and metabolism—even without trying to lose weight. Being diabetic makes me rethink my pantry choices, but honestly? Not gonna be easy. Link

Two months into managing diabetes and still learning so much. Found this article on bedtime routines—checking blood sugar before bed, timing dinner right, prepping your room for sleep. Actually helpful stuff worth checking out—Steps To Take Before Bed If You Live with Diabetes

Switched to ad-tier streaming and now every other commercial is for some medication. GLP-1 weight loss drugs even hit the Super Bowl. When did watching TV stop being about relaxing and start being a trip to the pharmacy? 🙄 Link

You might want to read this, “Why There Are More Drug TV Commericals”

So I’ve been reading about some random stuff lately, and these things have been sitting in my head for a while. You know how it is—you start with skyscrapers covered in forests, end up at the grocery store aisle, and somehow land on Bambi, of all things. Anyway, figured I’d share. You might find them interesting too. Buildings with actual forests on them I love buildings covered in greenery. Walls, balconies, entire facades—just filled with plants. It’s brilliant. I’m a total black thumb—I can kill a cactus—but that doesn’t stop me from appreciating it. I grew up in an Appalachian town surrounded by trees. I’d sit for hours just looking at …

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Shaking up my breakfast routine! 🥜 These peanut butter banana muffins are exactly the variety I needed. Wholesome, delicious, and so easy to make. Here’s to breaking the breakfast boredom! I can’t wait to make them. But I will need to buy a muffin pan, first.

Recipe: Peanut Butter Breakfast Muffins

Hey folks, I’m experimenting here. I usually put together a monthly newsletter on various topics, but I read about 100 articles a week, and there’s always something that catches my attention and feels worth sharing sooner rather than later. Over the last two weeks alone, I had about 30 links I wanted to share with you—way too much for one newsletter. So I’m breaking them up into a weekly newsletter instead. This one covers genuinely good health news, some overdue reflection on Deaf representation, and tackling my mountain of unread books. Not sure yet if I’ll stick with weekly or go back to monthly—we’ll see how this feels. Let’s start with …

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Published on Substack on 1/26/2026 The Americans with Disabilities Act will turn 36 later this year. In the last thirty-five years, there has been a requirement for accessible hotel accommodations. And yet, NPR just published an investigation showing that wheelchair users are still dealing with the same frustrating barriers that shouldn’t exist after three decades of the law being on the books.NPR talked to 50 wheelchair users and surveyed over 200 more. The stories were depressingly familiar. You call ahead, you book an accessible room online, you show up… and there’s no reservation. Or the room’s been given away. Or—my personal favorite—the …

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I love to walk. Back when I lived in DC, I’d spend hours on weekends just getting lost in the city with my camera, capturing whatever caught my eye. Those long, meandering walks were never about hitting a step goal; they were about exploring and discovering. Turns out all those hours of wandering were doing way more for my health than I realized. Two recent studies offer encouraging news about movement and how it protects us, and the takeaway is that how and when you move matter less than moving itself. One study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology tracked over 100,000 adults and found that people who took a single long walk …

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Winter’s here in Kentucky, which means less sunlight and thinking about vitamin D. Most of us aren’t getting enough—35% of American adults fall short. I’m one of them. Both my doctors told me I wasn’t getting enough, so I’ve been taking 1,000 IU supplements year-round. What really surprised me: targeted vitamin D3 cut the chances of a second heart attack in half for people who’d already had one. I knew deficiency could affect health, but I had no idea it was tied specifically to heart health. Since becoming diabetic, I’ve been eating two or three scrambled eggs every day for breakfast to keep my blood sugar stable. The eggs should help boost …

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