A simple exercise you can do at your desk

Plus: A little-known profession to help caregivers manage aging  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Mandy Oaklander | October 15, 2026     As a young person who danced every day, I was acutely aware of the importance of toe strength. It was essential for ballet—how else could you ever rise up en pointe? But when I got older and hung up my toe shoes, I largely forgot about my toes. Tsk tsk, cautions my colleague Angela Haupt: grownups neglect their toes at their own peril. In this edition, Angela walks us through the simple toe exercise you should be doing every day at your desk. TODAY’S TOPICS How to rescue a parakeet The growing health risks of wildfires A step-by-step guide to toe raises The obscure profession that help caregivers manage aging         QUICK CHAT Love at first chirp I recently interviewed therapist Cheryl Fisher about creative ways to spend time in nature, but we had a third participant in our conversation: a very chatty parakeet. I could hear him chirping away in the background, and Fisher kept pausing to acknowledge his contributions. (“I know, I hear you, sweetheart.”) Eventually, I had to ask about him. Turns out, his name is Ollie, and the story of how he came into her life is almost as delightful as he is. —Angela Haupt, Editor, Health & Wellness This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Ollie, courtesy of Cheryl Fisher First of all, who is that very enthusiastic bird I keep hearing? He's a parakeet I rescued from my bird feeder about five or six weeks ago. He's very vocal when I'm on the phone. It's so funny—he's like a kid! Sometimes I can almost hear him saying, “Yeah, yeah, tell her!” Wait, you found a parakeet at your bird feeder? How did that happen? He kept coming back for five days. Every time I'd go outside to try to get him, he'd fly away. I'm not even sure what I thought I was going to do with him, because I didn't have a cage. Eventually, I consulted with a rescue agency and my veterinarian, and I had a cage, food, and everything else DoorDashed to the house. How did you finally persuade him to come inside? We were getting ready for a terrible storm and there was a tornado warning. I put a sprig of millet in my hand and thought, “OK, dude, look. I've got some food. We've got a safe cage. Let's get you in the house, and we'll figure out the rest.” And now he's officially part of the family? Yes! I put him on my pet insurance policy, and I named him Ollie. We already have a wonderful dog who's a canine co-therapist, and she's looking at me like, “What is up with you?” But Ollie's been so funny to have around. I didn't know what I was missing.         SPONSORED BY SHORTFORM Sam Altman's Favorite Productivity Book Isn't About AI It's Zero to One. Shortform turns books like it, into guides with the key ideas and how to use them. Get the ideas behind the breakthroughs in about 15 minutes. Start learning!         BIG NUMBER 916 million That’s how many people around the world were exposed to both extreme heat and poor air quality from wildfire smoke each year from 2000 to 2019, a new study found. The amount of exposure escalated significantly in the second decade. —Veronique Greenwood, Staff Writer SOURCE: SCIENCE ADVANCES         SPONSORED BY HUBSPOT FOR STARTUPS Build Your First GTM Agent Workflow Logging. Enrichment. Routing. It’s the GTM work that eats a startup’s week. Agents can own it so your team gets back to selling. On October 28, HubSpot and Dust run Build, Buy, or Hire? live. No panel. We build your first automated workflow in HubSpot and Dust, including a post-call automation and a Slack account ownership layer, and you take the build home. Join the Live Build         ONE SMALL CHANGE Bring your toes toward your nose Toe raises come with a workout cue that sounds like it belongs in a nursery rhyme: Bring your toes toward your nose. Keep your heels planted and lift the fronts of your feet to strengthen the muscles along your shins—the ones that help your toes clear the ground when you walk. Start with five to 10 slow reps a few days a week, either sitting at your desk or standing while holding the bathroom counter. Your shins may start burning—in a good way!—surprisingly quickly. —A.H. Read the full story here.         SPONSORED Is your company shaping the future? TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2027 entries are now open. Every year, TIME asks what it means for a company to be influential. Every year, the answer changes. With expanded recognition opportunities to celebrate influence across industries, impact initiatives, and, for the first time, workplace innovation, there are more ways than ever to stand out. Submit your company.          WHAT WE’RE READING A new study highlights cases of a rare, lethal measles complication that arrives years after infection, writes Laine Bergeson for CIDRAP.  There's a little-known profession that can make caring for aging parents much easier. Paula Span at KFF Health News explains what aging life care managers do—and when families might need one. Nonprofit hospitals that are supposed to give low-income people financial aid often make them pay upfront and will not offer refunds to patients, Melanie Evans reports for Tradeoffs.       More Newsletters from Click to sign up. THE BRIEF +D.C. BRIEF +FUTURE PROOF +INSIDE TIME +IN THE LOOP +WORTH YOUR TIME + Subscribe to TIME Email us: healthmatters@time.com Received this from a friend? Sign up here Connect with TIME PRIVACY POLICY   © 2026 TIME USA, LLC. All rights reserved. TIME Customer Service, P.O. Box 37508 Boone, IA 50037-0508, United States Unsubscribe