After years of working as a researcher and seeing patients, the "inconsistency" of seeing a lot of research remain "within laboratories" led Andreu Prados to dedicate himself to "communicating" science, to "translate it" for both patients and students and health professionals. Few voices are more didactic than his to talk about one of the most forgotten parts of our body: the vagus nerve. For some time now, videos have been proliferating on social media explaining that it is altered and that there are tricks to retrain it. But what is true in all these publications? Does the vagus nerve really have such a direct impact on our well-being? Prados, who specializes in digestive disorders, explains that knowing it is key to understanding how one of the great ills of the 21st century works from within: stress.

Summer has traditionally been synonymous with disconnection, rest, and time to regain strength. However, in the midst of the digital age, this notion seems to have changed. Nowadays, free time has become a showcase where it seems essential to demonstrate that constant experiences are being lived. If summer was once an opportunity to slow down, now many people feel they have to fill each day with activities, getaways, or trips that are worth sharing on social media. When this doesn't happen, an uncomfortable feeling arises: that of wasting vacation time.

Stress is one of the great enemies of modern health. It is linked to cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, anxiety and depression, cognitive decline, and immune disorders. When it is high and becomes chronic, its impact can be devastating. However, not all stress is harmful, as is often thought. In certain doses and contexts, it can do the exact opposite. Healthy stress can become a biological tool for growth, learning, and adaptation, as neuroscientist Helen Thomson explains in a paper published in New Scientist.

We live in a time when daily life seems defined by speed, self-imposed pressure, and the constant feeling of not being able to do everything. It seems increasingly difficult to stop and listen to our bodies and emotions. This is the topic of Dr. Noelia Samartin Veiga, a neuroscientist and clinical psychologist, and author of the book... You have come to live (Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, 2026).