Most of us are glued to the major news outlets every day, sometimes all day. And the reporting about COVID-19’s spread in the United States gets more frightening every day.
While it’s important to keep up with the news, you need to take breaks from it—for your own health and well-being.
Time magazine reported last year that ingesting upsetting news for long periods of time can have mental and even physical health impacts. Graham Davey, a professor emeritus of psychology at Sussex University in the U.K., told the news site, “The way that news is presented and the way that we access news has changed significantly over the last 15 to 20 years. These changes have often been detrimental to general mental health.” And stress-related hormones including cortisol have been linked to inflammation associated with arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and more.
So please take breaks from the news! When you feel yourself getting overwhelmed by what’s happening in the country and world, sit on the porch and do a crossword, take a brisk walk, or perhaps indulge in one of these JCK-tested distractions below.
Read
++ It’s not new, but the book Stoned: Jewelry, Obsession, and How Desire Shapes the World by Aja Raden is that rare nonfiction jewelry book that reads like a juicy novel. It hooks you quickly.
++ Immerse yourself in new book The Elements of a Home: Curious Histories Behind Everyday Household Objects, from Pillows to Forks, which JCK contributing editor Amy Elliott said “sheds light on the secret histories of more than 60 commonplace household objects” and includes “an entire section devoted to the jewelry box/armoire.”
++ The Cartiers chronicles the Cartier brand from a small family business in Paris in the early 1900s through its ascension to fame and fortune in the 1920s and 1930s. “The complexities of sustaining a family-run business are also addressed at length, which many JCK readers should find not only interesting but also profoundly relatable,” wrote JCK’s Elliott in her review of the book last month.
Listen
++ Episodes of JCK‘s The Jewelry District podcast before the virus hit are full of laughs and levity (including the Weird Story of the Week) alongside in-depth conversations with big thinkers in the industry. Put in your earbuds and take a marathon walk around your neighborhood while listening.
++ The Business of Fashion podcast by the news outlet of the same name covers fashion, culture, and retail, and is packed with interviews with luminaries such as fashion critic Tim Blanks, Dior’s Maria Grazia Chiuri, and Kim Kardashian West.
Watch
++ Franca: Chaos and Creation, now on Netflix, tells the biography of legendary Italian Vogue editor Franca Sozzani, through the eyes of her son, a documentary filmmaker.
++ The Creative Brain, also currently on Netflix, explores the neuroscience behind creativity (it’s fascinating).
++ Documentary Sharing the Rough follows a gemstone from deep within an East African mine to being set into an heirloom-quality jewel. The film features gem cutter Roger Dery. Find out more here.
Top: The late Italian Vogue editor Franca Sozzani, subject of an engrossing Netflix documentary (image via: @ildanzimattia)
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