As temperatures soar across the UK, the difficulty of getting a good night's sleep is on many people's minds. But there are things you can do to beat the heatwave. Here are some tips. 1. No napping Hot weather can make us feel a bit lethargic during the day. That's because we're using more energy to regulate our internal temperature. But if your sleep is disturbed at night, try to avoid napping during the day. When it's hot, sleepiness can be precious - save it for bedtime. 2. Keep to routines Hot weather can encourage you to change your habits. Don't. That can disrupt sleep. Try to keep to your usual bedtime and routines. Do the things you normally do before bed. 3. Remember the basics Take

Whether it's almond, soy or coconut it seems more people are ditching cow's milk for the plant-based stuff. A quarter of British people are now drinking non-dairy milks, according to market research firm Mintel, who spoke to 2,000 people. The biggest users of non-dairy milk are 16-24 year olds - 33% are drinking them. But plant-based milks make up just 4% of the milk market, with 96% of milk sales in 2018 being for cow's milk. "Concerns around health, ethics and the environment" are driving sales of plant-based milks, says Emma Clifford, Associate Director of UK Food and Drink. Health was the reason why 37% of 16-24 year olds said they'd reduced how much cow's milk they've been drinking in t

Skin cancer rates have "soared" in the UK over the last decade, particularly in men and younger adults, Cancer Research UK (CRUK) has warned. Incidence of melanomas rose in men by 53% - from 19 per 100,000 in 2004-6 to 29 per 100,000 in 2014-16. And diagnoses in 25-49 year olds rose by 78% - from nine per 100,000 in the mid-90s to 16 per 100,000 in 2014-16. The charity said that people needed to remember to protect their skin in the UK, as well as on holiday. Men are more likely to develop skin cancers on their chests and backs and women on their legs, probably because of what they wear in the sun. Men's risk can also be increased if they have a job that means they work outdoors. Cheap fligh

Nearly everyone can lower their risk of dementia, even if it runs in the family, by living a healthy lifestyle, research suggests. The study of nearly 200,000 people showed the risk fell by up to a third. The team at the University of Exeter said the results were exciting, empowering and showed people were not doomed to get dementia. The findings were revealed at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference. What counts as a healthy lifestyle? The researchers gave people a healthy lifestyle score based on a combination of exercise, diet, alcohol and smoking. This is an example of someone who scored well: Doesn't currently smoke Cycles at normal pace for two-and-a-half hours a week Ea

Health officials say the HPV vaccine for 12 to 13-year-old boys, starting after the summer, will prevent 29,000 cancers in UK men in the next 40 years. The boys will be eligible from the start of the new school year, 11 years after girls were first vaccinated. The jab protects against human papilloma virus, which causes many oral, throat and anal cancers. One man, Jamie Rae, says he went "to hell and back" during his treatment for throat cancer caused by the virus. "All the things you enjoy are gone. I couldn't speak or eat for months afterwards, and I was just skeletal by the end of it," he says. 'I was left with no saliva to eat' Jamie, from Falkirk, had never heard of HPV when he found a

People will be able to get expert health advice using Amazon Alexa devices, under a partnership with the NHS, the government has announced. From this week, the voice-assisted technology is automatically searching the official NHS website when UK users ask for health-related advice. The government in England said it could reduce demand on the NHS. Privacy campaigners have raised data protection concerns but Amazon say all information will be kept confidential. The partnership was first announced last year and now talks are under way with other companies, including Microsoft, to set up similar arrangements. Previously the device provided health information based on a variety of popular respons

Teenagers are less likely to use cannabis in places where the drug has been legalised, a new study suggests. Researchers at Montana State University looked at health surveys of US high school pupils between 1993 and 2017. While overall use of the drug among young people went up in the US, teen use declined by nearly 10% in states where recreational use was legalised. Some 33 states have legalised medical cannabis, while 10 states have also legalised recreational use. Cannabis use remains illegal in all states for people under the age of 18. Lead author of the study Mark Anderson told the Associated Press that the study, published in the medical journal Jama Paediatrics, "should help to quell

Obesity now causes more cases of four common cancers in the UK than smoking, according to a charity. Cancer Research UK says bowel, kidney, ovarian and liver cancers are more likely to have been caused by being overweight than by smoking tobacco. It says millions are at risk of cancer because of their weight and that obese people outnumber smokers two to one. But its new billboard campaign highlighting the obesity-cancer risk has been criticised for fat-shaming. It is not the first time the charity has been accused of fat-shaming. In February, comedian and campaigner Sofie Hagen took to Twitter to criticise the campaign. One Twitter user, @KenLynch73, said linking obesity with cigarette-styl

Millions of people in the UK are putting their sight at risk by continuing to smoke, warn specialists. Despite the clear connection, only one in five people recognise that smoking can lead to blindness, a poll for the Association of Optometrists (AOP) finds. Smokers are twice as likely to lose their sight compared with non-smokers, says the RNIB. That is because tobacco smoke can cause and worsen a number of eye conditions. How smoking can harm your eyes Cigarette smoke contains toxic chemicals that can irritate and harm the eyes. For example, heavy metals, such as lead and copper, can collect in the lens - the transparent bit that sits behind the pupil and brings rays of light into focus -