We have all seen movies where right before the hero starts fighting, he cracks his knuckles and makes it look like the coolest thing in the world! But then our parents told us that you should not crack your knuckles because that weakens your grip and hand strength. But is that true? While many people do say that they experience a small loss in strength immediately after they crack their knuckles, but are their long-term effects to it? And what is the sound actually coming from?

The reason why people crack their fingers is because the evident and sharp crack noise causes a sense of relief. Many people also do it when they have done an activity that required them to work with their hands a lot like typing or sewing, giving themselves a sense of satisfaction, similar to stretching after doing hard work. That "crack" sound can make some people cringe, while others find it strangely satisfying. Cracking your knuckles is a pretty common habit, but there are a lot of misunderstandings about it. Some people do it without even thinking, others can't stand the noise, and some can't crack their knuckles at all. You might have been told as a kid that it causes arthritis or makes your fingers swell up. But those are just old wives' tales. There's a real science behind this habit, and it's more interesting than you may think.

Why Do Knuckles Make That Popping Sound?

The "crack" isn't actually bones breaking or anything bad happening to your joints. It's a normal thing called "crepitus." This just means harmless popping, snapping, or grinding sounds that come from your joints. The main reason you hear this sound is because of gas bubbles in the fluid that cushions your joints. This fluid is called synovial fluid. When you move or stretch, these tiny bubbles form and then pop, making the sound. It's totally normal and doesn't hurt you. Sometimes, especially in bigger joints like your knees, shoulders, or ankles, the sound can also happen when the stretchy tissues that connect your bones (ligaments and tendons) move slightly and then snap back into place.

After you crack your knuckles, you can't usually do it again right away. You have to wait a bit. That's because the gas bubbles in your joint fluid have already popped, and it takes a little while for them to build up again. While cracking your knuckles doesn't give you arthritis, doing it too much might cause some problems. Doctors say that cracking them too often could make your joints a little wobbly and might even make your grip weaker. Also, if the stretchy tissues in your joints keep snapping over your bones, they can get irritated and sore.

When Joint Popping Might Mean Something More

Sometimes, a pop in your joint is just like cracking your knuckles, nothing to worry about. But other times, it can be a sign of something else. As we get older, the cushiony stuff in our joints, called cartilage, can start to wear down. This cartilage helps your bones move smoothly. When it gets thin or uneven, the bones can rub together, and that can make a grinding or popping sound. This is different from the pop you get from gas bubbles. If this grinding sound happens along with pain, it could be a sign of osteoarthritis. This is a type of joint problem that's more common in older people, but younger people can get it too, especially after a joint injury. If your joints hurt, especially in the morning or after you've been sitting still for a while, feel wobbly, or are hard to move, it's a good idea to see a doctor.

Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is an irregular and often very rapid heart rhythm, also called an arrhythmia and can create blood clots in the heart, which can increase your risk of having a stroke by five times.

When a person has AFib, the normal beating in the upper chambers of the heart (the two atria) is irregular and blood doesn't flow as well as it should from the atria to the lower chambers of the heart (the two ventricles).

In this case, the risk of developing blood clots in your heart increases, which can not only cause a heart attack but also damage vital organs such as your brain. An AFib may happen in brief episodes, or it may be a permanent condition.

Common symptoms include palpitations (the feeling that your heart is racing, pounding, fluttering or like you have missed heartbeats), chest pain, finding it harder to exercise, tiredness, shortness of breath, dizziness or feeling faint.

READ MORE: You Can Stop A Heart Attack With This Medicine, Cardiologist Reveals Heart Attack 101

The death rate from AFib as the primary or a contributing cause of death has been rising for more than two decades.

Over 454,000 people with AFib are hospitalized in the US each year, out of which 158,000 die of the cause. It is estimated that 12.1 million people in the US will have AFib in the US will have AFib by 2050.

Who Is At Risk Of Having AFib?

• Advancing age.
• High blood pressure.
• Obesity.
• European ancestry.
• Diabetes.
• Heart failure.
• Ischemic heart disease.
• Hyperthyroidism.
• Chronic kidney disease.
• Moderate to heavy alcohol use.
• Smoking.
• Enlargement of the chambers on the left side of the heart.

Treatment for AFib includes medications to control the heart's rhythm and rate, therapy to shock the heart back to a regular rhythm and procedures to block faulty heart signals.

A person with atrial fibrillation also may have a related heart rhythm disorder called atrial flutter. The treatments for AFib and atrial flutter are similar.

How To Improve Your Heart Health

Experts recommend following the below to reduce yor risk of stroke or developing AFib and maintaining heart health:

• Don't smoke or use tobacco.
• Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate physical activity or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity (or an equal combination of both) each week. Eat a heart-healthy diet.
• Stay at a healthy weight.
• Get quality sleep.
• Manage stress levels
• Get regular health screening tests.
• Eat a fiber, nuts and fish-rich diet
• Limit salt intake
• Reduce saturated fat intake

Changes in your voice, whether in tone, volume, speed or overall quality, can act as early warning signs for a wide range of medical conditions, experts say.

Your voice is produced by the coordinated effort of your respiratory system, vocal cords (also called vocal folds), and the resonating chambers of your throat, mouth, and nose. Even subtle shifts in hormone levels, hydration status or tissue health can noticeably affect how you sound.

Recent research shows that subtle changes in speech, for example, slurring or vocal cord tremors, may be signs of disease or illness like Parkinson’s disease, depression, cardiac and mental health problems, as speech requires coordination with the brain, muscles and respiratory system.

Which Conditions Can You Identify By A Change In Voice?

• Diabetes: High-pitched, raspy voices or vocal strain can be linked to diabetes, with AI studies showing up to 75% accuracy in prediction.
• Cardiovascular Disease: Voice analysis can detect high, fluttering voices associated with coronary artery disease, caused by stress or fluid changes in the vocal cords.
• Hypothyroidism: A deeper, softer, or huskier voice can indicate thyroid dysfunction.
• Respiratory Illnesses: Conditions like COVID-19 or COPD are often associated with a breathy voice, coughing, and short, interrupted sentences.
• Throat Cancer: Persistent hoarseness and raspy voice, especially lasting more than 2-3 weeks, can indicate laryngeal cancer.
• Parkinson’s Disease: Identified by a monotone voice, reduced volume, increased breathiness, and vocal cord tremors.
• Alzheimer’s Disease/Dementia: Characterized by slower speech rates, hesitation, frequent pauses, and simplified vocabulary/sentence structure.
• Stroke or Brain Injury: Indicated by slurred speech or difficulty finding words (global aphasia).
• Cerebellar Disorders (caused by damage to the nerves in the brain's cerebellum): Manifest as loud, staccato speech (bursts of broken sounds).
• Depression: Linked to a flatter, softer, and more monotone voice with a reduced pitch range.
• Anxiety/Stress: Often presents as a higher-pitched, faster, and more tremulous voice.
• Schizophrenia: Indicated by monotone, disorganized speech.

What Else Can Affect Your Voice?

Apart from serious medical conditions, voice changes may also be linked to aging and lifestyle factors. Fluctuations in testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, and thyroid hormone levels may also influence the structure and function of the vocal cords.

Dehydration is one of the most common causes of voice problems, as cords need adequate moisture to vibrate efficiently. Aim for at least 64 ounces of water daily, and more if you use your voice professionally or live in a dry climate.

Smoking irritates and inflames the vocal cords, causing chronic hoarseness and increasing the risk of vocal cord cancer. Even secondhand smoke and vaping can affect voice quality.

Diet also plays a role in vocal health. Caffeine and alcohol are diuretics that can dehydrate your vocal cords. Spicy foods and acidic beverages may trigger reflux, irritating the throat.

Dairy products can increase mucus production in some people, affecting voice clarity. Voice overuse or misuse, common in teachers, singers, and public speakers, can lead to vocal fatigue and damage. The following table compares how different lifestyle factors impact your voice.

How Can You Take Care Of Your Voice?

Whether the cause is hormonal changes, medical conditions, aging, or lifestyle factors, most voice problems can be improved with proper diagnosis and treatment. Here are some things you can do to take care:

• Stay hydrated by drinking water throughout the day and using a humidifier in dry environments
• Warm up your voice before extended speaking or singing with gentle humming or lip trills
• Avoid shouting or whispering, both of which strain the vocal cords
• Take voice breaks during prolonged speaking to prevent fatigue
• Manage stress through relaxation techniques, as tension affects voice quality
• Treat allergies and sinus problems promptly to reduce postnasal drip
• Maintain good posture to support optimal breathing and voice production

Living under constant psychosocial stress can significantly raise the risk of developing dementia and a stroke, a JAMA Network study suggests.

Psychosocial stress is a type of stress related to our relationships with others, usually arising from feeling judged, excluded, or not enough in others' eyes. It can also put a person in fight-or-flight mode, causing both mental and physical symptoms.

According to Chinese researchers, people who experience this form of stress in childhood as well as adulthood face more than a threefold higher risk of developing dementia compared with those in other groups.

Similarly, young people experiencing stressful situations in their adulthood had a significantly higher risk of stroke incidence that their counterparts.

Based on these results, the study highlights that early identification of psychosocial stressors, combined with effective mental health support and depression prevention, may reduce the long-term burden of neurodegenerative and cerebrovascular disease.

What Did The Study Find?

The scientists defined adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) as traumatic exposures occurring during childhood, typically grouped into 3 categories: household dysfunction, social dysfunction and family death or disability.

On the other hand, traumatic exposures occurring during adulthood were defined as adverse adult experiences (AAEs), which include events such as the death of a child, lifetime discrimination, ever being confined to bed, ever being hospitalized for a month or longer and ever leaving a job due to health conditions.

While analyzing the data they collected from the participants, the researchers also found that depression partly explained the links in all major relationships as it accounted for more than one-third of the connection between childhood adversity and dementia, and about one-fifth of the link between adulthood adversity and both dementia and stroke.

READ MORE: Avoid Doing These 3 Things Prevent Dementia, According To Neurologist

These findings suggest that long-term psychological stress may lead to brain and blood vessel diseases by causing ongoing emotional distress, unhealthy behaviours, and biological changes like inflammation and abnormal stress responses.

Psychosocial Stress: An Unseen Form Of Stress

Psychosocial stress can trigger physiological responses like increased heart rate, cortisol secretion, and inflammation, significantly increasing risks for hypertension, cardiovascular disease and mental health disorders.

This kind of stress can affect men, women, and people of all genders differently, but many of the symptoms are still the same. Common symptoms include:

• Sweating
• An increase in blood pressure
• Rapid heartbeat
• Dizziness
• Nausea and digestive problems
• Strong emotional reactions such as sadness or irritability
• Drug or alcohol abuse

These symptoms can be acute or chronic, meaning for some people they go away, and for others, they persist over a long period of time. Meeting with a therapist is often recommended for those living with chronic stress.

Experts typically suggest developing coping mechanisms include building support networks, utilizing relaxation techniques, and, in cases of severe mental impact, seeking professional support to help deal with psychosocial stress.