The holistic wellness definition is a departure from how we traditionally see health. Particularly in Western society, wellness is typically associated with physical health. We define health as the absence of illness or disease. However, that’s only part of the story. Health — and wellness — can only be understood as parts of a whole, and all of the dimensions are inextricably connected. 

Although we can’t be sure exactly when human beings began listening to music, scientists do know something about why we do. Listening to music benefits us individually and collectively. Here’s what research tells us about the power of music to improve our physical, mental, and emotional health.

Your physical and emotional stress can melt away by learning to calm your body and mind. This leaves you feeling better, refreshed, and ready to face the challenges of your day with a healthy attitude. With regular practice over weeks or months, you can experience even greater benefits.

What can pairing up with a partner do for your workouts? Quite a bit, according to experts. Read up on the science and get motivated to grab a friend and start a new fitness routine.

Putting the well-being of others before our own without expecting anything in return -- or what is called being altruistic -- stimulates the reward centers of the brain, studies show. Those feel-good chemicals flood our system, producing a sort of "helper's high." Volunteering, for example, has been shown to minimize stress and improve depression. That's not all: The same activity can also reduce the risk for cognitive impairment and even help us live longer.

Aromatherapy, or essential oil therapy, refers to a range of traditional, alternative or complementary therapies that use essential oils and other aromatic plant compounds. Essential oils have been used for nearly 6,000 years, with the aim of improving a person’s health or mood.

Intuitively we know that laughter is one of the best tools we have for dealing with stress, and science backs that up. In fact, research into laughter goes even further, revealing that it's a potent drug with the contagious power of a virus that conveys a slew of benefits for the mind and body.

Dance may be something traditionally enjoyed at parties and weddings, or attempted as a cardio work-out, but new research is showing that it can also have incredible benefits for the brain.

People often don’t know they’ve had a silent heart attack until weeks or months later when a healthcare provider finds heart damage. Missing signs or symptoms normally unrelated to a heart attack can make it tricky to identify a silent heart attack.

Sleep is often not taken too seriously by many people. Even half the people who know they have a real sleeping disorder, like sleep apnea, still refuse to help their selves. Sleeping is not something that only determines whether you are tired or alert. To put it simply, sleep can save your life. That is how important it is. Sleep is needed so everything in your body and mind can work correctly. Without it, or the continuous lack of, you may be flirting with death.

Numerous studies have linked a diet high in red and processed meats with colorectal cancer, but it’s been unclear how eating cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and lamb chops could fuel the development of this disease. 

With more people turning to their smartwatch or fitness tracker to monitor exercise and sleep quality, it’s not surprising that 4,500 health and fitness pros surveyed by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) identified wearable tech as the new top trend in fitness. ACSM released the survey results.