How to relax: entertainment venues and stress relief✳
The first half covers entertainment venues: which spending is a waste, and where the emergency exits are. The measures are money and personal liberty. The second half covers stress relief, measured in energy and all-cause mortality. The figures from the two halves are not converted into each other. Items 11 and 12 at the end cover avoiding harm while having fun: do not soak in a hot spring or take a sauna after drinking, and wear a helmet when skiing or cycling. The measure there is mortality. Item 13 (hobbies) returns to stress relief and taking up a hobby after 50. Section 3 already covers what to do first when your mood is low; this section offers more specific methods.
English, Russian and Spanish use dlgrv’s unofficial translations. Newly revised entries appear in the Chinese original until a checked translation is available. The author’s latest Chinese text is authoritative. Translation revision: dlgrv/HowToLiveBetter · b25fa8a
By the rules, while an entertainment venue is open, evacuation routes and emergency exits must stay clear. They must not be blocked, locked, or have objects placed in the way, and the direction signs must not be covered. Internet cafés likewise must not have their doors sealed or their windows locked. Failing to do this is illegal, and you can report it. If the private room is underground, has only one exit, or the corridor is piled with clutter, go to another place.
Cost
No cost at all. Just take 10 seconds to look around when y…
Benefit
Ensuring unobstructed evacuation routes and exits is a mandatory legal obligation for venue operators. Noncomp…
By the rules, an entertainment venue that sells services or goods must show prices clearly, and must take the initiative to show you the price list. So-called sky-high drink charges usually turn up when nobody has seen a price list and the bill is settled afterward from a spoken quote. When you go into the private room, ask for the list and photograph it. After you order, ask for a confirmed list. If the bill is disputed, call 12315 on the spot.
Cost
No cost at all. You simply need to request a price list. T…
Benefit
The regulation says: "When an entertainment venue provides entertainment services or sells goods, it shall mar…
An entertainment venue must not sell drugs, must not supply drugs, and must not let people use drugs inside. A violation means a business suspension for rectification of 3 to 6 months, and in a serious case the license is revoked. Letting someone "use a bit" in a private room you booked, or at your home, can be the crime of providing a place for others to use drugs. If someone pulls out an unknown powder, tablet, or vape cartridge and asks you to try it, leave on the spot.
Cost
No cost at all. Just stand up and walk away. The hard part…
Benefit
The regulation expressly forbids entertainment venues to "sell or supply drugs, or organize, force, abet, lure…
Today's drugs do not look like drugs. A "high" e-cigarette mixed with synthetic cannabinoids looks much like an ordinary e-cigarette, and some people specifically hand them out to try in bars, KTVs, and hotels. Tricking someone into using them brings detention of 10 to 15 days plus a fine. Using them yourself also brings detention. Someone who was tricked into using them can get a lighter penalty, or none. If a drink has left your sight, get a new drink.
Cost
No cost at all. Never accept anything offered by others. I…
Benefit
Today's drugs do not look like drugs. Synthetic cannabinoids have been controlled as a whole class since July…
A 2022 notice from 5 departments states that a script-entertainment venue must not open inside a residential building, and must not open below basement level 1. These sites are often dim, with narrow passages. Some are fitted out with flammable materials, and the evacuation routes are locked or blocked, so they are hard to get out of in a fire. Before you book, look at the address and the floor on the review page. If it does not comply, pick another place.
Cost
No cost involved. Just ask for the building floor number b…
Benefit
A dedicated 2022 notice from 5 departments is specific: "Script-entertainment business premises must not be lo…
For people with severe depression who exercise, brisk walking or jogging shows the clearest improvement. Next are yoga, strength training, and tai chi or qigong, and the gap among them is small. The higher the intensity, the better the effect. Strength training and yoga are the easiest to keep up. The quality of the evidence on this is on the low side. What can be said for sure is that moving is better than not moving. Pick the kind you can stick with.
Cost
Free. Each session takes about half an hour. The hard part…
Benefit
This result comes from combining data across 218 randomized controlled trials split into two groups, covering…
276 adults diagnosed with anxiety disorder were randomly split into two groups. One group attended an eight‑week mindfulness‑based stress reduction course, while the other took escitalopram. At the end, symptom improvement was almost identical in both groups. The difference showed up in side effects: almost 80 % of the medication group experienced at least one adverse reaction, and ten people dropped out because of this. In the course group, about 15 % reported side effects, but no one left the program. The program used a standardized eight‑week curriculum — it isn’t the same as any random meditation app you might download.
Cost
Taking a course costs a bit of money. The program lasts ei…
Benefit
This was a non‑inferiority randomized controlled trial conducted at three academic medical centers in the Unit…
In a one‑month controlled trial where participants performed each of three breathing exercises for 5 minutes daily, all three proved more effective than an equal amount of mindfulness meditation at lifting mood and lowering respiratory rate. The “cyclic sigh” — which emphasizes lengthening the exhale — performed best. The method is simple: inhale once through the nose, then take a brief second inhale to fully fill the lungs, and finally exhale slowly through the mouth. This particular study relied on self‑reported data and involved a relatively small group of volunteers, yet it required zero expense.
Cost
No cost at all. Just 5 minutes a day.
Benefit
This home‑based, randomized controlled trial compared three distinct 5‑minute daily breathing routines — cycli…
People with little social contact had higher mortality risk during follow-up. Loneliness and living alone were also associated with higher risk, especially below age 65. These are observational findings; poor health may itself make living alone more likely.
Cost
It requires some money and time to arrange meetups. The ha…
Benefit
A meta-analysis pooled 70 prospective studies with 3.4 million participants and mean follow-up of 7 years. Soc…
Nine studies from seven countries involving 8.32 million people show that for every 0.1 increase in the normalized vegetation index (NDVI) within 500 meters of a home, the mortality risk drops by roughly 4%. This measures greenery right around where people live, not how often they visit parks. Naturally, neighborhoods with more greenery tend to have wealthier residents and cleaner air. So don’t interpret this as “visiting parks automatically adds years to your life”; the practical takeaway is to consider nearby green spaces when choosing where to live.
Cost
No money needed. When viewing a home, take a quick look at…
Benefit
This pools 9 studies that followed groups of people for years (a meta-analysis of cohort studies), covering 7…
In Finland, half of the people who died in a sauna had been drinking. In Tokyo, about a quarter of the bathing deaths that were autopsied had a blood alcohol level that was not low, and in a set of bathtub-drowning records drunkenness was the most common trigger. Japanese officials list "do not take a bath after drinking" as a key point for preventing drowning. If a companion has drunk too much, do not let that person go in and soak alone.
Cost
No cost. If you have been drinking, go soak another day, a…
Benefit
Finland checked, case by case, the people who died in a sauna from 1990 to 2002, using police and forensic rep…
Among people who fell or collided while skiing or snowboarding, helmet wearers had fewer head injuries, including children under 13. In cycling, helmet wearers had fewer head injuries, serious head injuries and fatal head injuries. No increase in neck injuries was detected among helmet wearers.
Cost
A helmet costs a few hundred yuan. Putting it on and faste…
Benefit
The skiing and snowboarding figures come from a pooled analysis of 12 studies. Most of the studies compared pe…
Among people aged 65 and over, years with a hobby were associated with slightly fewer depressive symptoms and greater life satisfaction than years without one. In an English cohort aged 50 and over, taking up a hobby was associated with lower odds of subsequently developing depression. These were observational follow-ups. Two trials invited older adults to join choirs: one found reduced depression; the other found no significant difference in depression but less loneliness.
Cost
Cost depends on what you choose. Beginner instruments, fis…
Benefit
Five longitudinal studies of older adults in 16 countries were pooled, covering 93,263 people aged 65 and over…
