Mandy Oaklander | November 10, 2026

Recently, several of you—our Health Matters newsletter readers—wrote in asking for more information about sciatica. Though it’s common, it can be frustrating and debilitating. What often helps in the long run—staying physically active—can feel uncomfortable or even painful.

Later in today’s newsletter, my colleague Angela Haupt talks with spine specialists about which physical therapies can help sciatica, which may aggravate it, and how to navigate the treatment options.

TODAY’S TOPICS

AI rehab
A drop in gender equality
The science of sweat
How to relieve sciatica pain
The silver linings of an aging world

QUICK CHAT

Will we need AI rehab?

I recently interviewed Erica Dhawan, author of the forthcoming book Use Your Brain, about how to stop outsourcing so much of our thinking to AI. At one point, our conversation took a turn I hadn't expected: Could people become so dependent on chatbots that they eventually need rehab to stop using them?

I was only half-joking when I asked. Dhawan, it turns out, thinks we should take the possibility seriously. —Angela Haupt

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Curly_photo—Getty Images

Can people become so dependent on AI that they struggle to think without it?

I think it's an addiction, like social media or coffee. We have to shift our mindset around when to trust the tool and when not to jump to it. It's about remembering to talk to people and think for ourselves.

I asked whether we might someday need tech-free rehab. You didn't think that was such a crazy idea.

We're going to have to have tech-free rehab. I'm telling you. I created a website called Moms Against AI Addiction, with a family pledge to protect thinking in your own family. We've addressed things like drunk driving and social media, and I think we need to fight AI addiction, too.

Do programs like that actually exist yet?

I think they do for social media, but not for AI yet.

How can someone start breaking the habit before it gets to that point?

With my kids, I have a rule. If they ask a question, like when dinosaurs went extinct, I first ask, “What do you think?” Then I tell them to ask a human—a family member or teacher. Only after they've done those two things can they try AI. We have to remember that we talked to people before AI came along.

BIG NUMBER

38

The U.S.’s place in a ranking of gender equality of 130 countries, according to the Equal Measures Gender Equality Index out today. The U.S. dropped 15 places since 2020 due in part to its increasingly restrictive abortion laws.

The U.S. isn’t alone in its decline: Other high-income countries, such as Canada and New Zealand, also dropped several spaces on the list.

Overall, women’s political representation and influence have weakened globally, the report authors write, as has their satisfaction with health care. —Alana Semuels

THE QUOTE THAT STUCK

❝

Believe it or not, everyone's salt content in their sweat is different.

Dr. Douglas Farrell, Mount Sinai Hospital

Farrell, a nephrologist, works at a hospital near the finish line of the New York City Marathon, giving him a front-row seat to health problems in runners. I spoke with him for my recent article about rhabdomyolysis, a condition where muscle cells break down and die due to triggers like extreme exercise.

He explained why it’s difficult to tell runners exactly how to balance water intake and electrolyte intake during a race. Because people handle water and electrolytes like salt differently, the right combo varies by person. —Veronique Greenwood

Read the full story here.

PLEASE ADVISE

Here’s a great question we received from a reader:

Are there any physical therapies that actually work for sciatica? Which exercises or treatments help—and could anything make the pain worse?

Artur Debat—Getty Images

Yes—physical therapy can help, but the right exercises depend on what’s irritating the nerve, says Dr. Keven Burns, an orthopedic spine surgeon at the Spine Institute of Arizona. Bending backward may ease some people’s symptoms from a herniated disc, for example, while someone with spinal stenosis—a narrowing around the nerves—may feel better leaning forward. A physical therapist can help you figure out which movements bring relief.

Start with short walks if you can tolerate them, experts advise. As pain settles down, your therapist may add exercises like bridges or modified planks to strengthen the muscles supporting your spine. Beware of aggressive stretching, though. “More stretching doesn’t necessarily mean more improvement,” Burns says.

Pay attention to where the pain goes. If an exercise sends it farther down your leg, stop and tell your therapist. Increasing numbness or new weakness needs medical attention; new trouble urinating, loss of bladder or bowel control, or numbness around your groin calls for an immediate ER visit. —A.H.

Got a health question of your own? Send it our way to healthmatters@time.com, and we might tackle it in a future edition.

This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice.

Read the full story here.

TIME100 Most Influential Companies is expanding

TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2027 entries are now open.

With new Exceptional Workplaces categories, the TIME100 Companies publication is expanding to recognize businesses pioneering new approaches to how people work, from flexible and hybrid work to technology integration and career development.

Because it’s no longer just what you do, but how you do it.

Submit your company.

WHAT WE’RE READING

Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu writes for TIME that our aging world needs us to invest in technology and adapt our institutions to the demands of longer lives.
The top scourge of cruise ship passengers over the last 30 years is norovirus, but other illnesses are also spreading, writes Mary Von Beusekom for CIDRAP.
How do you build vaccine trust during a measles outbreak? Maria Godoy at NPR reports on Pennsylvania health workers making house calls to Amish families.