Movie date night can double as therapy: If you’re looking to smooth out some bumps in your relationship, you might want to turn on a sappy movie. “A University of Rochester study found that couples who watched and talked about issues raised in movies like Steel Magnolias and Love Story were less likely to divorce or separate than couples in a control group.” Interestingly, talking about Love Story was actually “as effective at keeping couples together as two intensive therapist-led methods.” Researchers found that couples who went through marriage counseling or who completed the movie intervention were half as likely to divorce or separate over a three-year period compared to couples who did neither. 

Cold weather, temperature changes tied to stroke risk: Cold weather may increase stroke risk, according to a new study from researchers at Yale University. “In the new study, the researchers analyzed data on daily temperatures and dew points along with information from about 157,000 people who had suffered a stroke and were admitted to hospitals during 2009 and 2010.” They found that for every 5° F increase in temperature, the chance of being hospitalized for a stroke dropped 2.3% and chance of an in-hospital death following a stroke dropped 4.1%. Researchers are not sure why weather changes affect stroke risk, but hypothesize that it may be related to changes in blood pressure or blood vessel constriction.