This tense series starring Toni Collette and Mae Martin quickly climbed the viewership charts and became the main topic of discussion on social media.

This week, Netflix also released the historical drama House of Guinness, marking the return of Jack Gleeson, the actor from Game of Thrones – reports Sombor.info.

Although announced as the “next Peaky Blinders,” the series received mixed reactions and did not top the list of best-rated new releases.

That title went to Wayward, which follows an investigation at a local school for troubled teens, where a dark secret lurks behind closed doors. Judging by the comments, viewers watched it in one sitting.

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The creator of the series is Mae Martin, a comedian and screenwriter who also created the acclaimed series Feel Good. That show, also available on Netflix, is considered one of the most underrated gems of the past decade and holds a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Critical Praise

Wayward currently tops the list of most-watched series on Netflix in Croatia and holds a 73% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with numerous praises from critics.

Lucy Mangan from The Guardian gave the series four stars, describing Toni Collette’s performance as “absolutely magnificent.”

“The star plays a terrifying headmistress of an academy for troubled teens in Mae Martin’s enchanting Netflix mystery.

Wayward is stylish and highly watchable – it’s hard for your inner teenager to look away from this powerful eight-part series,” she wrote.

David Opie from Digital Spy shares a similar opinion, also giving the series four stars.

“A queer thriller full of twists that blends genres and ventures into unexpected territory, even if it sometimes tries to take on too much. Toni Collette is predictably brilliant, but Mae Martin is the one who steals the show (and who also created the series),” he noted.

On Reddit and X, discussions emerged, with most users sharing enthusiasm for the series.

“I was completely mesmerized and watched the whole thing in one night. Wow!” wrote one viewer.

Another added: “I binged it all today. 8/10, better than anything else I’ve seen recently.”

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Special praise was directed at creator and actress Mae Martin.

“What an absolute win for Mae Martin in taking on this role. She did it so well in my opinion. I’m really looking forward to more of her work in the future because of this,” one comment read.

However, some viewers were more moderate, agreeing with criticisms that the series tried to cover too much in eight episodes. “I kind of liked it, but the last episode had too many loose ends for my taste,” one comment said.

With the debut of Wayward and House of Guinness, along with the upcoming return of the Monster series, Netflix fans will certainly not lack content in the weeks ahead.

Wayward is available to stream now.

Adaptogens have become a very popular topic in recent years, and ashwagandha is one of the most mentioned. As the name itself suggests, adaptogens supposedly help the body adapt to stress. So it’s no surprise that their popularity is rapidly growing among people. However, these “zen” favorites are not particularly new.

Ashwagandha has been used in Ayurvedic medicine for hundreds of years due to its alleged numerous health benefits – from boosting energy levels, regulating the nervous system, improving sleep and rest, preventing or stopping hair loss caused by stress, and even enhancing libido. Some also recommend it for gut health.

Anything that can help us better cope with stress catches our attention, but we cannot approach such things without a healthy dose of skepticism. What can ashwagandha really do, and are there side effects to watch out for? Before that part, let’s clarify why Denmark banned ashwagandha in 2023.

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Why Denmark banned ashwagandha

Denmark banned ashwagandha in dietary supplements in April 2023 due to a Danish Technical University (DTU) report from 2020, which pointed out risks, including possible negative effects on thyroid hormones and sex hormones, fertility, as well as potential abortive properties, making it impossible to determine a safe dose.

A detailed review of the report showed that no new data were presented, but only a summary of earlier scientific experiments. One rodent study showed that ashwagandha reduced sperm quality and quantity, while one human trial showed that ashwagandha could increase thyroid hormone levels. If thyroid hormones rise too much, this can lead to a rare condition called thyrotoxicosis. Although these side effects are concerning, the report does not provide clear evidence of ashwagandha’s impact on hormones and fertility. The cases mentioned by the authors are rare, and many studies found no evidence of thyroid issues.

As for abortion, the report does not provide any clinical evidence that ashwagandha is an abortifacient. It cites a World Health Organization recommendation that people should not consume ashwagandha during pregnancy or breastfeeding because “there is information that the root was used as an abortive.” The origin of this information is unclear but was likely passed down within the Ayurvedic medical system. On the other hand, some scientific papers state that ashwagandha is safe to use during pregnancy and was even used to strengthen health before and after childbirth. Without clear evidence, Denmark chose the most cautious option and completely banned ashwagandha.

What is ashwagandha

Ashwagandha – also known as Withania somnifera or “Indian ginseng” – is a root widely used in Ayurvedic medicine.

“One of the main properties of ashwagandha is its adaptogenic effect,” says acupuncturist and naturopathic doctor Ellie Heintze. “It can help balance stress levels, boost mood, as well as improve mental clarity and focus. There are also studies showing that ashwagandha may help with inflammation and pain reduction.”

Many studies on adaptogens are small and limited in scope, so there is not much clinical data confirming all the potential benefits of adaptogens for the body.

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Pros and cons of ashwagandha

The Healthline website lists potential benefits of ashwagandha including: reducing stress and anxiety, improving athletic performance, alleviating symptoms of certain mental conditions, possibly increasing testosterone levels and fertility in men, reducing inflammation, better brain function and memory, and improved sleep quality.

Ashwagandha is likely safe for most people when used for up to 3 months, although its long-term effects are not known.

However, ashwagandha may not be safe if a person is:

pregnant
breastfeeding
has hormone-sensitive prostate cancer
taking certain medications, such as benzodiazepines, anticonvulsants, or barbiturates
about to undergo surgery
has an autoimmune or thyroid disorder
has liver problems

Some people taking ashwagandha supplements have reported the following side effects:

upper gastrointestinal discomfort
drowsiness
diarrhea
vomiting

The effects of ashwagandha may not be immediate, and it may take several months before results are noticed.

Always consult your doctor to make sure that taking ashwagandha or other supplements is safe for you.

Ideas to help you reduce stress

• Spend time in nature.
• Make sure to get enough sleep.
• Move your body through activities you enjoy.
• Spend time with loved ones.
• Set boundaries to protect and prioritize your physical and mental health.

Wireless headphones have become particularly sought after. While many users love them, concerns about their potential health risks have surfaced on social media. BBC Bitesize Other Side of the Story took a closer look at these concerns to separate fact from fiction – reports Sombor.info.

Are wireless headphones safe?

Wireless headphones (both over-ear and in-ear) use Bluetooth technology to connect with our phones. This involves an electromagnetic field, which has led some to believe it could harm our brains.

There have been scientific studies on wireless headphones and their potential risks. They emit a type of radiation called radiofrequency radiation, which operates at much lower frequencies than the type of radiation that can harm humans.

In 2019, Cancer Research UK stated that there is not enough evidence to suggest that Bluetooth headphones can cause harm and that studies conducted on large groups of people found no link to an increased risk of cancer. However, as of 2025, research into the effects of wireless headphones on our health is still ongoing.

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Are expensive headphones better?

Noise-cancelling headphones are a relatively new invention. They contain special software that eliminates external noise, such as a TV or a barking dog, allowing the user to focus solely on one sound.

Which? magazine, where a team of experts tests various product models and brands, found that it’s possible to get good noise-cancelling functions even with headphones that cost around £50. So, it’s not always necessary to spend a lot of money – but in the end, how much someone spends is entirely up to them.

Do noise-cancelling headphones protect our hearing?

Other Side of the Story spoke with Claire Benton, president of the British Academy of Audiology, to learn more about noise-cancelling headphones. Claire explained that they can help protect hearing because focusing on one sound while eliminating all others means you don’t need to listen at high volume levels.

“You still need to follow good listening hygiene,” said Claire. “Take ear breaks, keep volume levels safe regardless, because there’s always the temptation to turn it up. Some people really enjoy loud music, and we know that’s very dangerous if you do it for too long. Eighty-five decibels (dB) over eight hours is what (official) regulations say is safe, without any hearing protection.”

Eighty-five decibels is equivalent to the noise of heavy traffic or a food blender. If you listened just three decibels louder, Claire explained, the safe listening time would be cut in half from eight hours to four.

Claire added: “If you’re someone who gets easily distracted by external noise or bothered by background sounds, noise-cancelling headphones may help you feel calmer in noisy places.”

Questions have been raised about whether overusing noise-cancelling headphones could change your sound-processing skills. There’s a possibility that wearing noise-cancelling headphones too often might interfere with your ability to process speech in noisy environments when you’re not wearing them – but for now, this remains anecdotal.

What’s the difference between headphones and earplugs?

Noise-cancelling headphones are one way to reduce sound levels, but they aren’t practical for live events such as concerts or music festivals. However, these are exactly the environments where protecting your ears matters – and earplugs can be an option.

Research by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) found that 58% of people aged 18–28 experienced some form of hearing loss or hearing-related issue after being exposed to loud music. Most of the time the effects don’t last long, but continuous exposure to such loud environments can cause permanent damage. A new style of earplugs, now popular at festivals, allows sound to pass through but at a reduced level, making it easier to enjoy these events if high noise levels bother you.

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Do earplugs work?

Earplugs really do work. Even the cheapest foam earplugs create a barrier between external sound and the ear canal – although care must be taken when inserting and removing them.

The average music festival has sound levels between 90 dB and 100 dB, while the human ear can safely withstand prolonged listening only up to 80 dB.

Saira Husein, an audiologist who shared her opinion on earplugs for the BBC Sounds Sliced Bread podcast, said: “From a health care perspective, I’m glad there’s now awareness, or greater awareness, about protecting hearing from noise. So definitely, when you go to a festival… make sure you have something to protect your ears.”

Trevor Cox, also featured on Sliced Bread, is a professor of acoustic engineering at the University of Salford. He said that if he were buying earplugs, he would look for those advertised with specific decibel reduction. However, he added: “I wouldn’t trust them enough to buy them because I wouldn’t know what they actually do until they arrived.”

Some people feel the need to wash their hands 20 times a day, some due to depression sometimes cannot get out of bed for days. Others find it difficult to control the racing thoughts spinning in their heads - writes Sombor.info.

More than one billion people suffer from mental illnesses. This was reported in a recent statement by the World Health Organization (WHO).

That sounds like a large number. At the same time, this data suggests that the majority of people in the world are mentally healthy.

However, it seems that people with mental illnesses more often associate with others who also have mental illnesses. This is shown by a new study published in the journal "Nature Human Behavior".

Schizophrenia, Depression, Anxiety: Partners Are Often Affected at the Same Time

For their study, researchers examined data from nearly 15 million people. They looked at nine clinical conditions: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, ADHD, autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), substance abuse, and anorexia. 

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If one partner was diagnosed with one of these nine disorders, the likelihood was significantly higher that the other partner would also be diagnosed with a mental illness. Often, it was the same illness.

"You might think that if someone is anxious or depressed, they would look for a partner who is stable and provides security," says Robert Plomin, professor of behavioral genetics at King’s College London, who did not work on the study. "But the exact opposite is true!"

One limitation of the study, in his opinion, is that you need to check the appendix to determine how strong the correlation really is. This is unusual and somewhat unfair, says Robert Plomin. Nevertheless, the effect is stable, and the number of people studied gives weight to the research. 15 million people – that’s quite impressive, he says.

Similar Results in Europe and Asia

The first indications that mentally ill individuals tend to associate more often with others who are also mentally ill appeared in the 1960s. However, the studies conducted at that time were mostly small. Only less than ten years ago was the first larger study carried out, although it examined only people from Northern Europe. 

In this study, the team led by population and genetics researcher Chun Chieh Fan from the Laureate Institute for Brain Research in Oklahoma wanted to find out whether this pattern of partner choice exists across different cultures. Therefore, they collected data in three different countries: Denmark, Sweden, and Taiwan.

"Surprisingly, the similarity patterns were almost identical regardless of the country," says study author Fan.

Differences were found only for obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, and anorexia. In Taiwan, for example, married partners were more likely to both suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder than in Northern Europe.

Another finding: For most disorders, the probability that partners received the same diagnosis remained stable over decades. This is shown by data from Taiwan, collected over more than 50 years. For substance abuse, the probability even increased. Only for obsessive-compulsive disorder did it decrease. 

"And this despite the fact that the healthcare system, politics, and society in Taiwan have significantly changed during this time," says Chun Chieh Fan.

Why Mentally Ill People Often Find Each Other

But why are mentally ill people more often in relationships with those with similar characteristics? There are three reasons: first, they seek someone similar. Second, a shared environment makes them similarly ill. Third, the stigma associated with mental illness limits partner choice.

For some time, it was assumed that the first option is what brings people together, says study author Fan. Accordingly, people choose others with similar characteristics for relationships. In technical terms, this is called "assortative partner choice." 

Possible reasons could be that the other person better understands the illness. Or that they share similar positive traits – for example, both may be more creative than other people.

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What the study cannot answer is: What came first – the relationship or the mental illness? For this, long-term observation would be interesting, says Robert Plomin.

It also remains unclear: Are mentally ill spouses actually doing well in their marriage? Does a similar mental condition provide a recipe for a good relationship, or does it worsen the illness? Long-term observations are lacking here as well.

In short: The study cannot provide any recommendations for partner choice.

Children Also Suffer (and Become Ill)

However, researchers found that children whose parents have the same illness are twice as likely to develop a mental illness compared to children with only one affected parent. 

"Partner choice increases the possibility of passing on mental illness," says Fan. The effect was particularly strong in cases of schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, and substance abuse.

For doctors and therapists, this means taking the family into account in treatment. Partners and children of those affected could also benefit from therapy - writes B92.