The Queen of Norway Was Air Lifted to Oslo Hospital After "Breathing Difficulties"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
The Norwegian royal family has been through its fair share of health emergencies and headline-making legal worries over the past year, and on Monday, April 21, the royal house of Norway announced that Queen Sonja was rushed to an Oslo hospital. The 87-year-old queen was spending time with husband King Harald at the royal chalet in Sikkilsalen, Norway, over the holiday when she experienced "shortness of breath" that caused her to be air lifted to Oslo for observation.
The Norwegian royal family released a statement on Monday night stating, "Her Majesty the Queen was admitted to the National Hospital this evening for examinations due to shortness of breath. The Queen was transported by air ambulance from the Prince's Cabin in Sikkilsdalen, where the Royal Couple spent the Easter holiday."
On April 22, the family issued an update stating that Queen Sonja was discharged from the hospital. "Investigations show that the situation has normalized," the statement read. "The Queen is on sick leave for the rest of the week."
This isn't the first health scare Queen Sonja has experienced this year. In January, Queen Sonja was hospitalized "after experiencing an episode linked to her existing heart condition, atrial fibrillation, while on a ski trip," according to Hello! magazine. She had a pacemaker fitted on Jan. 16 during a procedure at Rikshospitalet in Oslo.
King Harald, who at 88, is the oldest reigning monarch in Europe, has also suffered from recent health problems. The Norwegian king was hospitalized with an infection during a vacation to Malaysia last year, forcing his son, Crown Prince Haakon, to act as regent. King Harald was later fitted with a pacemaker.
Queen Sonja's hospitalization follows some concerning news regarding Crown Princess Haakon's wife, Crown Princess Mette-Marit. In March, the Norwegian royal household announced that the future queen's pulmonary fibrosis had worsened and she now faces "daily symptoms and ailments."
Mette-Marit, 50, was diagnosed with the serious lung disease in 2018, and suffers from increased symptoms that are impacting her ability to carry out royal duties. "This means that changes to her official schedule may occur more frequently and at shorter notice than we are used to," a statement read.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Did You Know 'Summer Insomnia' Is a Thing? Here's What's Keeping You From Drifting Off, and How to Beat It
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. London's summer is admittedly fleeting. But of late, we've been lucky enough to experience long, sunlit days and warm weather. However, there's something about wrapping up my day before the sun sets (a 09:00 PM ritual nowadays) that feels slightly illegal and mildly unproductive to the mind and body. And if, like me, you have been enduring restless sleep in the heat, chances are summer insomnia is the culprit to blame. Since we're used to the gradual dimming of the sky signifying the need to wind down, this shift in ambiance can hinder your rest. So, I reached out to a couple of sleep experts to explain the cause for summer insomnia and how to overcome it for a good night's rest — even when the sunny view outside your window says otherwise. Sleep expert and clinical psychologist Dr. Leah Kaylor tells me that summer insomnia refers to difficulty falling or staying asleep during the warmer months. "While insomnia can occur year-round, it often spikes in summer due to longer daylight hours, hotter nights, disrupted routines, and environmental overstimulation (like noise or travel)," she says. "Rising temperatures interfere with the body's natural ability to cool down for sleep, while late sunsets and early sunrises can throw off your circadian rhythm, making it harder to wind down at night or stay asleep in the morning." If these symptoms feel familiar, don't lose hope, as there are a couple of things you can do to sleep better and combat summer insomnia for sound slumber. According to Kenny Timper, a certified sleep science coach at Sleepopolis, it's important to set the mood for sleep. "Keep your bedroom as cool and dark as possible," he says. "I find that blackout shades and a fan or AC can make a big difference." Leah also recommends blocking heat during the day, assuring me that it's one of the best things you can do to aid sleep. "Maintain bedroom temperature of around 60° to 67°F (15° to 19°C)," she suggests. "And consider using a cooling mattress pad or moisture-wicking sheets." I recommend bringing home these Brushed Pencil Pleat Blackout Thermal Curtains from M&S and dressing your bed in this Set of Linen Sheets from Zara Home for a cozy night in. "Yes, that's correct," assures Leah. "Watching the sunset can act as a cue to tell both the brain and the body that it's time to wind down from the day and prepare for sleep." Personally, I'm all for any excuse to savor a sunset. And if your bedtime ritual allows for a sleep schedule that begins post the time of sunset in your city, then I recommend taking this advice to heart and grounding yourself as the sky takes on that gorgeous golden hue. If you miss the sunset and want none of the FOMO, get yourself this VARMBLIXT Lamp from IKEA for a warm glow. Or, a Sunset Projection Light from Amazon for a wall cloaked in dusky tints. "When it comes to beating summer insomnia, it's important to dial back screen time and bright light exposure in the hour before bed," says Kenny. "Especially once the sun's already gone down." As someone who is guilty of scrolling well past my bedtime, I will be taking Kenny's advice. Plus, to further help set the mood for rest, I also plan to rely on lighting tricks for better sleep. And if you're having trouble even then, I find that a quality sleep mask can make all the difference. And if all else fails, I suggest using this super sleek Loftie Alarm Clock with a Sound Machine from Amazon to serenade you to sleep with white noise. "Different people will find different things relaxing," says Leah. "So, figure out what activities relax you and make it a habit to do them every time before bed to relax and unwind." If you do everything to prevent summer insomnia but still find yourself tossing and turning, Kenny recommends hopping in your shower room. "A lukewarm shower before bed will help trigger that cooling response your body needs to sleep," he explains. And if you're sleep health obsessed and want to track your circadian rhythm, REM state, stress, heart rate, and more, then the Oura Gen3 Horizon Smart Ring should be on your wishlist. Masquerading as a stylish ring is actually a tech-savvy piece of jewelry that will monitor your activity and help you optimize your routine for the better. Color: Pink A good sleep mask can make falling asleep a dream, and this eye mask from Amazon is well-rated and made from 100% natural mulberry silk for maximum comfort. View Deal Color: Black Finding a fan that works well and looks good can be tough, but this Shark Flex Bladeless Tower Fan manages to check all my boxes. Sleek and efficient, it's a great investment to cool your bedroom. View Deal Includes: Pillow Mist + Rollerball This Sleep Heroes Dream Beauty Gift Set from Oliver Bonas is a great gift for a fellow summer insomniac or even as a treat to yourself. The blend of lavender and chamomile will relax you into a deep sleep. View Deal Technically speaking, there isn't a set amount of hours that rounds up to insomnia. However, if you're having trouble falling asleep on a regular basis, it's best to seek help from a doctor or a sleep psychologist to help you identify the cause of your insomnia. Beyond taking help from these brilliant sleep experts, I also recommend trying the Scandinavian sleeping method. Since this recommendation only applies to shared beds, if you have the luxury of a mattress all your own, then consider switching to bedding for hot weather.
Bloomberg
18 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Is a $140 Gut Microbiome Test Worth the Money?
Guten Tag, it's Sonja in Frankfurt, where I recently paid €120 (nearly $140) for a gut microbiome test, just to learn I'm an acne-prone meat-eater (spoiler: I'm not). More on that in a bit, but first.… Help us improve Bloomberg newsletters: Please take a quick survey to share your thoughts on your sign-up experience and what you'd like to see in the future.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Race and genetics do not line up well, new study confirms
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The racial and ethnic groups people identify with may not accurately represent their genetic backgrounds or ancestries, a new study of people in the United States suggests. This discrepancy between people's self-reported identities and their genetics is important for scientists to acknowledge as they strive to develop medical treatments tailored to different patients, the researchers behind the study say. "This paper is very important because it clarifies at the highest resolution the relationship between genomic diversity and racial/ethnic categories in the US," said study co-author Eduardo Tarazona-Santos, a professor of human population genetics at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil. The findings are "critical to develop appropriate precision medicine solutions for all," he told Live Science in an email. Precision medicine tailors treatments to individual patients, taking their genes, environment and lifestyle factors into account. In their study, published Thursday (June 5) in The American Journal of Human Genetics, Tarazona-Santos and his colleagues analyzed the DNA of more than 230,000 people who contributed to the All of Us research database. This trove of data has been compiled through a National Institutes of Health program aimed at advancing precision medicine by recruiting people from diverse and underrepresented populations. Historically, many large-scale genetics studies have predominantly included people of European ancestry, making efforts like the All of Us project crucial for reducing medical inequity. However, the program has faced significant funding cuts in recent months, which has significantly slowed recruitment and progress. Related: What's the difference between race and ethnicity? Using a method called principal component analysis, the team identified genetic similarities and differences among the people included in the database. They also used genetic catalogs that contain DNA samples from all over the world, such as the 1000 Genomes Project, as a way to assess how people's genetic ancestry compared with the racial (white, Black or African American, Asian American) and ethnicity (Hispanic/Latino or not) categories used in the All of Us questionnaire. People who identified as being from the same racial and ethnic groups had a number of genetic differences, the team found. In fact, "most genetic variance is within race and ethnicity groups rather than between groups," the study authors wrote in the report. Rather than sorting people into "distinct clusters" divided by racial and ethnic lines, the analyses found that people within different races and ethnicities show "gradients" of genetic variation. "We found gradients of genetic variation that cut across those categories," the authors wrote. The new study's findings counter a controversial paper published in Nature in 2024 that had also analyzed genomic data provided by All of Us participants. At the time, the paper was criticized by some experts, who argued that the technique used to analyze the race and ethnicity data could be misconstrued to support the incorrect idea that humans can be neatly categorized into distinct races. The new study, which used a different data-crunching technique, found the opposite. The research also found that, even within the same ethnic and racial group, people show genetic variation across different U.S. states. This could reflect the "historical impacts of U.S. colonization, the transatlantic slave trade, and recent migrations," the authors wrote. A key example of this was seen in participants who identified as Hispanic or Latino and lived in states like California, Texas and Arizona, who were found to have a high proportion of Native American ancestry compared with Hispanic and Latino people in other parts of the U.S. This makes sense considering many of these states were historically part of Mexico, which has a large population of people with mixed Indigenous and European ancestries, the researchers argued. By contrast, of people who identified as Hispanic or Latino, those in New York were found to have the highest proportion of African ancestry, which is "consistent with recent migration from the Caribbean to New York." The authors said their findings show that the genetic backgrounds of people in the U.S. are highly complex and that "social constructs of race and ethnicity do not accurately reflect underlying genetic ancestry." In light of this, the researchers have said they "do not recommend using race and ethnicity as proxies for ancestry in genetic studies." RELATED STORIES —'Racism is a global public health crisis': Author Layal Liverpool says racist ideas still pervade medicine, and that hurts all of us —Scientific consensus shows race is a human invention, not biological reality —Racial bias is baked into algorithms doctors use to guide treatment Tesfaye Mersha, a professor of pediatrics and a human genetics researcher at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati, said that he agrees that these self-reported categories should not be used in genetic studies. Instead, the categories should be confined to social studies "where we know they will have a big impact," he told Live Science in an email. That said, Mersha also warned against overinterpreting the study's takeaways about regional and state-level genetic variation. "Some states had very low participant numbers, which may skew regional estimates and limit generalizability," he noted. "Moreover, high population mobility across states blurs geographic boundaries, especially in the absence of multigenerational ancestry data," he said. In short, because people move around a lot, it's difficult to draw conclusions without having a clear sense of how long their families have been based in a given state.
