Inside The $750 Massage

Plus, an aromatherapy sleep tracker, the rise of "menopause workouts," and more wellness news.

Speaking of orbiting the moon: the Artemis II crew caught it fully eclipsing the sun during their April flyby. Image courtesy of NASA.

Between sets of bench pressing and biceps curls at the gym yesterday morning, I listened to the same slow, aching ballad on a loop. To be clear, this is not a hype-up song. My usual lifting fuel is Lady Gaga or Taylor Swift at full volume; yesterday I went with an emo heartbreaker instead, hitting “repeat” and letting it ride.

The song is “Orbiter,” a deep cut off The Great Divide, Noah Kahan’s new album, and I’ve lost count of the plays. I have a habit of finding a song I love and playing it into oblivion, which I’ve proudly owned.

For years I figured it was a quirk. Then I went down a research rabbit hole, and now I’m pretty proud of it. When researchers at McGill University scanned people mid-song, they found the biggest hit of dopamine lands just before their favorite moment, while they brace for it. And I am a certified dopamine-chaser.

So every repla…