Mandy Oaklander | October 21, 2026

Have you ever stood in line for hours, only to have someone cut right in front of you? My colleague Angela Haupt has, and it’s probably her biggest pet peeve.

One of Angela’s specialties is figuring out exactly what to say in uncomfortable situations, so she asked several professors who study this kind of thing for advice. They had plenty (and very little sympathy for line-cutters). Arm yourself with their suggested scripts, which Angela explains later in this edition.

TODAY’S TOPICS

The ovary’s second act
Putting sleepmaxxing to bed
What to say to line-cutters
Bad behavior is contagious

QUICK CHAT

What the ovary can teach us about aging

Francesca Duncan, one of TIME’s 2026 Longevity Leaders, is among a handful of pioneering scientists who have uncovered just how important the ovaries are to health and aging. In a study published last week, Duncan and other researchers found that ovaries remain biologically active for decades post-menopause, suggesting the organs could play a more active role in aging and chronic disease than previously believed.

I spoke with Duncan, a reproductive biologist at Northwestern University, about how her ovary obsession began and how far her field has come. —Dominique Mosbergen

Feinberg School of Medicine

What prompted you to study the ovary?

I'm an egg biologist. What motivated me to enter the reproductive science space was that I was so fascinated how two single cells—a sperm and an egg—can come together and make a whole new life that's billions of cells.

How did you get into ovarian aging?

As a scientist, it was really important to me to feel like I was doing something beyond just learning, and that I could apply research to improving human health. Egg quality is going to decline in women in their mid-30s pretty much indiscriminately. It doesn't matter your race, ethnicity, where you live, and it’s a phenomenon that's happening in an otherwise chronologically young individual. That is very fascinating to me.

Studying the ovary through the lens of longevity and aging is relatively new. What was the field like when you were first starting out over a decade ago?

Egg aging was really limited to the space of reproductive science. In 2013, I attended a [biology of aging] course for early-career scientists and I remember looking around and being like, my gosh, I am totally the oddball out. When we had to go around the room and say what we worked on, and I said that I studied the ovary, everyone was like, “Oh that's nice, but that's not aging.” That was really the attitude then. Today, the aging research community appreciates that this is an important topic.

Read the full story here.

WORTH THE HYPE?

Is “sleepmaxxing” worth it?

Photo-Illustration by TIME (Source Image: Giulio Fornasar—Getty Images)

Has getting ready for bed become a project? “Sleepmaxxing”—trying to optimize your sleep with elaborate routines, products, and tracking—can backfire, says Ashley Brauer, a psychologist and behavioral sleep medicine specialist. “That effort can create worry and alertness that, ironically, may make sleep harder.” She recommends keeping things simple with a consistent wake time and a cool, dark, quiet bedroom.

The verdict: Prioritize sleep, but skip the quest to perfect it. If you’re consistently struggling, seek help rather than adding another bedtime hack. —A.H.

Read the full story here.

TIME TO TALK

What to say when someone cuts in line

Photo-Illustration by TIME (Source Image: Giulio Fornasar—Getty Images)

I’ve spent upwards of 12 hours waiting in line—including in freezing temperatures—to secure a spot at the barricade to see my favorite band perform. So I feel especially qualified to tell you this: Few things ignite instant rage like someone cutting ahead of everyone who showed up early.

Here’s what experts told me to say in this frustrating situation.

Start with a helpful tone

Try: “Excuse me, but the line starts down there.” Even if you’re certain they cut deliberately, acting as though it might have been a mistake gives them a graceful opening to correct it.

If they refuse to move

Say: “I really think you should go to the back of the line.” Then stop arguing. Ask an employee or security guard to intervene—or let it go if the person seems hostile.

Read the full story here.

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WHAT WE’RE READING

Seeing other people get away with things makes it easier to behave badly, a new study finds. Nicola Davis covers the research for the Guardian.
Could your body clock help explain your depression? Donna Lu at the Guardian reports on a possible new subtype of the condition that may respond to treatments targeting sleep and circadian rhythms.
More indicators show flu season is off to an early start. Walgreens Flu Index, which tracks prescriptions for antivirals, testing, and over-the-counter flu remedy purchases, shows the season is about four weeks ahead of previous ones, especially in the western part of the U.S. and Florida.