The Wall Street Journal

Why are the beds at hotels so much more comfortable than the rumpled, lumpy things we settle for at home? For our writer, it’s usually about the pillows. On a recent hotel stay, she loved a hotel pillow so much that she wanted one of her own. What she discovered: Tracking down five-star comforts isn’t simple, but it can be done. 🔗: https://on.wsj.com/3LP08Dc

When he was 11, Tyrell Cooley was taking a very high dose of Concerta, along with guanfacine, sometimes used as an adjunct to a stimulant, at night. “I used to get in trouble a lot in school,” Tyrell recalled. “I had a detention every other day.” He was frequently anxious and sullen, a result of trauma from his birth mother’s drug use, according to his adoptive mother, Mallory Cooley. He was medicated not to treat the underlying psychiatric condition, his mother said, but to keep him calm in school. “People just wanted to give him medications to sit still and not actually deal with why he’s doing what he’s doing,” she said. Tyrell hated medication. “It made me feel drained overall,” he said. The Cooleys spent a month searching for a family therapy program for Tyrell, who is on Medicaid. Twice a week for about a year a therapist came to their home in Clinton, Miss., and Tyrell’s school. The Cooleys gradually weaned Tyrell off his medications, feeling that the pills were fueling some of the wild behavior and masking problems that were better dealt with in talk therapy. Tyrell, now 15, said he feels much better off the medication and after the therapy. “I’m more connected with people,” he said. Tens of thousands of kids who take prescription ADHD medication also wind up on other powerful psychotropic drugs—including antipsychotics and antidepressants, studies show. Jennifer Havens, the chair of the department of child and adolescent psychiatry at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, says her field has done children a disservice by failing to recognize trauma—and rather treat manifestations of trauma as ADHD or other psychiatric disorders like bipolar disorder or psychosis. “We have made a mess and it’s dangerous because some kids really need medication, and if we just said ‘no meds,’ that’s not the answer, but if a kid is on five, six, seven medications, that’s just wrong.” Read more: https://on.wsj.com/3Mcrlja

Like the U.S. broadly, rich people are keeping the party going in New York. Cash is also pouring in from big spenders outside the city. The city has always been a place of economic extremes, where great wealth and poverty exist side by side. Now, the rich are creating demand for services that surprises even veteran New Yorkers. “You have to go out in New York City,” said West Village resident Ellie Williams. “That’s the whole point of living in this amazing and beautiful city.” The 26-year-old said her friends will complain about spending if they buy five drinks at an unremarkable bar. But they are willing to shell out on hot spots that they consider to be unique experiences. 🔗 Read more: https://on.wsj.com/3LP1Nso

Cristie North’s version of utopia is built from thousands of plastic bricks and takes up most of her basement. There’s a bustling main street and a beach with swimmers. There’s a moving roller coaster and Ferris wheel and tiny pedestrians. All rendered in Lego. The 55-year-old’s Salt Lake City house has undergone multiple construction projects, including tearing down walls, to make room for her toy projects. “I kept wanting to make it bigger and better,” she said of the town, which she started building in 2022. North, an executive at a mortgage company, says she’s spent $100,000 to build her Lego world and the space to display it. Read more about the adult lego fans whose giant sets and dioramas are taking over their homes: 🔗 https://on.wsj.com/4rax4WX

Trent Davis, who has autism and ADHD, ran away from home in March without shoes and wearing only a T-shirt and pajama bottoms. It was at least the fourth time in less than a year, police reports show. After that scare, his mother, Monique McClure, decided he needed to see a child psychiatrist. The boy’s insurance, a Medicaid health plan from major insurer Centene, has dozens of specialists within 50 miles of her home, according to its website. Today, 9-year-old Trent is stuck on a waiting list with no appointment in sight. Centene declined to comment on McClure’s case, citing privacy regulations. A WSJ analysis of state and federal data showed that the networks of doctors that insurers listed for their Medicaid members are less robust than they appear. Some doctors are erroneously shown in states or cities where they don’t actually work. Others won’t book appointments for Medicaid patients, who typically are far less lucrative than those with employer coverage. “It’s a fake system,” said Elisha Yaghmai, a Kansas doctor who runs a company that provides physicians to rural hospitals. “It doesn’t actually get them care.” Read more about these “ghost networks”: https://on.wsj.com/43DG7pc

From Opinion: Abigail Spanberger’s idea is to leave UVA without clear leadership for months, until she can appoint new board members. Virginia’s progressives are eager to stand up to the Trump Administration, but this is no way to do it.

“Rob Katz skis in jeans.” A barb often circulated online skewers Katz with the ultimate diss for clueless interlopers. Here’s the thing: the Vail Resorts CEO really used to ski in jeans. Katz, 58, knows some skiers don’t like him. He spent 15 years turning Vail Resorts into a powerhouse. Now he’s back for another run. Read more: https://on.wsj.com/4obCcau

Welcome, and congratulations. You’ve lived long enough to see the age of flying cars—privately owned, solo-piloted aircraft, free to operate in unrestricted airspace, much as automobiles can take to the open road. And they’re all electric. Cars columnist Dan Neil takes a test flight of the Pivotal BlackFly, a series-produced electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle made for consumers. 🔗: https://on.wsj.com/4a65Avp

The world of watches can feel like a secret society, with its own lore and lexicon. To help you avoid unintentionally committing a faux pas, we’ve compiled seven guidelines that cater to all types of watch-wearers, from newbies to those who know their divers from their pilots. These rules will help you spot what’s cool, what conveys status and what just comes across as obnoxious. ⌚️ Read more: https://on.wsj.com/4a6tpmJ

Men who want sporty comfort always, including at the office, love the trim, stretchy pants. When viewed from a distance—and with considerable squinting—they almost look sharp. But many people loathe them. Here’s how to reconsider the divisive garment, from styling tips to sharp upgrades: https://on.wsj.com/4a2Fmd5