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Mature man lying in hammock on beach, holding hat over face
Little Torch Key, Florida, USA.
The Art of the Nap
Anyone can nap. But are you a good napper? A true nap-person recognizes the nuance of the nap. A few things to think about before your next siesta, according to the Mayo Clinic:
- Short naps are the best. Keep them shorter than 30 minutes. Any longer and you’ll start to feel seriously groggy when you wake.
- Shoot for the mid-afternoon. A good nap around 3 p.m. or so will help you sleep away the post-lunch malaise. (Just show this to your bosses before you conk out at your desk. We’re sure they’ll understand.)
- Close yourself off. Turn off notifications on your gadgets, turn off the lights and turn down the shades.
There, now go nap like a pro.
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Keep on Moving
Finally, someone who gives us credit for walking to the kitchen for a snack during commercials. We all know we should be exercising regularly. But shouldn’t all that other movement we do in our lives count for something? That’s what researchers who recently were published in The BMJ asked when they looked at the amount of activity people put forth during a routine day. They weighted different types of movement—one minute jogging counts about twice as much as one minute walking the dog, for example—and came to a conclusion. Try to be active for one to two hours a day, and you’ll be well on your way to good health and prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.
Speed Training to Slow Dementia
A computer game might be a good bet to save your brain. Researchers presented a years-in-the-making study at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference that showed that seniors who used an electronic exercise that emphasized speed recognition reduced their chances of getting dementia 10 years later by close to 50 percent. (Part of the game, for example, times players in how quickly they can identify certain objects, like a car or a street sign, amid a visually crowded landscape.) Speed-training games showed an even greater impact than memory or reasoning exercises on preventing the disease. While this is a significant first step, it will be one of many determining exactly how these types of games can help ward off memory issues. “The potential is great and the risks are minimal,” one of the researchers, Dr. Jerri Edwards of the University of South Florida, told the Wall Street Journal. And you thought video games were just for kids.
Double Dipping: Worldwide Epidemic or No Big Deal?
Don’t do it. Don’t double dip. It’s bad party etiquette. But, is it really all that yucky? It’s a question that’s got the big brains at Harvard involved. Dr. Robert Shmerling of Harvard Health Publications weighs in to say that it could be worse than just a party foul. You’re actually increasing the amount of bacteria in your salsa bowl significantly once you go in for seconds. (Fun fact: Salsa is actually prime for bacteria sharing, more so than a cheese or chocolate dip.) That said, Shmerling writes that double dipping might be the least of your worries at a party. Not washing your hands or sneezing without covering your mouth could do more damage than a double dip.