Meditation Can Improve Sleep – and Even Curb Midnight Insomnia
If you find yourself tossing and turning at night, meditation may be just the nightcap you are looking for. While there are many different types of meditation, they all have similar core principles: quieting the mind and focusing awareness on the present moment. As insomnia is often caused by an inability to 'stop thinking' and relax, meditation techniques can often...
How Music Influences Your Shopping Choices
Browsing through grocery store aisles, our ears are often met with cheerful, rather generic pop music, intermittently interrupted by various announcements. Farmer's markets often surround us with different sounds, from the noises of the street to any local bands that may be performing. As individuals obviously have different musical preferences, some people will gravitate towards certain background music more...
5 Healthy Apple Recipes
An apple a day… well, you know how the saying goes. And it’s true! The health benefits of apples have been touted for centuries. Today, it’s important to always select organic apples, as most of the nutrient content is located in the skin. In fact, researchers have found that consuming an entire apple leads to greater satiety and satisfaction...
Do This Instead of Counting Calories
For years you’ve probably heard that the secret to a healthy body was to count calories. Calorie counts are on everything now including most restaurant menus. But is all of this number crunching really worth the effort? The answer: No! And for two very important reasons. 1. Calorie Counting Won’t Make You Thin. Losing or gaining weight really isn’t that complicated...
High Blood Pressure in Kids Linked to High Blood Pressure in Adults
A recent study presented at the American Heart Association High Blood Pressure Research Scientific Sessions 2013, revealed that children with one or more high blood pressure readings were about three times more likely to develop the condition as adults. Their findings suggested that even just occasional spikes in blood pressure at any age might signal problems later in life. The lead...
Could the Paleo Diet Work for You?
You’ve probably heard about the Paleo Diet, but do you really know what it is? Some might automatically dismiss it, believing it’s just another diet fad, but this one really is worth a second look. While it may seem like it only recently popped onto the scene, it was originally made popular in the early 1970s by gastroenterologist Walter...
Go Ahead: Drink Your Greens
While drinking greens may seem a bit of an odd practice, it is actually an efficient and effective way to supercharge your diet with wholesome vitamins and nutrients. Because you can pack so much goodness into a smoothie, you get a concentrated shot of nutrients that would otherwise take quite a while to eat. So, are there tricks to making...
Top 3 Questions You Should Ask When You Eat Out: Your Right to Know
Dining out should be an enjoyable experience, yet today you practically have to be a detective to find out what you’re eating. While many chain restaurants now provide a nutrition guide either online or printed directly on the menu, knowing the estimated calorie count of your dish (yes, that is just an estimate and can be off by as many...
6 Reasons NOT to Buy a Donut On National Donut Day
Americans eat over 10 billion donuts each year! They smell so good, especially when they are warm. Do you, like millions of other Americans salivate when you pass the donut shop or the bakery in your grocery store? You are not alone, that is for sure, donuts are among the top favorite foods of Americans, and according to the Baltimore Sun...
Can You Benefit from a 20 Minute Cat Nap?
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, look to tomorrow, rest this afternoon.” ― Charles M. Schulz, Charlie Brown's Little Book of Wisdom According to the National Sleep Foundation, more than 85% of mammals are polyphasic sleepers, meaning that they sleep for short periods of time throughout the day. Humans are a part of the small group of monophasic sleepers, meaning,...
