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Research shows that regular aerobic exercise, such as a brisk walk or a heart-pumping Zumba class, can make it easier to fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. Yoga has also been shown to be an all-natural sleep aid. A study published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research found that insomniacs who practiced yoga for 6 months fell asleep 10 minutes faster, slept an hour longer, and woke up feeling more refreshed than insomniacs who didn’t practice yoga....

In a series of studies, scientists found that students who had lower IQs but more grit, ended up with higher G.P.A.s than their IQ-superior peers. Why were the odds in their favor? “They were willing to take risks, be uncomfortable, and dealt with the negative emotions that came with setbacks, like disappointment and embarrassment, in a constructive way to find solutions,” explains Christine Carter, PhD, sociologist at the UC Berkeley Greater Good Science Center....

How’s it work? If you can lower into a deep squat with proper form and zero pain, you pass. If it hurts, your heels lift off the floor, or your chest tips too far forward, your hips and ankles need some TLC to ward off current and future aches. Test yourself now! ​ ​

The research: Prior research shows couples in LDRs tend to feel less loved, and break up more often, than those in geographically close relationships (GCRs)—while separate studies have shown the exact opposite. So which is it? Researchers from Queen’s University in Canada aimed to find out. They surveyed 474 women and 243 men in LDRs, and 314 women and 111 men in GCRs, measuring everything from their levels of commitment to intimacy....

[sidebar] MORE: 10 Treadmill Mistakes You Don’t Know You’re Making 

The research: When a person violently sneezes or coughs, he release a gas cloud filled with fluid, or droplets. Previous science suggests that small droplets don’t travel as far as large droplets (both of which get released during a sneeze) because a larger size means more momentum. But that’s not what lead author Lydia Bourouiba, an assistant professor of mathemetics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and her team found....

Dry Eye
If you suffer from dry eye (you know—that annoying gritty feeling when you blink), relief may be found in a simple cup of joe, according to researchers from the University of Tokyo’s School of Medicine. Study participants were either given a caffeine supplement or a placebo, and then had their eyes tested 45 minutes later. The results? Not a dry eye in the house for those who’d had caffeine: They produced more tears than their non-caffeinated counterparts....

It’s widely touted as a nutritional superstar, vitally important for bone strength, blood pressure, and even mental health. So if you don’t get enough sun, there’s good reason to rely on vitamin D supplements to obtain enough. Alas, new research reveals that your bottle of pills might not be living up to what the packaging promises. A group of Portland-based researchers tested 55 different over-the-counter vitamin D tablets, produced by 12 different manufacturers....

The natural foods shopper was thought to be obsessed with notions of purity: vine-ripened tomatoes and chickens that were allowed to run around the free range. The mainstream shopper was believed to ignore ingredients, to value price above all else, and to laugh out loud each time Euell Gibbons popped up on TV talking about how Grape-Nuts was his “back to nature cereal.” The schism was in full view when, after natural foods upstart Fresh Fields had begun to make a splash with its Washington-area supermarkets in the early 1990s, mainstream grocer Giant Food, with an incredible 45....

Before I dig into what shelf-stable organ meat actually tastes like, let’s answer an important question: Why would a company create a liver bar in the first place? Epic is no stranger to meat-based bars—it already has a successful line of beef, bison, lamb, turkey, pork, and chicken varieties. The new bar also fits the company’s goal of sourcing sustainable meats and using as many parts of an animal as possible....

An extra pound or two on our pets doesn’t seem like a huge deal—you might even think it makes your furry friend cuter. However, even a pound on a small dog or a cat can be a significant percentage of his or her weight. For example, a Yorkie who tips the scales at “just” 12 pounds is equivalent to a 5-foot-4 woman who weighs 218 pounds! And the health risks—like back pain, arthritis, kidney disease, and diabetes—aren’t cute at all....

Here’s what could be causing your head to ache—and simple, natural ways to ease the pain: Trigger: Happy hour Why it hurts: You may love all that’s smoked, pickled, dried or aged—salami, aged cheeses, and smoked salmon—but they may not be loving you back. Those foods tend to contain sulfites, which may dilate your blood vessels and cause a headache, says Alexander Mauskop, MD, director of the New York Headache Center....

Researchers measured the blood pressure of more 4,000 adults in middle age (around age 50) and again in older age (around age 76). When the adults reached age 76, MRIs were used to assess blood vessel damage in the brain, and tests designed to gauge memory and thinking ability were administered. The results: older adults who’d had high blood pressure in midlife had smaller brains, less gray matter, and lower thinking and memory scores....

Bulgur is a type of whole wheat grain that has been cracked, partially pre-cooked, and dried. Couscous is made of coarsely ground wheat and is often described as a small type of pasta. We put the two head-to-head nutritionally to find out which one comes out on top. Couscous vs. Bulgur Calories Couscous: 176 caloriesBulgur: 151 calories Both of these hearty grains are wheat-based, packing a similar amount of calories....

A team of researchers in Germany and Austria examined the power of pronouns—words people don’t consciously manipulate—by analyzing transcripts of 90-minute interviews and the results of a questionnaire designed to detect signs of depression in 118 participants, including adults with and without prior diagnoses of the mood disorder. Parents and those in relationships used “we” pronouns more often, but those who favored solitary pronouns, such as you, were more likely to be depressed even if they had a child or a significant other....

How did salmonella end up in chia in the first place? That’s a long, mysterious story, likely involving contamination from water sources, raw compost, farm workers, or animals. The culprit behind the bad chia isn’t clear, but one thing is: More and more infectious bacteria are showing up in fresh produce, nuts, and seeds, even when they’re organic or processed into packaged foods. In fact, some of the biggest food recalls of recent memory have been issued against items usually eaten raw....

If you still pause at a waiter’s first question—“Is tap water okay?"—you’re not alone. Most of the time, tap water is just as safe as bottled water, says Mae Wu, an attorney with the National Resources Defense Council who also works for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Thanks to the rigorous standards imposed on tap water by public health organizations, bottled water is not necessarily any safer or cleaner than tap under normal circumstances....

Ashley’s answer: Don’t worry, it’s not you, it’s the quinoa! Well, sort of. Anytime a food shows up close to its whole form in our poop, it means that the food was not fully digested. That means all the parts weren’t broken down and absorbed for optimal use in the body. This should be cause for alert, but not always cause for alarm. Some foods, quinoa included, contain some fiber that is not meant to be digested....

Researchers at the CDC used a representative sample of 1,781 U.S. women, both under and over 45 years old, to estimate the proportion of the population that qualifies as “at risk” for high cholesterol. The study examined risk factors from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and the American Heart Association (AHA), and the resulting list is exhaustive, to say the least: DiabetesPersonal history of heart disease (CHD) or non-coronary atherosclerosis (e....