6 Strange But True Health Tips
Many methods to improve your health are pretty straightforward to lose weight, eat less and exercise more to boost your energy, get more sleep to prevent dehydration, drink more water. Others, however, are totally counterintuitive. The following tips really do workbut they may leave you scratching your head. Drink coffee to have a better nap, In a Japanese study that examined how to make the most of a nap, people who took a "coffee nap"consuming about 200 milligrams of caffeine the amount in one to two cups of coffee and then immediately taking a 20-minute restfelt more alert and performed better on computer tests than those who only took a nap. HEALTH.COM 12 Surprising Sources of Caffeine, Why does this work? A 20-minute nap ends just as the caffeine kicks in and clears the brain of a molecule called adenosine, maximizing alertness. "Adenosine is a byproduct of wakefulness and activity," says Allen Towfigh, MD, medical director of New York Neurology  Sleep Medicine. "As adenosine levels increase, we become more fatigued. Napping clears out the adenosine and, when combined with caffeine, an adenosine-blocker, further reduces its effects and amplifies the effects of the nap.", For healthy teeth, don't brush after eating, Don't brush your teeth immediately after meals and drinks, especially if they were acidic. Acidic foodscitrus fruits, sports drinks, tomatoes, soda both diet and regularcan soften tooth enamel "like wet sandstone," says Howard R. Gamble, immediate past president of the Academy of General Dentistry. Brushing your teeth at this stage can speed up acid's effect on your enamel and erode the layer underneath. Gamble suggests waiting 30 to 60 minutes before brushing. HEALTH.COM 20 Things That Can Ruin Your Smile, To wear a smaller size, gain weight, Muscle weight, that is. If two women both weigh 150 pounds and only one lifts weights, the lifter will more likely fit into a smaller pant size than her sedentary counterpart. Likewise, a 150-pound woman who lifts weights could very well wear the same size as a 140-pound woman who doesn't exercise. The reason Although a pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of muscle, muscle takes up less space, says Mark Nutting, fitness director of SACO Sport  Fitness in Saco, Maine. "You can get bigger muscles and get smaller overall if you lose the fat," he says. "The bulk so many women fear only occurs if you don't lose fat and develop muscle on top of it." Cut back on calories and add weight to your workout to lose inches. To eat less, eat more, Grabbing a 100-calorie snack pack of cookies or pretzels may seem virtuous, but it's more likely to make you hungrier than if you ate something more substantial, says Amy Goodson, RD, dietitian for Texas Health Ben Hogan Sports Medicine. "Eating small amounts of carbohydrates does nothing but spike your blood sugar and leave you wanting more carbs." Goodson recommends choosing a protein such as peanut butter or string cheese with an apple. "They are higher in calories per serving, but the protein and fat helps you get full faster and stay full longerand you end up eating fewer calories overall," she says. HEALTH.COM 17 High-Protein Snacks That Speed Up Weight Loss, Skip energy drinks when you're tired, Energy drinks contain up to five times more caffeine than coffee, but the boost they provide is fleeting and comes with unpleasant side effects like nervousness, irritability, and rapid heartbeat, says Goodson. Plus, energy drinks often contain high levels of taurine, a central nervous system stimulant, and upwards of 50 grams of sugar per can that's 13 teaspoons worth!. The sweet stuff spikes blood sugar temporarily, only to crash soon after, leaving you sluggish and foggyheadedand reaching for another energy drink. HEALTH.COM 14 Reasons You're Tired All the Time, Drink a hot beverage to cool off , Which will cool you off faster on a steamy summer morning iced coffee or hot? Two recent studies say the latterand so do others where drinking hot tea in hot weather is the norm, like in India. When you sip a hot beverage, your body senses the change in temperature and increases your sweat production. Then, as the sweat evaporates from your skin, you cool off naturally. This article originally appeared on Health.com