4 Surprising Habits That Are Ruining Your Sleep

If you're having trouble falling asleep, you're in good company. An estimated 65% of Americans said they encounter sleep problems a few nights each week, according to a recent study by the National Sleep Foundation. Sleeping too little is linked with an increased risk for obesity anddepression. But before you reach for a sleep aid from the nearest pharmacy, it's worth reexamining your nighttime routine. Some of your favorite evening rituals could be responsible for that tossing and turning.

Facebooking into the Wee Hours
The brightness of your computer screen stimulates the brain. Plus, it's difficult for your mind to stop fretting about your digital to-do list, even once you've logged off—and that high-tech lifestyle could be making your sick. Avoid late-night surfing and shut down your computer. Give yourself time to wind down without any electronics.

Counting Sheep
When you just can't fall asleep, it's useless to stay in bed.If you've been trying to fall asleep for more than 30 minutes, the National Sleep Foundation suggests doing something mundane, like balancing a checkbook, reading or watching TV. An activity that demands marginal brainpower will lull your mind. Before you know it, you'll be crawling back into bed genuinely tired.

Bringing Books to Bed
Reading before bed is a bad habit for many. Problem is, your body has likely adapted to that routine—it won't go to sleep until you've logged a couple chapters. Retreat to a comfy couch or window nook instead for your literary fix. The bed should be off limits for anything other than sleep or sex.

Exercising Late at Night
Daytime workouts will keep you invigorated for hours. That's why you don't want to exercise within three hours of hitting the sack. Intense physical activity raises your body temperature and pumps your energy level—both interrupt a calm transition into sleep.

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User Post: Animal-Free Eats at Disney's Animal Kingdom

If you find yourself sightseeing in Orlando and theme park hopping at Walt Disney World, what better way to honor the beautiful creatures at Animal Kingdom then opting for animal free meals? Veggie or not, there's lots of special diet friendly options at the park, you just have to know where to look!

The Rainforest Cafe located at the park's entrance is a chain restaurant that is both fun and easy for special diet friendly park visitors. Great for dinner after a long day of walking around in the hot Florida sun, this animal themed eatery has lots of ways to gluten-free or veganize your meal. A wide variety of sandwiches and salads as well as entrees, my personal favorite is veganizing the ginormous China Island Salad!

Inside the park, located in the Asia area, you'll find the Yak & Yeti restaurant. Casual sit down dining, you can get veggie lo mein or veganize a Chinese salad. If you're in a hurry, you can grab quite healthy bites at the Yak & Yeti local food cafe so you can go on your merry Disney way!

Walking over to Africa, you can dine well at the Tusker house. Casual style dining with traditional African and Middle Eastern dishes, it's easy to dine here on a restricted diet. Choose from hummus, samosas, rice dishes and more but be sure to chow down here after you've already ridden Expedition Everest!

DinoLand is a can't miss and if you're tummy starts to grumble here, you can dine at Restaurantosaurus. With a simple American style fast casual menu, I chose the veggie sub, sans cheese along with sweet potato fries!

All around the park you'll find all sorts of snacks and drinks but do yourself a favor and make healthy choices so that you don't become extinct!

Additionally, if you really want to plan your worry-free day at Animal Kingdom, make your dining reservations ahead of time and let guest services know of any special diet requests so they can accommodate you accordingly. Contact Disney's Dining Reservation Center at (407) WDW-DINE or (407) 939-3463 to speak with a Cast Member to make your special requests and reservations.

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Would you want a butt cam in your dressing room?

It's called A** Cam. The name was trademarked by clothing store American Rag, but we've added the asterisks. It's a closed-circuit video camera in the dressing room of the Newport Beach and Los Angeles locations of American Rag's World Denim Bar that allows a shopper to see her backside on a monitor imbedded in a mirror, so she can decide if the jeans she's trying on look as good from behind as they do in the front. (You can see it in the photo below.)

5 Ways to Look Instantly Younger


Before you label this camera system as just another retail gimmick – hear us out. Here at Prevention, we've interviewed lots of stylists and fashion experts, and whenever we ask them how to dress so you look great for your age, they always say finding, or tailoring, clothes to fit perfectly is the most important thing. But it's hard to tell if your jeans—or any clothes—truly do fit when you're twisting and turning to look over your shoulder in a dressing room. (And don't say that there are three-way mirrors for that—no one wants to look at herself in a three-way mirror.)

That's why we think this Cam thing is really going to take off. But until it does, here are six ways to make the trying-on process less, well, trying:

1. Shop in the morning for clothes, the afternoon for shoes.
Stores are less crowded, and salespeople are more helpful right when the doors open—and you'll feel less pressure to rush the decision-making process since there won't be a long line of customers waiting for your dressing room. The only exception to this rule: shoes. Since feet swell as they day goes on, you're better off trying on shoes in the afternoon when your feet are at their biggest.

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2. Dress to undress.
Wear your favorite, most flattering bra and underwear and clothes that are easy to remove, such as a top, skirt, and slip-on shoes. (Don't wear a dress or you'll be forced to try on tops without bottoms, and vice versa.)

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3. Prep like it's a date.
Shave, put on makeup, and do your hair. It's impossible to feel good about yourself or the clothes you're wearing if you notice shin stubble, frizzy hair, and under-eye circles every time you look in the mirror.

4. Apply invisible antiperspirant—twice.
With hot dressing room lights in a confined space, you can get as sweaty trying on clothes as you do at the gym. Apply invisible antiperspirant (not deodorant, which simply masks odor but doesn't stop sweat) the night before your shopping trip and right before you leave in the morning; the double dose makes it more effective, and the clear formula won't rub off on fabric.

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5. Step outside the dressing room.
Use the larger mirror in the dressing room's main area or on the selling floor to assess how you look as you walk, sit, squat, and move around in a garment. This also helps you decide how comfortable you feel in an outfit; if you don't have the confidence to leave the privacy of your stall and let others see you wearing something, you shouldn't even consider buying it.


6. Bring an impartial judge.
For an objective assessment of the clothes, bring along a good—and honest—friend. Or, better yet, snap two photos of yourself with your smartphone or a digital camera, one from the front and one over the shoulder for a view from behind. Review the pictures only after you leave the store; if you still like what you see, go back and buy it.

Tell us: What do you like least about shopping for clothes?

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Bounce Off Belly Fat!

Have a ball

By Su Reid-St. John

Here are two words you almost never hear together: fun and abs. But we're about to change all that. This exhilarating fitness-ball-based workout tones ab muscles by making them work hard to keep you balanced on the ball. And it not only sculpts your core but also targets the fat covering the muscles in that area. Best part? There's not a crunch in the bunch! 

How it works

Do this 30-minute routine—created by Patrick Goudeau, the Nike Elite Fitness trainer behind the Amazing Ball Choreography (ABC) DVDs—moving as quickly as possible from one exercise to the next. You'll torch around 350 calories per session. Aim for four or five times a week for best results.

And try these tricks to knock off as much as 12 pounds this month while getting a sleek stomach.

Basic bounce

Sit tall on a fitness ball with feet on the floor in front of you and knees bent to about 90 degrees. Engage core and begin bouncing. Think of bouncing up (instead of down), and let feet lift off the floor. Continue to bounce for 5 minutes, varying arm motions: Reach forward and back, up and down, in and out. Have fun with it!

Jumping jack reach

While seated, hold the ball and jump legs apart, then together, then apart again. Stand and reach left hand to the right (use right hand to keep ball in place). Sit back down, jump legs together, and repeat sequence on the other side; that's 1 rep. Do 4 reps, then do Basic Bouncefor 1 minute. Repeat sequence 3 more times.

Roll and twist

Walk legs out to come into bridge position with upper back on ball, hips lifted, and arms extended toward the ceiling with hands clasped; squeeze glutes. Rotate onto right shoulder, back to center, onto left shoulder, and back to center. Walk feet back in, contracting abs to lift up to sitting; that's 1 rep. Do 12 reps; after each rep, doBasic Bounce for 16 counts.

Windmills

While sitting, begin alternating side-to-side lunges, rolling butt side to side while keeping both hands on ball. (For more challenge, reach one hand up and the other to the floor as you lunge). One left-side lunge plus one right-side lunge equals 1 rep. Do 16 reps, then do Basic Bouncefor 1 minute. Repeat sequence 3 more times.

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User Post: How to pick the perfect watermelon (and a great recipe for failed attempts)

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One of the best things to enjoy on a warm summer day is a cold watermelon. What could be better? Sweet, crisp, refreshing, red (what a beautiful color!) and nutritious.

My husband sees it as a personal failure when we open a watermelon and find a pinkish disappointment that tastes like a cucumber. He feels there must be a fool-proof way to pick the perfect fruit.

Alas, there's no fail-proof method, but I can offer a few tips for choosing a good watermelon:

Tapping: Tap the watermelon with the pads of your fingers. A winning watermelon will typically have a slightly hollow sound, like the sound you get when tapping your head rather than tapping your chest.

The all important yellow spot: At the bottom of the watermelon -- where it rested on the ground -- you want to find a yellow or cream-colored spot. If the spot is still white, the watermelon isn't ripe.  Some say this is the most important clue to watermelon goodness.

Firmness: Press your fingers and thumbs into the watermelon's skin. A good one should be hard all around with no soft spots.

Weight for size: A good watermelon feels heavy for its size.

I've been using these methods for years. Still, I have to admit I'm not convinced that digging through the watermelon bin using these tricks gets you a better success rate than randomly picking the first watermelon your hand touches with your eyes closed. I occasionally end up with disappointing watermelons no matter how hard I try. It just happens!

The good news: a not-so-sweet watermelon makes a wonderful and easy-to-prepare cold soup. (The cucumber in the recipe masks the cucumberness of the not-so-great watermelon.) It looks like a gazpacho, but is even more refreshing.

Watermelon and mint cold soup

Ingredients

6 cups seedless watermelon, diced
1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint
1 cup cucumber, peeled and finely diced
1 small jalapeño pepper, seeds removed, minced
1 red onion, diced
1/2 cup young celery stalks, diced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice or to taste
2 tablespoons balsamic or red wine vinegar
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste 

Preparation

Puree the watermelon in a food processor, using the "pulse" setting; pulse several times until the watermelon is still chunky and not too smooth.

Transfer the puree to large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients. Refrigerate until cold (at least an hour).

Garnish with a few leaves of fresh mint and serve.

What's so good about watermelons?

First and most important – it's a fruit and it tastes good. And of course its color brightens up the table.

Watermelon is a low calorie nutritious treat: a one-cup serving of watermelon has only about 50 calories.

It's an excellent source of vitamins C and A. It's also a good source of vitamins B6 and B1, and minerals such as potassium and magnesium. Red watermelon (yes, there's a yellow-orange type too!) is also a good source of lycopene (a carotenoid antioxidant). In fact, watermelons are a richer source of this beneficial antioxidant than tomatoes.

Watermelon is 92 percent water so it's very good for hydration.

While we mostly eat the flesh of the watermelon, all parts are actually edible. The rinds can be stir-fried, stewed or pickled. Watermelon seeds are rich in fat and protein, and can be eaten as a snack (roasted), or made into an oilseed.

Enjoy!

Dr. Ayala

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Corn Is Not Evil: 100-Plus Healthy Recipes That Prove It

By Megan O. Steintrager, Epicurious.com

Along with heirloom tomatoes, fresh corn on the cob is one of my favorite high-summer foods. I'm clearly not alone: Adam Roberts wrote about his love of dressed-up corn here in the Epi-Log earlier this week and Epicurious sister publication Gourmet Live has an ode to corn by farmer Kristin Kimball in this week's farmers' market issue. Of course corn has its detractors too, including those who think of it as lowly pig food, carbophobes, and high fructose corn syrup haters who cast sweet corn on the cob in the same light.

Related: Our Ultimate Grilling and Barbecue Guide

I don't fall into any of those camps, and I'd gladly eat corn for pure pleasure, but it never hurts to have a few health reasons too. So I was happy to come across a blog from EatingWell discussing the health benefits of corn: Corn is a good source of fiber, as well as lutein and zeaxanthin (compounds that help keep your eyes healthy), the author explains. Elsewhere online, the World's Healthiest Foods' entry on corn says that "corn is actually a unique phytonutrient-rich food that provides us with well-documented antioxidant benefits," while in Healthy Farm Stand Recipes, Self explains that sweet corn is whole grain source of potassium.

See also: Our Complete Back-to-School Guide

Feeling corny? Try one of the more than a hundred healthy corn recipes here on Epi, including the low-cal, low-cholesterol, and high-fiber Smoky Corn Salsa, and check out What to Cook Now: Corn for more recipes and tips.

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