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Sugar is as bad
for you as cigarettes:
Although sugar does not have the same stigma
attached to it as smoking, the truth is indulging on sweet treats or dessert
could be as bad for you as lighting up a cigarette. According to research by a
University of California team, sugar is as damaging as both alcohol and
cigarettes and, according to the researchers, should therefore be regulated to
control consumption
An hour’s sleep
could make you happier than $60,000:
What
would it take to make you happier? A better job? A larger salary? Well,
according to a US study by psychologist Daniel Kahneman and his colleagues, an
increase in household income actually has little effect on your daily mood. In
fact, the study suggests that getting one extra hour of sleep each night does
more for your daily happiness than a $60,000
Exercise won’t
make you thin:
Although many people use exercise as their sole
method of weight management, many studies have shown that exercise, when not
combined with dietary changes, does very little in respect to losing weight. A
study published in The British Journal of Sports Medicine found that when a
group of obese people completed 12 weeks of supervised cardio workouts without
dieting, most did not experience any significant weight loss results. However,
it is important to remember that, while it may not lead to weight loss by
itself, exercise still has plenty of other health benefits.
Chewing gum
boosts your brain power:
Don’t have time for your morning coffee? Try a
piece of chewing gum instead to feel more alert. Researchers at Coventry
University have discovered that chewing mint-flavored gum could dramatically
decrease feelings of tiredness. Meanwhile, separate research studies have
suggested that chewing gum can improve test scores and improve memory by 35%.
Coffee can help
ward off depression:
We often hear about how caffeine is bad for us;
however, a study from the Harvard School of Public Health has found that, for
women, drinking four or more cups of caffeinated coffee a day could reduce risk
of depression by 20 per cent. An earlier study of over 80,000 women also
revealed that women who drink more than two cups of coffee a day are less
likely to commit suicide.
Being optimistic
can save your life:
We all know that thinking positively can have a
great impact on your happiness, however research has also revealed that being
an optimist can help you live longer. Research findings published in the
European Heart Journal reveal that optimistic people are less likely to suffer
from heart disease,
Cash machines
are as dirty as public toilets:
Few of us would wash our hands after getting
money out from an ATM machine; however, cleanliness tests in Britain have
revealed that cash machines are just as dirty as public toilets. Experts
assessed swabs from the key pads on cash machines and also from nearby public
toilets and found that they both contained the same types of bacteria known to
cause sickness.
Less than one
per cent of bacteria cause disease:
In
day to day to day life, we are surrounded by bacteria – in fact, healthy human
skin is covered in around 1000 different species of bacteria. However, contrary
to popular belief, most bacteria are not harmful and, in fact, less than one
per cent cause disease. Furthermore, many forms of bacteria are actually good
for you, including many of those that live on your skin and in your gut.
Stretching
before running may lower your endurance:
Many
of us have been taught to warm up before exercise, however recent studies
suggest that stretching before a run may not be beneficial to your workout. A
study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that
stretching before going for a run made a runner’s body less efficient so that
they did not perform as well and were unable to run as far.
