3 quick things…..Sleep, exercise and salt

A cool bedroom is best. “the 60s to low 70s is good,” says Shelby Harris, Psy. D., director of behavioral sleep medicine at the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center of Montefiore Health System in New York City. About two hours before your usual bedtime, your body knows it’s headed toward sleep, so your temperature begins to drop in order to set off a biological process that helps you fall asleep easily. A too-warm room can hamper that process.. (Better Homes and Gardens)

 

Blame it on your mother. And father. And for that matter, your grandparents. If you hate to exercise, it could be in your genes. Specifically, genes that modulate the dopamine (a feel-good chemical) in the brain appear to play a role in our propensity to embrace or avoid exercise, according to researchers from the University of Georgia. You just have to look at any group of people to know that some exercise frequently, while others prefer the couch. Now it appears that the part of the brain that drives rewards and the part of the brain that drives the motor system are interacting, causing some of us to want to run a marathon and leading others to binge watch “Game of Thrones.” Translation: Gym rats get a rush from working out as dopamine levels soar, while couch potatoes appear to have a genetic makeup that interferes with the release of dopamine.

 

How much salt is OK? One teaspoon of table salt is the most you should have in a day. That one teaspoon has 2,300 milligrams of sodium. The American Heart Association says the ideal amount of sodium is no more than 1,500 milligrams. Now the CDC report has found that Americans typically consume 3,400 milligrams of sodium daily–more than double the ideal amount.