Change Your Brain Now

The kids need a ride to school, your husband can't find his shorts, your boss has just scheduled an online meeting, and your best friend desperately needs your help -- all at the same time. Is it any wonder that you can't find a minute for relaxation? In fact, if you're like most women, you may have even forgotten how to relax. And though experts say that some stress is good for you -- it can sharpen your senses and your mind -- too much stress is bad for your mental and physical health. At the same time, relaxation can do wonders to restore balance in your life -- and may even reduce some of the health risks associated with stress. WebMD talked to the experts to learn more about relaxation -- and how to attain it. What follows are 10 on-the-spot techniques you can use -- any time and almost anywhere -- to reduce the tension in your life. 1. Meditate If you're thinking  meditation  means twisting your body into an uncomfortable position and uttering ...

Coffee is one of the world's most popular drinks, but it didn’t get there through its health virtues. Most people started drinking their cups of Joe to feel more alert and awake, to get them through classes or work. And yet scientific study after scientific study has appeared reporting the hidden health benefits of the liquid lightning. Here, we take you through some of the greatest of this year alone – to vindicate people who drink it religiously, and to guilt those who don't drink it, to start. Longer Lives Researchers from the National Institutes of Health and the AARP, led by Neal D. Freedman, conducted a longitudinal study beginning in 1995 and ending in 2008. From the beginning, over 400,000 people participated, ranging in age from 50 to 71 years old. All were relatively healthy at the beginning of the trial, with none reporting a history of heart disease, stroke or cancer. Of that number, 50,000 passed away during the course of the trial. Int...

One frustrating thing about trying to lose weight is the snail’s pace at which the pounds seem to drop. Then there’s the harsh reality that the more weight you lose, the harder your body fights to hold on to the calories it gets and the fewer calories it burns. That’s usually about the time you hit the infamous weight-loss plateau  and start losing steam. But what if you could turbo-charge your weight-loss efforts without a lot of sacrifice? We’ve come up with easy ways to boost your metabolism, or the rate at which you burn calories. We’ve also thrown in ideas for cranking up the calorie burn of your workout — without making it longer. Taken together, these tips should be more than enough to shift your weight loss out of neutral and move it full speed ahead again. Still, it’s important that you maintain a realistic expectation of what’s considered “healthy” weight loss. About a pound or two a week is ideal; much more than that is unlikely to last long-term. 1. Sip gree...

Burn-calories Women with great bodies have a dirty little secret. Sure, they work out and eat well — but they also sneakily burn hundreds more calories than everyone else. From the outside, they don't seem to be doing anything particularly strenuous. "You wouldn't believe how many straightforward ways there are to burn calories," says Lauren Slayton, director of foodtrainers.net. "But it's easy to miss the opportunities if you're not looking for them." Research has shown that swapping sedentary habits, such as watching television, for pretty much anything that doesn't involve sitting down can make a world of difference. "Most people don't realize that a little extra effort can yield great results," says Steven Wheelock, a trainer at Canyon Ranch in Lenox, Massachusetts. The experts we consulted explain how to take every opportunity to flex your muscles, boost your heart rate, and eat foods that yield maximum fullness for mi...