There are certain health tips that you hear from everyone that you already know work, like drinking more water or regular exercise. But then there are certain others that you might not have heard of that don’t seem to make a lot of sense. We’ve discovered some of the best of what appears to be “illogical”. Well, science is weird and these health tips really do work! Check out five such examples below.
Are YOU going to be bringing these into practice in your own life?
1. Hot Drinks Make You Feel Cooler
Come summer most of us switch from piping hot coffee to iced tea and cold frappucinos in an attempt to get our bodies to cool themselves from the inside out. But that’s not really how the human body works! What you need to do is drink a hot beverage instead.
What this does is signal to your body that it needs to sweat. Since sweat is your body’s natural defense mechanism against overheating, sweating is the most effective and healthiest way to cool your body/ A the sweat evaporates, it leaves your skin feeling a lot cooler.
2. Handwritten Information is Better Memory
Writing things by hand, using pen and paper (ugh!) almost seems like a thing of the past now that almost everything from high school notes to letters are typically typed. But did you know that you are more likely to forget information that you’ve typed compared to that which you’ve handwritten?
That’s right. Researchers at Indiana University found that handwritten information is easier to process and therefore stays in your memory a lot longer. They say this is because handwriting is slower than typing, during which time you’re looking directly at whatever your writing (instead of at the keyboard), and you have to consciously think and make an effort to form the letters and words.
3. Anti-Bacterial Soap is Actually Worse
Most of us use anti-bacterial soap in an attempt to get rid of all the germs in our body. But there’s no actual evidence that these soaps are beneficial. In fact, the human body contains certain types of bacteria that are actually good for us, and antibacterial soaps cannot distinguish between those and the bad kind.
In any case, all soaps are effective in getting rid of the extra bacteria that has accumulated. And recent studies have suggested that triclosan, one of the major ingredients in antibacterial soap, can lead to health risks such as bacterial resistance and hormone disruption in the long term. Which means, not only are anti-bacterial soaps unnecessary, they are actually worse than the regular kind!
4. Don’t Brush After Eating
It’s a common piece of advice that you hear, to brush your teeth immediately after a meal to make sure that all the leftover food particles are removed. But actually, doing so can lead to the opposite of the desired effect and actually weaken them.
When we eat, particularly in the case of acidic foods such as tomatoes, citrus, coffee, soda, etc, the food can soften the tooth enamel. And when you brush directly afterward, it can speed up the acid’s effect your tooth enamel as well as corrode the dentin layer underneath.
This can lead to problems such are sensitivity, discoloration, and chipping or cracking of the tooth. Therefore, dentists recommend waiting at least 30-60 minutes after a meal before brushing them.
5. Drink Coffee Before A Nap
It might seem like a nonsensical idea to drink coffee before trying to sleep, but in the case of a short nap, it can actually help you wake up more energized than groggy! This was proven by a study conducted recently in Japan that found that those who consumed about 200 mg (similar to 1-2 cups) of coffee before laying down for a power nap felt more refreshed when they woke up than those that didn’t.
The way it works is that caffeine clears your brain of a fatigue-inducing chemical called adenosine, but these effects only start working after about 20-30 minutes after you consume it – the perfect amount of time for a power nap! The nap itself will also clear some of the adenosine, but the caffeine speeds up the process.
But be warned, do not try this before going to bed at night!
