Here's What 7 Health Editors Do Before 7 A.M.

Let’s face it: Mornings can be nutty. But picking up a healthy a.m. habit could make all the difference, and help you start your day off right. Many editors here at Health have their own go-to strategy to pave the way for a productive day. From a pre-work sweat sesh to a nutrient-packed breakfast, here are some easy tips that could make your mornings a little bit brighter.

Find your zen

“I practice Vedic meditation twice a day for 20 minutes at a time, the first one right upon waking. Vedic is really accessible, it’s for everyone. You repeat a mantra to yourself (silently), and as thoughts drift into your mind, you gently bring yourself back to the mantra. Very simple! I used to feel really foggy in the morning, but meditation puts me in a calm, focused state of mind first thing, and makes me feel really energized." —Beth Lipton, food director

Get sweaty

"Well it may seem pretty simple, but I go work out! It instantly wakes me up and prepares me for a productive day. When I don’t exercise I feel very tired and my concentration is off." —Rozalynn Frazier, senior fitness editor

RELATED: How to Become the Type of Person Who Works Out in the Morning

Stretch it out

"Even if I don’t have time to get a workout in, I take about 10 minutes to stretch. Nothing too complicated. I just stretch my calves one at a time, by pushing the ball of my foot against a wall with my heel on the ground. Then I stretch my quads by pulling my heel up behind me with a bent knee. I sometimes experience lower back pain, so to help alleviate that, I do some simple neck rolls and touch my toes to stretch my hamstrings. I also usually go through a round of child’s pose, laughing baby pose, and downward dog." —Chelsey Hamilton, editorial assistant

Check in with family

"Every weekday morning I walk my daughter the one mile to her school. Rain or shine, cold or hot, that brisk walk (some days brisker than others, depending on whether we overslept!) helps to clear my brain and get my blood moving first thing. I know that I’ve gotten in a little activity, even if I don’t make it to the gym that day. And it’s also my time to check in with my daughter, which is good for both of our mental health." —Jeannie Kim, executive deputy editor

Fuel up

"I will not leave the house in the morning without having breakfast. If I don’t eat something, then I’m miserable by the time I get to work. I also tend to eat extra junk throughout the day when I haven’t had a morning meal. My go-to breakfasts are two eggs and a slice of whole-grain toast; a quarter of an avocado smashed onto a slice of whole-grain toast and topped with an over-easy egg; or a smoothie consisting of kale or spinach, blueberries, Greek yogurt, banana, water, and chia seeds." —Christine Mattheis, deputy editor

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Stick with what works

"There are two specific things I do. First, I eat the same breakfast every day: ½ cup of oatmeal, topped with a handful of walnuts and a handful of frozen wild blueberries, add ¾ cup milk, and microwave the whole thing for 3 minutes. I eat that with a tall glass of seltzer water and orange juice, mixed 50/50. Then, if I have time, I also try to take a quick nap right after I wake up before I get going!" —Michael Gollust, research editor

Caffeinate

"I walk one mile to my favorite coffee place and grab a skim cappuccino!”

—Clare McHugh, editor-in-chief

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The 10 Healthiest Places to Live in America

If you’re looking for a fresh start somewhere you can finally focus on your health, consider a move to Highlands Ranch, Colorado. The bedroom community outside Denver is the healthiest town in America, according to MONEY. 

As part of its annual “Best Places to Live” report (which this year focused on small cities), MONEY ranked the healthiest locales in the U.S. based on a range of factors, including access to medical care, rates of common diseases, and the residents’ own assessments of their personal health. 

For anyone who wants to prioritize fitness, eating right, and aging well, it certainly can’t hurt to live in a place where healthy values are woven into the local culture. Check out the list below to see some of the communities that do this best. (For the full list of MONEY’s “Best Places to Live in 2016," click here.)

RELATED: The Best Places to Live If You Love Outdoor Sports

10. St. Augustine, FL

The Sunshine State appears to do the heart good: People who live in this coastal town—as well as other communities throughout Florida—die less frequently from heart disease compared to folks in other cities and states.

9. San Rafael, CA

California should win a medal for its low rates of adult obesity. For now this Marin County town ranks as the 9^th healthiest place to live on MONEY’s list.

8. Provo, UT

The state of Utah possesses the lowest rate of childhood obesity nationally. It’s a good bet families in Provo love to play outdoors.

7. Cheyenne, WY

Diabetes is relatively rare among people who live in the High Plains of Wyoming, including the residents of the state’s most populous town. 

6. Nashua, NH

People in Nashua feel healthy, which counts for a lot. MONEY reports that the percentage of Nashua residents who consider themselves in "good or excellent” health is the highest of any city studied by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

5. Quincy, MA

Massachusetts has the fewest diabetes-related deaths nationwide, which helped land this Boston suburb in fifth place on MONEY’s list.

RELATED: The 50 Most Gorgeous Running Races in America, State-by-State

4. Woodbury, MN

When it comes to heat health, Minnesotans are way above average. They have the lowest rate of cardiovascular disease in the U.S., which is one reason this St. Paul suburb is such a healthy place to live.

3. Greenwich, CT

Greenwich is a good place to have an emergency: It ranks third on this list thanks, in part, to the high number of hospitals within a 15-mile radius.

2. Koolaupoko, HI

In Koolaupoko and other Hawaii towns, cancer deaths are among the lowest in the nation.

1. Highlands Ranch, CO

With the lowest adult obesity rate in the country, Highlands Ranch—a planned community about 15 miles south of downtown Denver—nabbed first place as the country’s healthiest place to live.

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Excessive Internet Use May Signal Other Mental Health Issues

Young adults who spend excessive amounts of time online may have higher rates of depression, anxiety, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a new Canadian study. The research also suggests that Internet addiction may be widely under-reported, and that commonly accepted diagnostic criteria may need to be revised to keep up with the changing role of the Internet in our lives.

The study, presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) conference in Vienna, used two scales to evaluate Internet use: the commonly used and globally accepted Internet Addiction Test (IAT), and a newer scale designed by the authors.

The IAT was developed in 1998, before smartphones and tablets were such a prevalent part of society. “In addition, Internet use has changed radically over the last 18 years, through more people working online, media streaming, social media, etc.,” said lead author Michael Van Ameringen, MD, in a press release. Dr. Van Ameringen is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at McMaster University.

RELATED: Parenting Against the Internet

“We were concerned that the IAT questionnaire may not have been picking up on problematic modern internet use,” he added, “or showing up false positives for people who were simply using the Internet rather than being over-reliant on it.”

So Dr. Van Ameringen and his colleagues recruited 254 college students and tested them for Internet addiction using both scales. They also asked the participants about their overall mental health and well-being.

According to the IAT, only 33 students met the criteria for Internet addiction. Based on the authors’ new questionnaire, however, 107 students—more than 40 percent—were considered to have problematic or addictive Internet use. (The latter number is closer to the results of another recent study, in which half of teens said they felt “addicted” to technology.) 

And when the researchers looked at how the Internet addicts by either set of criteria compared to the “normal” web users in several areas of mental health, they made some strong connections.

RELATED: Is Your Teen Suffering From an Internet Addiction?

“We found that those screening positive, on the IAT as well as on our scale, had significantly more trouble dealing with their day-to-day activities, including life at home, at work/school and in social settings,” Dr. Van Ameringen said. People with Internet addiction also had higher rates of depression and anxiety symptoms, problems with planning and time management, and higher levels of attentional impulsivity and ADHD symptoms.

“This leads us to a couple of questions,” said Dr. Van Ameringen: “Firstly, are we grossly underestimating the prevalence of Internet addiction and, secondly, are these other mental health issues a cause or consequence of this excessive reliance on the Internet?”

Larger clinical trials are needed to answer these questions, said Jan Buitelaar, MD, PhD, a member of an ECNP advisory panel on child and adolescent disorders, in the press release. But what’s clear, he added, is that large amounts of time spent online may disguise mild or severe mental health problems.

“Excessive use of the internet is an understudied phenomenon,” said Dr. Buitelaar, who is a professor of psychiatry at Radboud University in the Netherlands but was not involved in the study, adding that it “may be strongly linked to compulsive behaviour and addiction.”

RELATED: How the Internet Is Changing the Way We Think

The researchers hope that their research one day helps mental health professionals diagnose and treat patients more accurately and effectively. For example, therapists may need to keep in mind that unhealthy Internet behavior may be triggered by another condition, or vice versa.

“If you are trying to treat someone for an addiction when in fact they are anxious and depressed, then you may be going down the wrong route,” says Dr. Van Ameringen.

Of course, this isn’t the first time that excessive use of technology has been linked to emotional problems. Another recent study on college students—a group that’s known for its near-constant digital connectedness—found that problematic cell-phone use was associated with lower levels of trust, and higher levels of alienation, within students’ family and social networks. In fact, the researcher suggested that using phones to surf the Web and use social media—rather than text or talk directly with personal connections—could be, at least partially, to blame.

This article originally appeared on RealSimple.com.

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Antibiotics Are Still Overused in Hospitals

As the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meets in New York this week, one of the topics the global leaders will discuss is antibiotic overuse and the growing problem of microbes—so-called superbugs—that are resistant to the current antibiotics available today.

It’s only one of a handful of times the UNGA has discussed a health issue, but the growing problem is concerning enough that some leaders see it as a threat to economic and social stability.

The problem is a familiar one, but the challenge is to find ways to address it. In a new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, researchers highlight just how daunting that challenge is.

In the first and most comprehensive look at how hospitals in the U.S. use antibiotics, the scientists report that between 2006 and 2012, rates of antibiotic use haven’t changed much among more than 300 hospitals, despite the fact that awareness of antibiotic resistance was emerging during that time, especially in the form of resistant bugs such as C. difficile and S. aureus. Each year in the U.S., two million people are infected with bacteria that can’t be treated with existing antibiotics, and 23,000 of them die.

“This is the first time we have national estimates for what is going on in hospitals,” says Dr. Arjun Srinivasan, associate director of health care associated infection prevention programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and one of the co-authors of the study.

And what the data is showing is disturbing. The fact that use of antibiotics remains the same and isn’t declining is concerning enough, since it hints that doctors are still prescribing drugs at the same rate as they have in the past, despite recent studies showing that many prescriptions aren’t necessary and are for the wrong types of infections for which antibiotics don’t work.

Even more worrisome, the study found that the types of antibiotics being used more often are the third and fourth generation drugs that are typically considered last resort medications to treat infections resistant to other classes of antibiotics. Use of older antibiotics went down during the study period while prescriptions of newer, broad spectrum antibiotics increased anywhere from three times to 18 times, depending on the class.

The study didn’t analyze why these drugs were being prescribed more, but one reason could be that doctors are trying to treat more difficult infections that won’t respond to the older drugs. “We now know what the problem is: use of the these agents has gone up. The question now is, ‘Why?’” says Srinivasan of the last-resort antibiotics. “How much of the increase in use is because doctors are treating harder-to-treat infections? How much is fear of a hard-to-treat infection that isn’t actually there? How much is even misunderstanding that they’ve heard of resistant infections, and think they need to use a stronger drug, but don’t actually need to?”

Those answers will have to come from future research, he says, as well as more detailed information on how recently adopted efforts to control overuse of antibiotics are working. Since the study ended in 2012, more intensive programs to regulate doctors who prescribe antibiotics, as well as monitor hospital use of the drugs, have been in put in place around the country. New guidelines for helping hospitals and doctors adopt more stringent antibiotic practices have also been available, and new calls for stronger stewardship from the government, including a National Action Plan and a White House summit, have also raised awareness and accountability surrounding the issue.

This article originally appeared on Time.com.

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6 Weird Things That Can Mess With Your Memory

The most comprehensive study yet shows that antibiotic use hasn’t changed in hospitals, despite recent warnings that they drugs are overprescribed.

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Why Is Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease Spreading at Florida State University?

A viral infection known as hand, foot, and mouth disease is sickening students at Florida State University and other schools around the country. The illness—which spreads through contact with bodily fluids or contaminated surfaces—can cause a rash, fever, blisters in and around the mouth, and painful sores on the hands, feet, and buttocks.

Hand, foot, and mouth disease is usually seen in young children, and outbreaks are often linked to daycare centers. But in the last month, it’s been reported at high schools in Indiana, Vermont, and New Jersey.

The University of Colorado at Boulder also experienced several cases on campus in August. And NBC News reports Florida State University (FSU) has seen 22 cases so far this semester.

While hand, foot, and mouth disease can sound—and look—scary, it’s not usually dangerous, says Nadia Qureshi, MD, pediatric infectious disease specialist at Loyola Medicine in Maywood, Illinois. It can be quite uncomfortable, though, and usually lasts five to seven days. There’s no cure and no vaccine to prevent it, so the best treatment is staying hydrated and taking over-the-counter medicine for pain and fever.

The most common cause of hand, foot, and mouth disease is the coxsackievirus, which spreads just like the common cold or flu. Dr. Qureshi says that outbreaks among older children and adults are rare, but not entirely surprising.

“In the past couple of years we’ve seen a new strain of the virus that causes a more severe and more atypical presentation of symptoms, and it does affect children as well as adults,” she says. “And a college dorm is the perfect place for it to spread: People are touching doorknobs, sharing things, living in close proximity to each other, and it’s easy to pass the infection back and forth.”

RELATED: Health Hazards in College Dorms

The new strain, a natural evolution of the virus, tends to cause a more widespread rash and more painful blisters. But even this form rarely requires medical intervention, except in the case of very young children who have trouble swallowing because of painful blisters in their mouths. In very rare cases, says Dr. Qureshi, the coxsackievirus has been linked to serious brain or heart complications.

According to WCTU TV, FSU administration has speculated that the outbreak may be due to a sewage spill during the recent Hurricane Hermine, or to a related electricity outage that prohibited laundry from being done and allowed germs to spread. 

To help prevent new cases, FSU is sanitizing all public spaces on campus, and has advised all living facilities on campus to sanitize their residences, as well. They’ve also encouraged frequent hand washing and the use of hand sanitizers. (CU Boulder also warned students working in science labs that the coxsackievirus can be especially harmful to rodents, and urges them to take “extra care not to spread the disease.”)

Those are smart steps, says Dr. Qureshi. “If you want to avoid it, the most important thing to do is to wash your hands frequently with soap and water, avoid touching your face and your mouth as much as possible, and avoid close contact with someone who has it,” she says. People who’ve had hand, foot, and mouth disease as children don’t seem to have much immunity to the virus, she adds, especially to this relatively new strain.

RELATED: 6 Health Hacks Every College Freshman Should Know

People can continue to transmit the virus for several weeks after their symptoms are gone, she says, but only through saliva or fecal matter. “If you practice basic good hygiene and you no longer have a fever, you should be fine,” she says. “Just stay away from kissing and sharing cups for a while.”

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How Posting on Facebook Affects Your Memory

Posting about personal experiences on social media makes them easier to remember in the future, finds a new study—and no, it’s not just because Facebook reminds you of them every year.

Scientists have long known that writing down, talking about, or otherwise reflecting on events can help people recall them later. And one might assume that posting about them on social media sites—such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or a personal blog—could have similar, positive effects, the study authors wrote in the journal Memory.

But social media posts could have an opposite effect, as well: Research has also shown that when we become used to having information digitally available at all times, we tend to become reliant on the Internet and forget details more easily. “Accordingly, many of our life details may no longer need to be internally stored and retrieved if we know that we can later refer to our online journals to locate the information,” they wrote.

So the researchers set out to see which of these theories was true, in the first study to look at the effects of social media on memory.

First, they asked 66 Cornell undergraduates to keep a daily diary for a week. In the diary, they briefly described the events that happened to them each day outside of their normal routines. They were also asked to record whether they had posted about each of these events on social media, and to rate their personal importance and emotional intensity.

At the end of the week and again a week later, the students were given a surprise quiz to see how many events they could recall. During both quizzes, events the students had posted about online were easier for them to remember. This was true even when the researchers controlled for importance or intensity of the event; in other words, people weren’t simply posting about significant events they’d be more likely to remember anyway.

“If people want to remember personal experiences, the best way is to put them online,” said lead author Qi Wang, PhD, professor of human development in Cornell University’s College of Human Ecology, in a press release. All types of social media provide an important outlet for sharing experiences with others, she added, which can be an important part of the memory-building process.

“The process of writing about one’s experiences in the public sphere, often sustained by subsequent social feedback, may allow people to reflect on the experiences and their personal relevance,” the authors wrote.

The study also noted that sharing personal perspectives of recent events on social media also helps people create and shape their “sense of self.”

“That’s happening when we use social media, without us even noticing it,” Wang explained. “We just think, ‘Oh, I’m sharing my experience with my friends.’ But by shaping the way we remember our experiences, it’s also shaping who we are.” Features that allow you to look back at memories from the past—like Facebook’s On this Day feature or the third-party Timehop app—can help reinforce that sense of self, she said.

“Memory is often selective,” Wang said. “But in this case, the selection is not done by our own mind; it’s done by an outside resource. So interactive functions on social networking sites can also shape how we view our experiences, how we view ourselves.”

In fact, the authors write, the “virtual externalization of personal memories has become commonplace” in this technology-driven age. And their study, they say, is “the first step toward a better understanding of the autobiographical self in the Internet era.”

This article originally appeared on RealSimple.com.

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