Yes, the heat wave is brutal. And hopefully you’ve got a working air conditioner. But is it working as well as it could be? There are a few things to be aware of.

First, don’t constantly adjust the thermostat. Set it to the temp you want and forget it – if you drop it to cool things faster, it won’t work as efficiently.

Make sure you clean the filters and coils – the filters allow the air to flow and dirty coils make it harder to cool your house.

If you’re home during the hottest parts of the day, make sure anything that creates heat like stoves, dishwashers, even overhead lights are off.

And if you absolutely need to cool down more quickly, use a fan – the breeze will help spread the conditioned air around the room.

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The weekend is finally here! Your workweek is over, and you put 40 hours in – but if you worked more than that, it could have a negative effect on your health.

Working too much increases your risk of stroke or heart attack – more than 55 hours a week increases risk by 35%.

Plus, the longer you work, you increase the risk of getting injured on the job. It would make sense to be more likely to be hurt after super long day.

Your mental health also decreases – long hours lead to higher levels of stress and depression. And, since you spend less time at home, your sleep suffers. We get more distracted, anxious, and irritable with less than 6 hours of sleep, and that will make your work suffer too.

Which ultimately means you stop being good at your job itself. Research shows between 30 and 50 hours a week is as much as we can do to be effective. Performance plateaus once we pass 50 hours. And if someone works more than 65 hours, there’s a sharp decrease in performance.

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You know the benefits of exercise – it raises metabolism, it helps burn calories – and that’s after the workout is over to. But for how long?

A new study shows it’s a bit longer than you might think – two full days!

The study looked at those who don’t regularly work out and are more sedentary – after riding a stationary bike for an hour, and two days later they were still burning 10% more calories than before when they weren’t working out.

And the calories being burned were both fat-based as well as sugar-based.

So even if you don’t normally get much exercise, just adding a little bit helps, and if you can every few days, it’ll keep your metabolism going at a higher rate!

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Sitting in traffic is a way of life – and while that probably aggravates you, a new study shows that when traffic is moving freely, believe it or not, commuting could be good for our mental health!

During the pandemic, experts found that for many who worked from home, they missed commuting – and it has to do with something called “liminal space” – which means we get a break from both work stresses and life stresses – sitting alone gives us an opportunity to unwind.

And the longer the commute, the more time we can relax and just detach ourselves from whatever is going on in our lives.

The trick is you must avoid thinking about work or stress at home.

And for those who now work from home, you can give yourself a commute – like a 15-minute walk before and after your workday.

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You go to the gym and you work out your arms, your legs, your back – you do lots of stretching and cardio – you’ve got your whole body covered.

Except there’s one part of your body that you use all the time that you’re probably neglecting in a workout – your feet! There are 26 bones, 30 joints, and more than 100 muscles that all get used day in and day out that never get the attention they need!

For those of us who like to run and walk, paying attention to our feet is especially necessary. The first thing is to make sure you’ve got the proper footwear. Different shoes for short or long runs, or road or trail running should all be taken into consideration.

You can even do simple foot exercises – sit in a chair with your legs bent 90 degrees and pull a towel towards the top of your foot by scrunching your toes. Or sit barefoot in a chair and pick marbles off the floor with your toes. The increase in flexibility will go far.

You can also try barefoot running – don’t do it on the pavement, but if you can make it to the beach or on grass. And also, when you do your regular exercises like squats or lunges, if you use an unstable surface, it’ll help with your feet as well as overall balance.

Lots of options to strength your feet – and the rest of your body will thank you for it!

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