People are increasingly becoming aware of the importance a healthy lifestyle has, which is why many health tips have become very widespread. By now, we all know most by heart, for example: if you want to feel full of energy you should sleep enough, or that you should drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.
However, there are some other tips that seem very counterproductive if you think about them. We bring you some great health tips that are both true and very strange. You wouldn’t expect them to work. Here they go.
1. You shouldn’t brush your teeth right after eating
You’ve probably often been told you should brush your teeth after having a meal, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. However, this now seems to be the wrong way to take care of your teeth. Apparently, brushing your teeth right after you’ve had a meal can do more harm than good, especially if the meal was acidic.
As it seems, brushing your teeth right after eating softens the enamel found in your teeth. It sort of catalizes the effect acid has on your teeth, speeding up the erosion process of the layer beneath. We suggest you don’t brush your teeth until between half an hour and an hour after you’ve had your meal.
2. More is less when it comes to food
However counterproductive this tip may be, it is true: to eat less you should eat more. Or at least food that’s more substancial. Small amounts of carbs tend to just spike blood sugar, instead of making you feel full and satiated. This, in turn, causes you to want more carbohydrates.
It’s best you go for protein-rich foods, like for example, an apple with peanut butter or cheese. Again, this might seem like the wrong way to go, but it is better in the long run. It has, in fact, a higher caloric content, but as you feel fuller and satiated, you become less likely to keep snacking, causing you to ingest less calories at the end of the day.
3. Drink coffee if you want a more effective nap
We tend to think that drinking coffee will prevent us from taking the nap we’ve been day-dreaming about, however, we can use coffee in our benefit: drinking coffee right before taking a nap can become more effective if done properly.
The effects of coffee before a nap were proven by a Japanese study, and conclusions show that people who had coffee and right after took a 20-min nap, performed better and were generally more alert than people who took a 20-min nap without drinking coffee. You obviously shouldn’t drink coffee and then try to have a nap one hour after: this won’t work. Drink some coffee and go to sleep right after, you’ll see how much better you feel when you wake up.
This happens because it takes some time for coffee to kick in, which is approximately the length of a short nap (around 20 min.). Both taking a nap and drinking coffee get rid of a molecule called “adenosine“, which is the molecule responsible for fatigue. This will allow us to feel more awake, as there is now a “double strength” that help us get rid of tiredness.
4. Drink hot beverages if you want to feel cooler
We generally tend to opt for cold drinks when we’re feeling hot thinking it will make us feel cooler. However, it turns out you should actually drink hot beverages if you wish to cool off.
If you don’t believe it try it out yourself next time you’re feeling hot. What happens is your body detects the increase in temperature when having your hot drink, causing you to increase sweat production. This then evaporates making you feel cooler. Who would have thought?
5. Stop using antibacterial soap if you don’t want to get ill
We often feel drawn into using hand soaps with the “antibacterial” label, but there is actually no real evidence that proves this type of soap to be more effective than others. In fact, it might even become harmful in the long run, as bacteria found on our body can become resistant against it.
Thus, the best thing you can do is simply stick to your regular hand soap, instead of to the so called “antibacterial” ones. They bring you no good, and your hands will be equally clean.
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