The Weirdest Habits That Can Actually Benefit Your Health
Our habits define us and particularly the quality of our lives in so
many surprising ways. And while harmful habits can really affect our
physical and mental wellbeing, there are also those patterns that can
make a positive change to our lives, with the most obvious ones being
habits like a healthy diet and exercise. But things are not always so
clear cut, and habits that you might not think are good, or those that
just seem plain weird may actually turn out to be very beneficial. In
this article, we’ve listed 14 such surprising habits that are actually
quite good for you.
1. Drinking caffeinated beverage right before a Nap
Drinking coffee before a nap may seem very counterintuitive, but it
turns out that it can be very beneficial. For one, many people drink tea
right before bed, and that contains a lot of caffeine, too, so don't be
intimidated by caffeine and just try it. In fact, there are actual
studies done on the topic showing that people who drank coffee right
before napping actually woke up more refreshed and energized.
This has to do with our brain neurochemistry and the fact that caffeine
and a neurotransmitter called adenosine attach to the same brain
receptors. Adenosine is the brain hormone that makes us sleepy, the
levels of which increase right before sleep, but then rapidly decrease
during sleep. If you drink coffee right before sleep, the caffeine gets
attached to the brain receptors, blocking them for adenosine and making
you feel a lot less sleepy than you would without the caffeinated
beverage. This way, coffee actually makes you feel more energized after
the nap.
2. Sleeping with your pets
About half of all pet owners are sleeping in one bed or in one room with their pets, but is that a good idea? Well, it turns out that, if you're not allergic to your pet, there are more health benefits to that than there are dangers, just make sure to keep your pet clean and vaccinated regularly.
Among the benefits are a greater sense of calmness and security, as well
as better sleep, as shown in a study researching the effect of dogs on
human sleep. Apart from that, both cats and dogs have a higher body
temperature than humans, which makes them the perfect companion on cold
winter nights.
3. Talking to yourself
Just making things clear here, talking to yourself in public is not the
best idea, as society at large does consider it a possible symptom of
mental illness. But in the privacy of your own home, talking to yourself
may actually turn out to be beneficial. This is because we process the
words we hear differently than our thoughts, so if you need to think
things through more thoroughly and logically, try saying it out loud and
reflecting on your statement.
4. Jumping on a Trampoline
Jumping on a trampoline may seem like a very childish thing to do, but
in reality, it's just very good for you. Like any other cardio exercise,
it will strengthen your heart and improve blood circulation and
endurance. In fact, a NASA study established long ago that jumping on a
trampoline can be more than twice as efficient as running.
Apart from that, it's also a great way to train balance and
coordination, and recent research even showed that it may improve bone
density in the long run.
5. Barefoot walking or running
During the day, our feet accumulate so much tension, especially if the
shoes we're wearing don't fit us perfectly, or just because your shoes
have slightly higher heels or you're walking too much. The bottom line
is, tension in the feet is nearly unavoidable. Luckily, it's also easily
reversible, and all you have to do to release the tension is practice
walking or even running barefoot.
Naturally, you have to be careful and avoid sharp objects, especially
when you decide to walk barefoot outdoors, but the benefits of this
exercise are pretty amazing: better mobility in the feet, less tension
and water retention, and most importantly, an improved balance and
stronger leg muscles, all essentials for a long, active and enjoyable
life.
6. Writing by hand
Making handwritten notes and messages is pretty special, and not only
because it has sentimental value. If you want to remember something
better or focus more on the subject you're writing about, it's best to
use your pen and not your keyboard to record it.
This finding was established by a psychological study based at the State
University of Indiana, which pointed out that writing engages more
brain areas compared to typing, and so it makes for better memorizing
and more engagement with the material. In the study, subjects who took
notes on laptops were much worse at recalling and understanding the
material than those who wrote down the notes, which only proves the
obvious - writing isn't going out of fashion any time soon.
7. Doing nothing at all
In a society that values hard work more than anything, it's difficult to
conceptualize the idea that doing nothing can be more beneficial to our
well-being than investing all the time we have on 'productive' tasks.
Well, that's a real shame, since an increased number of scientific
articles suggest that unwinding is just as important for our physical
and mental health as anything else.
Most of these papers focus on the effect of meditation on the human body
and soul, as it is the ultimate, most intentional act of doing nothing,
but by far not everyone is cut out for meditation, so any way you like
to take your mind off of the daily struggles will benefit you. So, the
next time you 'waste' your day doing nothing, don't feel guilty, as
everyone needs a bit of laziness in their life, too.
8. Sleeping in socks
Have trouble falling asleep? Try sleeping in socks. Yes, we're
absolutely serious, sleeping in socks can help you feel warmer in cozy
in bed and will make you fall asleep faster. This is because our sleep
cycles are dependent on skin temperatures.
In fact, sleep study showed that sleeping is socks or taking a warm foot
bath before sleep helped the subjects that don't suffer from insomnia
fall asleep faster by increasing their body temperature, so don't
hesitate to wear a pair of cozy socks to bed. Just make sure to have a
separate clean pair of sleeping socks, of course.
9. Day dreaming
Do you want to boost your creativity and make your brain more efficient
overall? Then you better start daydreaming right away, as it has been
shown time and time again that daydreaming helps increase
neuro-connectivity in the brain. Neuro-connectivity, or the ability of
our neurons to form connections with each other, is crucial for healthy
and improved brain functioning.
On top of that, letting your mind wander is a great exercise for your
working memory, which is crucial for reasonable thinking,
decision-making, and many other important behaviors.
10. Smelling more cucumbers and apples
How could the mere smell of green apples and cucumbers benefit me, you
might ask, and rightfully so, as most of us would say that you actually
have to eat fruit and vegetables to derive any real benefit from them.
And yes, smelly a tasty food may help you develop an appetite, which can
help you digest foods better, but that's not the benefit we had in
mind.
The benefit we wanted to tell you is much, much weirder. It goes back to
a 1995 study researching the effect of different smells on symptoms of
claustrophobia. It turns out that the smell of cucumbers and green
apples actually helped patients cope with the symptoms, as the smell of
these two foods made them believe the room they were in was actually
larger. Interestingly enough, the smell of barbecue had a reverse
effect.
11. Using a tongue scrapper
Have you ever wondered what this tool is for? You will typically see it
hanging on the distant outskirts of the shelf in the toothbrush section,
the humble tongue scraper. This tool may sound terrifying, and truth be
told, there are activities more pleasant than scraping your tongue, but
if you do, it definitely pays off.
In fact, scraping your tongue is one of the most effective ways of
getting rid of bad breath. Apart from that, it's an excellent and
effective way to prevent cavities, gum infections, and even colds.
12. Hula hooping 
Here's another "childish" activity that is both quite fun and quite good
for you, hula-hooping. First of all, it's exercise, and only 30 minutes
of the activity can burn you around 200 calories, according to Mayo
Clinic's research. And the best thing is, you can totally do it in front
of the television, just saying.
13. Sleeping naked
Remember us mentioning the importance of temperature regulations for
healthy sleep? Well, the reason you might have sleep problems may be the
abundance of fabric layers you're covering yourself in. Believe it or
not, the best way to regulate your body temperature is to wear nothing,
especially in hot weather.
Additionally, sleeping naked has many other health benefits, which we
discussed in the article 10 Reasons to Sleep Naked, so don't be shy and
just try it.
14. Cursing
Many people were waiting for this one, we're sure of it. Yes, we're
happy to announce that letting your inner sailor loose from time to time
has its benefits, too. For one, swearing in response to pain was shown
experimentally to decrease the perception of pain and therefore
increased pain tolerance in subjects.
The study was conducted by measuring participants' pain tolerance to
being immersed in ice-cold water, and it showed that those who were
allowed to curse were more tolerant to pain, likely because swearing
induces the fight-or-flight response. So, the next time you're stuck in
traffic, don't forget to 'induce your fight-or-flight response'.