OMG Digital Magazine OMG Issue 291 11th January 2017 | Page 26

OMG Digital Magazine | 291 | Thursday 11 January 2017 • PAGE 26
Health
5 Health
Hacks in
2 Minutes
or Less
By Kate Rockwood
5 Seconds
Reach for the Stars
A small 2015 study in Health Psychology found that people who sit up
straighter feel stronger than their slouchy counterparts. Before you start to
sag, stretch. “You don’t even have to stand up,” says Renee Chester Levine,
an instructor at Bloom Yoga Studio in Chicago. “Reach overhead, cross your
right arm over your left, and touch your palms. You’ll release the tension
that makes it so easy to slump.”
20 Seconds
Stand on One Leg
It’s a quick way to test your brain health: A 2015 study in Stroke found that
the inability to balance on one leg for at least 20 seconds was linked to
reduced cognitive function and an increased risk of cerebral small vessel
disease, a condition that can lead to stroke, even in people who were
otherwise healthy or weren’t exhibiting any symptoms. If you topple easily,
don’t panic—but it might be time to see your physician for a checkup.
60 Seconds
Nuke Your Dish Sponge
“If I come back in my next life as a bacterium, I would love to live in a sponge.
They’re moist and full of food— everything bacteria need to thrive,” says
Charles Gerba, PhD, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona in Tucson.
When Gerba analyzed 325 kitchen sponges, he found that about 15.4
percent contained salmonella and many more had E. coli. To nix the ick,
microwave a damp sponge on high for one minute.
2 Minutes
Take a Loop Around the Office
A quick stroll can help offset sedentary desk time. Sitting or standing didn’t
have much effect on participants’ mortality risk in a 2015 study, but an extra
two minutes of light movement per hour reduced it by 33 percent. So get
going!
Try This
When researchers from Cornell University studied the food that subjects
kept on their kitchen counters, they found that women who had breakfast
cereal on their counter weighed 20 pounds more, on average, than those
who stashed it in a cupboard or didn’t buy it in the first place. The ones who
displayed a fruit bowl were about 13 pounds lighter than women who did
not. So swap that cereal box for a bowl of grapes.