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With unlimited access to information at our fingertips at any given moment, it can be hard to keep up. Sometimes, the constant noise of social media and the 24-hour news cycle can even seem inescapable. The good news—which we could all use right about now—is that some things are worth knowing a lot more than others. From practical tips to tidbits that can help you out your cocktail party, or virtual happy hour, here are 8 facts everyone should know. So read on to feel your quality of life rise.
1. You should throw away the cotton in your medication bottles.
Believe it or not, that little ball of cotton that comes in your bottle of pills, which is there to keep pills safe during shipping, is meant to be removed. It can collect moisture because of its absorbent nature, which makes your pills deteriorate faster.
2. It's easy to calculate a tip without a calculator.
Assuming you want to tip 20 percent for good service, move the decimal point one digit to the left and then double that number. It's that easy! For example, if a bill is for $35.50, you move the decimal to the left, which gives you $3.55. Double that number, and you've got $7.10—a 20 percent tip calculated in seconds.
3. You're the tallest first thing in the morning.
If you're feeling a bit on the short side, measure yourself when you first wake up. According to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, This phenomenon may be due to gravity compressing cartilage in our spine and in other parts of our bodies, such as our knees when we stand up or sit down throughout the day. "While we are lying down in a resting position, the spine is said to "spread out" or decompress, so when we wake in the morning we are taller after lying in bed all night."
4. You should sleep with your door closed.
Sleeping with your doors closed will help protect you from smoke and toxic fumes in the event of a fire. And for more information on how to rest better at night, check out these 50 Tips for Your Best Sleep Ever.
5. Sleeping in a cold room can help you slim down.
Just a single month of sleeping in a 66-degree room helped increase subjects' fat-burning ability by as much as 10 percent, according to research from Commonwealth University.
6. You'll yawn more often than you eat breakfast.
Over the course of a lifetime, you'll yawn approximately 250,000 times, according to one expert on the subject. If you live to 70, that's about 10 yawns per day.
1. You should throw away the cotton in your medication bottles.
Believe it or not, that little ball of cotton that comes in your bottle of pills, which is there to keep pills safe during shipping, is meant to be removed. It can collect moisture because of its absorbent nature, which makes your pills deteriorate faster.
2. It's easy to calculate a tip without a calculator.
Assuming you want to tip 20 percent for good service, move the decimal point one digit to the left and then double that number. It's that easy! For example, if a bill is for $35.50, you move the decimal to the left, which gives you $3.55. Double that number, and you've got $7.10—a 20 percent tip calculated in seconds.
3. You're the tallest first thing in the morning.
If you're feeling a bit on the short side, measure yourself when you first wake up. According to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, This phenomenon may be due to gravity compressing cartilage in our spine and in other parts of our bodies, such as our knees when we stand up or sit down throughout the day. "While we are lying down in a resting position, the spine is said to "spread out" or decompress, so when we wake in the morning we are taller after lying in bed all night."
4. You should sleep with your door closed.
Sleeping with your doors closed will help protect you from smoke and toxic fumes in the event of a fire. And for more information on how to rest better at night, check out these 50 Tips for Your Best Sleep Ever.
5. Sleeping in a cold room can help you slim down.
Just a single month of sleeping in a 66-degree room helped increase subjects' fat-burning ability by as much as 10 percent, according to research from Commonwealth University.
6. You'll yawn more often than you eat breakfast.
Over the course of a lifetime, you'll yawn approximately 250,000 times, according to one expert on the subject. If you live to 70, that's about 10 yawns per day.
7. You can't breathe and swallow simultaneously.
"This is because the food and fluids we swallow and the air we breathe in both travels down the same part of our throat," according to registered psychiatric nurse James Steinmetz.
8. Fake smiles can hurt you.
It turns out that faking happiness can hurt your health. For a 2011 study published in the Academy of Management Journal, researchers looked at the behavior of bus drivers—a profession where people are required to have many friendly interactions throughout the day—and discovered that these people withdraw from their work while putting on a smile for a show and that that could have long-term deleterious health effects.
"This is because the food and fluids we swallow and the air we breathe in both travels down the same part of our throat," according to registered psychiatric nurse James Steinmetz.
8. Fake smiles can hurt you.
It turns out that faking happiness can hurt your health. For a 2011 study published in the Academy of Management Journal, researchers looked at the behavior of bus drivers—a profession where people are required to have many friendly interactions throughout the day—and discovered that these people withdraw from their work while putting on a smile for a show and that that could have long-term deleterious health effects.
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