There are four key Sharecare habits that can give you an extra 14 years of life. Know what they are?

Here&#39;s the list: Don&#39;t smoke; drink in moderation; exercise regularly; and pack your diet with fruit and veggies. Missing any? No sweat. We&#39;ve got some simple tips and tools to kick-start you.

Fourteen years and life to go 
Grabbing those extra 14 years doesn&#39;t have to be hard! Try this:

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/smoking-treatment/how-can-i-quit-smoking">Kick the habit with these butt-kicking tips from the Sharecare doctors.</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/happiness/article/get-happy-20-minute-workout">Set aside 20 minutes of your day for this fast and easy workout.</a></li>
	<li>Count the colors on your plate. You want at least three&mdash;and white and brown don&#39;t count!</li>
	<li>Be heart smart in your approach to alcohol.</li>
</ul>

Four score 
When healthy, middle-aged men and women in a study scored high on all four of these important health behaviors, the combined effect was a four-fold reduction in mortality risk&mdash;an outcome equal to being 14 years younger!

Take the first steps to growing younger and healthier with the <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/static/realage">RealAge Test</a>.

Medically reviewed in March 2020.

4 Habits Make You 14 Years Younger

From Carnie Wilson&#39;s compulsion to overeat to Lindsay Lohan&#39;s repeated problems with -- well, take your pick -- TV is blanketed with the sagas of celebrities trying to break bad habits. For most of us, a whole lot less drama -- and a lot more smarts and work -- goes into reforming behaviors.

<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/sleep-disorders/article/7-bad-habits-that-steal-sleep">7 bad habits to break for better sleep</a>

Everyday activities, such as eating, working, or texting, can be transformed into bad habits: overeating or overworking, for example. When you have an &quot;occasional&quot; midnight snack night after night, you&#39;re rewarded with a dose of the feel-good neurotransmitter <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/question/what-causes-food-addiction">dopamine</a>. You set a pattern of behavior --and reward -- that your brain urges you to repeat over and over.

<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/chronic-pain/health-guide/chronic-pain-management-cmp/four-habits-that-aggravate-pain">Ouch! 4 bad habits that inflame pain</a>

The good news is you&#39;re more than a bundle of impulses and dopamine. Creating smart strategies and reinforcing healthy choices (&quot;No cookies in this house!&quot;) helps your brain adopt healthy habits. Try these steps:

<ol>
	<li>Change your environment. Always eat fries and a shake in the cafeteria? Find a new locale and bring healthy food into it. Repeat and eat; repeat and eat. Pretty soon that becomes your pattern.</li>
	<li>Make breaking the bad habit your mantra. Turns out telling yourself to shape up (&quot;I will not drink soda!&quot;) actually helps. Interrupting the cycle of impulse and reward, even temporarily, gives you time to consciously not do something.</li>
	<li>Get enough sleep every night. When it comes to making healthy choices, less than 6 hours sleep is like being a little tipsy. Being tired makes it easy to slip back into your bad habit.</li>
	<li>Enlist support. Bring friends, family, support groups, a therapist, and even your dog into your battle to create a new, good habit. They can support your efforts to turn over a new leaf and hold you accountable for making healthy changes.</li>
</ol>

Medically reviewed in March 2020.

4 Steps to Break Bad Habits

Have you ever felt like putting off a task until tomorrow? Many of us do &ndash; and then we get to the task tomorrow. But for some, &ldquo;tomorrow&rdquo; doesn&rsquo;t come until a few days ... or weeks ... or even months later.

On the other hand, have you ever found yourself not procrastinating, but acting impulsively? It isn&rsquo;t unusual to occasionally seize the day and do something you hadn&rsquo;t planned for. But acting impulsively on a regular basis can result in a raft of bad decisions, from overspending to overeating to committing to do something you can&rsquo;t possibly accomplish.

Research suggests that <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/healthy-habits/what-ways-deal-procrastination">procrastination</a> is heritable and closely linked with a tendency toward impulsivity. In a clinical study, Daniel Gustavson, PhD, and several of his colleagues at the University of Colorado Boulder examined 181 identical-twin pairs who share 100% of their genes. The researchers found that if one identical twin showed signs of procrastination and impulsivity, so, too, did their twin. &quot;Everyone procrastinates at least sometimes, but we wanted to explore why some people procrastinate more than others and why procrastinators seem more likely to act without thinking,&quot; Gustavson says. &ldquo;Learning more about the underpinnings of procrastination may help develop interventions to prevent it.&rdquo;

The link between putting off an important task and making choices with little forethought rings true in my clinical practice as a mental health practitioner. I&rsquo;ve seen procrastination and impulsivity emerge together in clients presenting with a variety of mental health disorders, including <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/add-adhd">ADD</a>, <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/bipolar-disorder">Bipolar Disorder</a> and <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/autism-spectrum-disorders">Autism Spectrum Disorders</a>.

Until we understand more about the underlying mechanism of procrastination, here are four suggestions based on my professional and personal experience to help you get unstuck:

1. Understand Your Patterns 
Do you tend to put things off when it&rsquo;s related to a specific task at work, a particular relationship (a spouse, a friend), when you feel intense emotions (such as anger or anxiety) or when you feel insecure? Start being more mindful of situations, conditions and emotions that trigger your procrastination. Observe these tendencies without judging or labeling yourself as &ldquo;good&rdquo; or &ldquo;bad.&rdquo; Then, when you sense a trigger coming, identify it and <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/teen-perspective-self-esteem-building/what-is-self-talk" target="_blank">use self-talk</a> to help avoid paralysis. For example, if you feel anxious about a project at work, you might tell yourself, &ldquo;I feel anxious, but I&rsquo;m going to start this anyway.&rdquo;

2. Break Tasks into Smaller Chunks 
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. When a project or a situation seems overwhelming, you may feel incapable of taking any action. Break the large task into smaller ones and set mini-deadlines. If you still procrastinate, break it down into even smaller steps. Focus on taking just one step, then move on to the next small step. Finishing each one will give you a sense of accomplishment and help motivate you to continue forward.

3. Go for &ldquo;Good Enough&rdquo; 
<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/personality/how-do-know-am-perfectionist">Perfectionism,</a> or the belief that you need to be flawless at all times, can feed procrastination. Unrealistic expectations of a perfect outcome or belief that there&rsquo;s a &ldquo;right&rdquo; way to go about a certain task can lead to inaction. Fear of failure can further fuel delays. The fact is, nobody&rsquo;s perfect, so instead of trying to be perfect, switch your goal to &ldquo;good enough.&rdquo; Resolve to make your best effort and let it go &ndash; that freedom of thought may be just what you need to spring into action.

4. Use Deadlines to Help Focus and Motivate 
Instead of using the term procrastination, I prefer the phrase &ldquo;focused motivation of a deadline.&rdquo; At times, delaying tasks until the last minute actually helps me to be more efficient with my time. I tend to use whatever time I allot to finish a given task. If I had two months to write this article, it would have taken me two months to write!

A word of caution: this strategy of purposefully delaying something doesn&rsquo;t always work and may even backfire. The last-minute strategy can prove disastrous in a career setting. Even if the task gets completed, it more than likely is not the highest quality it could have been, and the individual has experienced undue stress and anxiety. So while some people do work well under pressure, it&rsquo;s usually not worth the risk. Give yourself enough time and be conscious of unexpected delays.

Reining in Impulsivity 
Acting impulsively can create its share of problems as well. Making quick decisions with little thought, such as spending large amounts of money on a credit card or jumping into a new relationship immediately after a breakup, are examples of impulsivity working against you. As with procrastination, work to develop self-awareness around those moments when you say or do something impulsively. It may take practice, but by observing yourself &ndash; the thoughts and emotions you experience when the urge strikes -- you&rsquo;ll be better able identify triggers in the future. This, in turn, can help you to stop and think about what you&rsquo;re doing instead of being driven by your impulses.

By understanding and managing your own patterns of procrastination and impulsivity, you&rsquo;ll be better able to become more productive and effective in all aspects of your life.

Medically reviewed in March 2020.

4 Ways to Stop Procrastinating

Want to be a healthier eater, a more interesting partner, a faster worker, a better parent? You may know exactly what it takes, yet something holds you back from doing it.

To break the bonds that keep you clinging to harmful habits and unproductive behavior, heed some real-life lessons and advice from Lisa Oz -- writer, actress, producer, president of Oz Works, mother of four, and (yes) wife of &quot;America&#39;s Doctor,&quot; Mehmet Oz, MD.

Breaking the Chains 
The real key to lasting change -- always passing up doughnuts for a fat-free yogurt with berries, for instance -- lies somewhere between what we know and what we do. It&#39;s what we think. So if change has you stymied, try these five thought-changers from Lisa&#39;s new book, US: Transforming Ourselves and the Relationships That Matter Most.

<ol>
	<li>Create a compelling reason to change. &quot;I&#39;ve learned to link the idea of healthy eating to things that really, really matter to me, like being a better mom by setting a good example for my kids or staying sexy so Mehmet stays interested. This raises the stakes,&quot; writes Lisa.</li>
	<li>Don&#39;t associate pain with the desired action. &quot;I find something in the new behavior that I can enjoy so that needing to be disciplined is no longer a factor,&quot; she writes. &quot;Since most forms of exercise are anathema to me, I make running palatable by letting myself watch TV only when I am on the treadmill.&quot;</li>
	<li>Disrupt the routine. Have a habit you&#39;d like to break, like smoking or swearing? Lisa proposes disrupting the routine in a surprising way. &quot;When you catch yourself in the middle of an unwanted action,&quot; she writes, &quot;insert a completely incongruous word, thought, or action.&quot; For example, if you catch yourself cussing like a sailor, say &quot;lemon custard,&quot; hop backward, or think about naked windsurfing.</li>
	<li>Change the story. What story are you telling yourself that makes it harder to change? When you hear it in your head, Lisa recommends breaking the pattern by mixing it up. &quot;One way is to change nouns,&quot; Lisa writes. &quot;For example, if the story is &#39;I would be happy if only Johnny would get back together with me,&#39; try &#39;My dog, Fifi, would be happy if only Johnny would get back together with me.&#39; The whole thing becomes absurd, and the story loses some of its power over you.&quot;</li>
	<li>Don&#39;t wait until you feel like changing. Act even when you don&#39;t want to. Sometimes you just need to do it. The purpose and the passion will come once you&#39;re engaged.</li>
</ol>

Did You Know? 
Change that leads to personal growth, good health, and solid relationships doesn&#39;t just happen. If you want to direct your life rather than simply react to what life brings to you, curl up with Lisa Oz&#39;s new book, US. Her real-world, real-life revelations underscore that the path to self-discovery starts in your dealings with others.

Medically reviewed in March 2020.

5 Keys to Making Healthy Changes

More than 80 percent of large American companies have workplace wellness programs and most <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/weight-loss-strategies/can-reward-help-weight-loss">offer cash</a>, insurance premium refunds or merchandise (such as gift cards) to motivate employees to lose weight, get fit, stop smoking and <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/stress-reduction/slideshow/5-ways-job-hurting-health">improve their health</a>. But only one in four employees is on board with this powerful way to boost well-being.

Why the disconnect? Done right, company wellness plans work&mdash;but they often fall short. One great example? At the Cleveland Clinic, where Dr. Mike is Chief Wellness Officer, a long-running program has helped employees drop a total of more than 445,000 pounds. That&rsquo;s 222 tons! Five years ago, chronic diseases among their employees were rising at a rate of 10 percent per year. Today, they&rsquo;re falling by 2 percent per year. The medical center and its employees are saving more than 80 million dollars annually through lower premiums and savings passed to them thanks to a healthier workforce that&rsquo;s sick less often, visits their doctors less frequently and is more productive.

We&rsquo;ve learned a lot about what makes <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/health-insurance/how-can-lowering-health-care-help-businesses">workplace wellness programs work</a>. Harness these five success secrets to get the most out of your plan:

1) <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/healthy-habits/motivate-myself-for-a-change">Choose incentives</a> that motivate you. If you have a choice, pick an incentive that&rsquo;ll pump you up. Or boost motivation by buddying with a co-worker. Wellness plans that offer a discount on your health insurance premiums could save you a bundle.

(Note: In one headline-grabbing University of Pennsylvania study, a wellness program that offered $550 back on insurance costs&mdash;more than a year after people reached weight-loss goals&mdash;fizzled. At the Clinic it took a timely payment of a more than 10 percent discount on insurance costs to get positive results. And now programs with timely incentives that offer 30 percent off insurance costs motivate participants toward success at five times the national average.

2) Try <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/fitness-exercise/how-i-choose-fitness-program">fitness programs</a> for mind, body, soul&mdash;and heart. Take advantage of options that help you <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/stress-reduction/article/five-ways-to-ease-work-stress">reduce stress</a>, share your health journey with others (like teams of co-workers, family members or an online community) and connect you with your higher purpose in life (such as through volunteer work). One success story: An employee in a wellness program set up by the Cleveland Clinic dropped 50 pounds, trimmed belly fat by 12 inches at the waist and gave up smoking&mdash;and his spouse lost 80 pounds! At the Clinic successes are shared every month and there&rsquo;s no problem finding successes.

3) Change the environment so healthy is the easiest choice. If your cafeteria offerings look like a fast-food menu board, all that talk about getting healthy could leave you feeling jaded instead of jazzed. Lobby for salads, fruit and veggies at prices lower than the muffins, cookies and doughnuts and a bit of time for a lunchtime workout or quick walk on your afternoon break. When healthy choices are the easiest choices, everybody wins.

4) Explore different options until you find what works for you. If one weight-loss offering doesn&rsquo;t ring your chimes, try another. Try as many options as you can. Or, talk to your team leader about modifying a plan to fit your needs. There should be programs for healthy folks as well as those with chronic health problems. One example: If you&rsquo;re not into the office&rsquo;s group fitness class, ask if you can start a walking group or a before-work strength-training club.

5) Open yourself up to Ah-Ha moments and share them. Say yes to <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/health-screening-tests/what-benefits-preventative-health-screenings">health screenings</a>, educational programs about weight loss, quitting smoking plans, diabetes control groups or whatever health-related program is important to you. And talk to coworkers who are doing the same. At the Cleveland Clinic, getting healthy with others is a big part of the wellness plan. You&rsquo;ll increase your chances for experiencing powerful AH-HA moments that help you understand your own strengths and challenges&mdash;and change your life for the better.&nbsp;

Medically reviewed in February 2019.

5 Secrets to Getting Healthy at Work

Q: My sister is having a baby and has been gaining weight. She has struggled with weight control in the past. How can I help her implement healthier habits for her baby&rsquo;s health? &mdash;Sandra F., Manchester, NH

A: She should be aware that before and during pregnancy, her health and lifestyle choices can affect her health and the health of her yet-to-be-born. She should know that she&rsquo;s eating for 1.1 people not two and she needs just 10 percent more calories, not 100 percent more. Being overweight while pregnant can cause neural tube defects in the fetus that impair development of the brain and spine.&nbsp;It can also cause elevated blood glucose in the mother, and that can trigger other problems.

For instance, new research shows that when moms have <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/prediabetes/article/why-arent-more-people-treated-prediabetes">prediabetes</a>, gestational diabetes or type 1 or 2 diabetes, the signaling pathways in the fetus&rsquo;s developing heart may be altered or interrupted. The result is <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/heart-disease/article/kimmel-opens-newborn-heart-defect">congenital heart disease (CHD)</a>&mdash;the leading cause of infant death. Exactly what develops depends on the amount of Mom&rsquo;s weight gain and the degree of elevated blood glucose that happens in each trimester. Overall, the risk of CHD is increased four or five times.

Pregnant overweight moms-to-be also threaten their own health with preeclampsia, high blood pressure, and kidney and liver complications. Delivery may also be complicated. The baby may be born oversized, making a C-section necessary (tough on mom and baby&rsquo;s gut biome). The child may then develop weight, learning and speech problems down the road.

So, the smart step for your sister (and any pregnant, overweight woman) is to work with a nutritionist and exercise specialist recommended by her OBGYN. Following a healthy routine will help her and her baby have a healthy and happy life together.

Q: My son is a tenth grader and I think he&rsquo;s vaping. Problem is my husband is using e-cigs to quit tobacco cigarettes, so they&rsquo;re vaping the same stuff for different reasons. How do I address this problem at home? &mdash;Stephanie R., Syracuse, NY

A: First off, tell your husband to skip the e-cig and to ask his doc about using nicotine gum or patches and perhaps the antidepressant bupropion to stop cravings. Also good: Nightly walks with a buddy. Dr. Mike&rsquo;s Wellness Center offers free tobacco cessation classes&mdash;and many other medical centers across the country do too. So, ask your doc to find someplace your husband can get the support he needs to quit. Remind him, he doesn&rsquo;t want his son to go through the misery of quitting that he&rsquo;s experiencing.

Now as for your son . . . chances are he&rsquo;s surrounded by peers who are vaping. The U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome Adams, just declared <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/quit-smoking/article/fda-to-regulate-e-cigarettes">e-cigarette use</a> &ldquo;an epidemic among our youth.&rdquo; Among middle- and high-schoolers, it increased 900 percent from 2011 to 2015. Upwards of 1.3 million more teens were vaping in 2018 than 2017.

There&rsquo;s big money in it. Since our last column on e-cigs, the largest e-cig manufacturer, Juul, sold 35 percent of its company to the leading US cigarette manufacturer Altria (they own Phillip Morris) for $12.8 billion. Dr. Mike fears vaping is a gateway habit to smoking regular cigarettes. Research in JAMA Pediatrics shows when students use an e-cigarette with nicotine concentrations over 18mg/mL, it leads to an increased use of e-cigarettes and regular cigarettes.

So here are a few ideas. At home, talk to your son about the risks of vaping. Nicotine affects an adolescent&rsquo;s still-developing brain and can damage lungs. Take time together to visit Dr. Mike&rsquo;s Cleveland Clinic website about <a href="https://health.clevelandclinic.org/parents-could-your-teens-be-juuling/" target="_blank">vaping</a>. At school, make sure administrators have information about the dangers and hazards of vaping. Check out <a href="http://makesmokinghistory.org/" target="_blank">Toolkit For Schools</a>.

Ask Oz and Roizen: Maternal Obesity and Teen Vaping

When we read the headline, &ldquo;Coffee Habits Impact Risk of Mild Cognitive Impairment,&rdquo; it reminded us of a TV ad for Berlitz language school in which a German Coast Guard officer -- who speaks broken English -- replies to a Mayday call. A ship&rsquo;s captain is pleading for help: &ldquo;We&rsquo;re sinking, we&rsquo;re sinking! Can you help us?&rdquo; The young German replies, &ldquo;Um &hellip; Vut are you sinking about?&rdquo;

That hilarious advertisement makes it clear that when it comes to communicating important information you have to choose your words wisely and accurately. Just what those headline writers didn&rsquo;t do. They made it sound like coffee was bad for the brain when, under specific circumstances, <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/coffee-drink-health/can-caffeine-improve-my-health">it&rsquo;s just the opposite</a>!

The study, from the University of Bari in Italy, actually says, &ldquo;Coffee, tea, or caffeine consumption may be protective against cognitive impairment and dementia.&rdquo; And &ldquo;moderate amounts,&nbsp;or one to two cups per day, appear to have greater [cognitive] benefit than drinking no or very little coffee daily.&rdquo; &nbsp;It seems the compounds in coffee have the ability to protect brain neurons from plaque (linked to dementia) and activate and protect other neural receptors. Plus if you&rsquo;re a fast metabolizer of coffee (88% of North American&rsquo;s are) it also helps protect against Parkinson&rsquo;s while reducing your risk of nine cancers and type 2 diabetes.

The study also points out that occasionally drinking a couple of cups or skipping it altogether isn&rsquo;t brain-friendly, but the steady enjoyment of a couple a cups a day does the trick just right.

Medically reviewed in March 2020.

Big Benefits From Your Daily Cup of Joe

When Sesame Street&rsquo;s Cookie Monster is in pursuit of his beloved cookie fix, he&rsquo;s a shaky, blubbering and grammatically-challenged blob of blue fur. Give him that cookie and he purrs. But once it&rsquo;s gone, he begins his anxiety-driven quest for the next sweet treat.

Kind of like someone who&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/video/mental-health/addiction/is-it-possible-to-be-addicted-to-technology">addicted to technology</a>, where the person is driven back online for one more tweet, one more like or one more bit of gossip&mdash;even if he or she would really rather be doing something else.

Sound familiar? If so, you&rsquo;re one of the folks that researchers have identified as being negatively affected by your interactions with the Internet. It seems that, for some, disconnection from digital connections can trigger increased heart rate and elevated blood pressure. And, according to the study in PLOS ONE, such physical changes can be associated with <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/anxiety-disorders-symptoms/what-drugs-cause-anxiety-symptoms">anxiety</a>, and alterations to hormones that can reduce immune responses.

The study also suggests such increases in anxiety are similar to withdrawal symptoms seen for alcohol, cannabis and heroin. And that&rsquo;s why some folks feel compelled to re-engage with their <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/functions-of-memory/article/risks-too-much-video-gaming">devices</a>, even if it interferes with sleep, relationships, work and time for exercise.

If this describes you, here&rsquo;s how to break free of the compulsion:

<ol>
	<li>Keep a weeklong diary of how much not-work-related time you spend on the Internet. Understanding behavior patterns is the first step to changing them.</li>
	<li>No tablets, phones or other digital devices in the bedroom.</li>
	<li>Turn off your device when having family dinners, spending time with your kids or getting some &ldquo;us time&rdquo; with your honey.</li>
</ol>

Medically reviewed in March 2020.

Why You Need to Break Your Internet Addiction

Turn back the clock a whopping 12 years with just four simple but super-important habits: Kick butts, booze, junk food, and couch surfing to the curb.

Many of us probably have at least two of these unhealthy habits knocked out. But nix the other two and you could live significantly longer. In fact, a large 20-year study showed that engaging in even one of these Major Agers -- smoking, drinking too much alcohol, eating a poor diet, or skipping exercise -- can boost the risk of early death by 80 percent.

Change Habits, Live Longer 
Of these four Major Agers, smoking was the worst culprit in the bunch. And that was followed closely by getting little to no exercise. (Tennis, anyone?) But indulging in all four bad habits was super bad -- and not in a cool teen-movie kind of way. In the study, having all four bad habits tripled people&#39;s odds of dying from heart disease and cancer. And it raised the risk of dying early from any cause nearly fourfold compared with the folks who had kicked all of these age-accelerating habits out of their lives.

Baby Steps, Baby . . . 
If you have a lot of changes to make, don&#39;t fret. Here&#39;s some really good news: Simply cutting back on most of these habits will turn back the clock. For example, people in the study grew younger just by getting 30 minutes of exercise each day, munching on at least four servings of fruits and veggies daily, and getting their number of mai tais down to a moderate level. Mortality rates were below average for this group. So don&#39;t feel overwhelmed by the need to be perfect. Change may be easier than you think if you tell yourself it is and you just take baby steps.

And here&#39;s some help in making these four bad habits history:

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/diet-nutrition/article/healthy-eating-habits-eat-your-veggies" target="_blank">Try this strategy for learning to love veggies more in just a few weeks.</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/alcohol-and-health/article/is-safe-amount-alcohol" target="_blank">Get the scoop on how to drink and be merry in moderation.</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/fitness-exercise/article/creative-workouts-keep-fitness-fun" target="_blank">How to fall in love with exercise.</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/quit-smoking/article/3-quit-smoking-strategies-that-work" target="_blank">3 Quit-Smoking Strategies That Work</a></li>
	<li>Take the first steps to growing younger and healthier with the <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/static/realage">RealAge Test</a>.</li>
</ul>

Medically reviewed in March 2020.

4 Ways to Grow 12 Years Younger

On an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, curmudgeon Larry David has an &ldquo;incident&rdquo; on a city bus: Taking public transportation, he successfully navigates a transfer for the first time. He then refuses to be seated and, as he tells the driver to go faster and ignore yellow lights, the bus clips a parked car and the driver has to pull over. &ldquo;The whole reason I hit this car is because you was up here&mdash;yack, yack, yack&mdash;talking in my ear!&rdquo; she yells at Larry. His fellow passengers throw Larry to the curb.

As entertaining as Mr. David is to some folks, <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/safety-preparedness/what-is-distracted-driving">distracted driving</a> is no joke. According to a study that looked at data from 781 million driving miles, 36 percent of trips involved significant phone use. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, more than 58 percent of <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/parenting-teens/what-dangers-texting-while-driving-teens">teen crashes</a> are from distracted driving&mdash;and texting while driving makes it 23 times more likely you&rsquo;ll crash, whatever your age.

So if you need help curbing your enthusiasm for texting and yacking while you drive, consider this: Enabling iPhone&rsquo;s &ldquo;Do Not Disturb While Driving&rdquo; feature cuts cell phone use by eight percent by turning off notifications when you&rsquo;re in a moving vehicle. You may get annoyed because the app shuts your notifications off while you&rsquo;re in a taxi or taxiing on the runway after your plane has landed (if it works like Dr. Mike&rsquo;s does), but we feel those annoyances are worth the benefits. Android users can download the DriveMode App for AT&amp;T or LifeSaver.

Medically reviewed in March 2020.

Can an App Really Help Cut Down on Distracted Driving?

It&rsquo;s estimated that 90 to 95 percent of cancers have their roots in environment and lifestyle, about 80 percent of people with diabetes are overweight or obese, more than 25 percent of deaths from heart disease, hypertension and stroke could be avoided, and between 33 to 90 percent of dementia cases are preventable.

Yet most people think they can get away with being overweight (more than 70 percent of US adults), having pre-diabetes or diabetes (more than half), fueling cancer with sedentary behavior (80 percent of US adults don&rsquo;t meet minimum activity guidelines) and continuing to inject toxins into their body through tobacco, highly processed meats and lots of ultra-processed foods. And lifestyle treatments&mdash;reducing your exposure to toxins, mold or heavy metals&mdash;have disappointing results at reversing dementia once it starts. So, start doing preventive stuff today! It&rsquo;s time to:

STOP. Take a break and take time to smell the healthy coffee. Consider picking up some healthy habits.

LOOK. There are wonderful opportunities all around you. Seize a healthy lifestyle habit (or three) and revel in the positive results. Discover how to move, de-stress, eat well and have a longer, healthier, happier life.

LISTEN. We&rsquo;re offering you tips to launch you on the road to preventing disease instead of reacting to it.

Food is preventive medicine: KO cancer, dementia, diabetes and heart disease risks (not to mention wrinkles and a lousy sex life) by dodging added sugars, sat and trans fats, and any grain that isn&rsquo;t 100 percent whole. Ditch &ldquo;snake oil foods&rdquo; that make claims about how they&rsquo;ll make you sexier, stronger, more beautiful or more handsome&mdash;and chow down on 12 walnut halves and 7 to 9 servings of produce daily; use olive oil; and eat 10 ounces of salmon or ocean trout weekly.

A study in the journal Neurology found eating a <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/diet-nutrition/slideshow/reasons-try-mediterranean-diet">Mediterranean diet</a>&nbsp;is associated with a larger brain volume, more grey and white matter and better communication between neurons. And a recent Harvard study says one-third of premature deaths could be avoided by switching to a plant-based diet.

Develop devotion to motion: Every day find chances to move. Make sure you get an additional 30 or more minutes of activity (walking, swimming, cycling, yoga&mdash;you name it) five or more days a week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that will reduce your risk for many cancers, heart disease, mental distress, diabetes and metabolic syndrome, plus provide weight control and strengthen bones and muscles. Exercise seven hours a week and you&rsquo;ll slash your risk of dying early by 50 percent compared to folks who get only 30 minutes or less activity weekly.

De-stress your distress: Find time to meditate, enjoy friends, sleep sufficiently, help others and do yoga. These activities will lower your chronic stress response and dispel the harmful effects of too much cortisol pumping throughout your vascular system. A <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/stress-reduction/slideshow/7-ways-stress-can-harm-your-body">chronic stress response</a>&nbsp;can suppress immune, digestive, sleep and reproductive systems, causing them to stop working normally. Over time it contributes to the development of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and other illnesses, as well as depression&nbsp;or&nbsp;anxiety. For your stress monitor, download Sharecare.com&rsquo;s free app for <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sharecare/id964313779?mt=8" target="_blank">iOS</a> and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sharecare.realgreen&amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank">Android</a> to analyze the stress in your voice.

Find your fun: One study found the more enjoyable activities a person participated in, the healthier and happier they were. Writing in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, researchers associated fun with lower blood pressure as well as reduced levels of total cortisol, smaller waist circumference and body mass index, less depression and better all-around physical function.

Medically reviewed in March 2020.

Ward Off Disease By Forming Healthy Habits Today

Just because you’re pressed for time, doesn’t mean your health has to suffer. Here are some tips and tricks to make being healthy easier.

6 Healthy Life Hacks

Brain scans show that being online activates the brain&rsquo;s reward center for people living with an <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/healthy-habits/article/break-your-internet-addiction">Internet Addiction (IA)</a>.

Signs of IA 

<ul>
	<li>Preferring being online to spending time offline with others</li>
	<li>Feeling empty without Internet access</li>
	<li>Losing sleep because you&rsquo;re online</li>
	<li>Getting defensive if others say you spend too much time online</li>
</ul>

Just like drug addictions, IA diminishes one&rsquo;s physical activity and causes a lack of face-to-face time with family, friends and the world in general. It also contributes to obesity, lower self-esteem and problems at work, school and with friends.

One study found that when problematic internet users (PIUs) had Internet access cut off, they began to experience withdrawal symptoms, including increased <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/anxiety-disorders-symptoms/what-drugs-cause-anxiety-symptoms">anxiety</a>, depression and an elevated heart rate and blood pressure. That&rsquo;s why to disconnect you may need to find a healthy habit, like regular exercise, and enforce house rules on using the Internet. You can use that time cooking, doing something active and connecting with family and friends. You might also benefit from seeing a therapist to address feelings of anxiety and depression.

Medically reviewed in March 2020.

Warning Signs You Might Have an Internet Addiction

Q: We live in NYC and the traffic noise has gotten so bad, it keeps us up at night. This can&rsquo;t be good for us or the kids. What can we do? &mdash;Lucy G., NY, NY

A: You are right to be concerned&mdash;and you&rsquo;re not alone. These days more than 11 million people in the US live within 492 feet of a major highway&mdash;bombarding them with stress-provoking, health-damaging levels of traffic noise. Regular city streets and high-volume roadways, especially in dense urban areas like where you live, Lucy, also deliver dangerous din levels that trigger premature aging. In the 1980s, 100 million people in the United States were exposed to noise sources from traffic near their homes. These days it&rsquo;s millions more.

Chronic traffic noise causes anxiety, sleep disturbances and depression, provokes stress, and impairs memory and motor coordination, while reducing neural density in some parts of the brain. It also increases your risk for type 2 diabetes, hypertension, obesity, <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/arthritis/article/fact-fiction-cracking-knuckles-causes-arthritis">arthritis</a> and cardiovascular disease. Studies have also shown that constant noise produces cognitive problems in schoolchildren.

So what can you do to protect your health if you live in a noisy place?

<ul>
	<li>Make sure your windows close tightly; use weather stripping if needed; hang heavy drapes.</li>
	<li>Exercise in quiet zones, surrounded by nature.</li>
	<li>Practice de-stressing routines such as deep breathing, mindfulness or yoga.</li>
	<li>Check out &ldquo;Pink Noise for Better Sleep&rdquo; at DoctorOz.com to download apps that 75 percent of folks say help them sleep better.</li>
</ul>

Q: I read that eating organic can lower the risk for cancer. Do I really have to spend all that money to lower my cancer risk&mdash;if I can even find organic produce at my local grocery? &mdash;Jill B., Pierre, SD

A: The news you&rsquo;re referring to is the new French study that found eating organic lowered cancer rates significantly, especially for lymphatic cancers. We know eating organic is important for three months prior to conception, and for women during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. But this study looked at cancer and organic food consumption in adults over age 40. Almost 60,000 participants offered a one-time report on their consumption of 16 organic foods in terms of whether they ate them never, occasionally or most of the time.&nbsp;Over five years, those eating the most organic foods had a 20 percent lower rate of cancer than the other groups, while the risk for non-Hodgkins and other lymphomas decrease by almost 70 percent.

But this study did not control for the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, which people who eat organic foods are known for. So we say:

<ol>
	<li>To stave off chronic diseases, from cancer to diabetes, Alzheimer&rsquo;s and heart disease, eat seven to nine servings of produce a day, organic or not! A five-year study in the International Journal of Cancer found eating lots of cruciferous veggies and red and yellow fruits and veggies (no mention of organic) reduces cancer risk&mdash;especially for the most aggressive kinds! And a UK study of more than 600,000 women found no correlation between eating organic foods and reducing cancer risk, except perhaps for non-Hodgkins and other lymphomas.</li>
	<li>Become physically active. According to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, more than two dozen studies have shown that women who exercise regularly have a 30 to 40 percent lower risk of breast cancer than those who are sedentary and three dozen studies show exercisers reduce colon cancer risk by 20 percent or more compared to sedentary people.</li>
</ol>

So don&rsquo;t worry <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/diet-nutrition/slideshow/low-calorie-ways-eat-clean-15">if you&rsquo;re not eating organic</a>&mdash;just make sure you wash your fruits and veggies well.

It&rsquo;s more important to eat a plant-based diet, sleep well and exercise (aerobics and strength-building) for 60 minutes most days. Keep track of your progress in all three areas with the Sharecare app for <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sharecare/id964313779?mt=8" target="_blank">iOS</a> and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sharecare.realgreen&amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank">Android</a>.

Medically reviewed in March 2020.

Risk Prevention: Noise Pollution and Lymphatic Cancers

Think you&rsquo;re covered when it comes to sunscreen? Surprise: most of us aren&rsquo;t using it appropriately. One study showed that most people apply only 25-50 percent of the amount of sunscreen they actually need. Plus, we often miss many of the most sun-sensitive spots. Extra important? Men are even less likely to apply sunscreen appropriately, putting them at increased <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/video/health-topics-a-z/skin-cancers/what-increases-my-risk-for-skin-cancer">risk for many skin cancers</a>.&nbsp;

Remember, when you&rsquo;re out in the sun, most people need to apply just under a shot glass&rsquo;s worth of sunscreen to their whole body. To avoid feeling like a 1970s lifeguard, apply half as a first layer, wait a few minutes and then apply the 2nd coat.&nbsp;

Your Back:&nbsp;Didn&rsquo;t get someone to put sunscreen on your back and ended up with a patchy burn from all those spots you couldn&rsquo;t reach? The back is the most common site for melanoma in men and in women aged 15-29, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.&nbsp;

Your Face: With 70&nbsp;percent of basal cell carcinomas (the most common form of skin cancer) occurring on the face, you can bet this is a prime area for protection. According to a study in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (JAAD), 30&nbsp;percent of us skip sunscreen on our face, even when we&rsquo;re applying it elsewhere. <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/taking-care-body-teen-perspective/how-much-sunscreen-put-on">Don&rsquo;t skimp</a>&mdash;use at least a teaspoon&rsquo;s worth of sunscreen on your face. Worried about breakouts? Look for a sunscreen that is non-comedogenic and wash your face as soon as you&rsquo;re out of the sun.

Your Nose: Ok, so technically it&rsquo;s part of your face. But as it represents 24&nbsp;percent of all non-melanoma skin cancers in women&nbsp;(making it the most common single site in women), the schnozz deserves its own shout-out.&nbsp;

Your Ears and Scalp: These body parts are especially high-risk, making up 28&nbsp;percent of all non-melanoma skin cancers in men and 20&nbsp;percent in women. Honestly, when was the last time you put sunscreen on your ears? Protect both spots with carefully applied sunscreen and rock a broad-brimmed hat. (Windy? Make a cute chinstrap; I like to use beautiful grosgrain ribbon!)

Your Legs (and Feet!):&nbsp;In the JAAD study mentioned above, 40&nbsp;percent of respondents copped to skipping their legs when they&rsquo;re applying sunscreen to other areas. That&rsquo;s no good, especially because the legs are the most common spot for melanoma (the deadliest form of skin cancer) in women.&nbsp;

Your Forearms and Hands:&nbsp;The forearm is the second most common site of melanoma in women&mdash;and the place we forget to apply sunscreen 35&nbsp;percent of the time. Not to mention, your hands can often give away your age. Like your face, your hands are exposed every single day, so give them a little love with a daily moisturizing SPF.

Your Lips:&nbsp;Don&rsquo;t forget your kisser! A common location for squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma, your lips need protection, too! Protect them with lip-gloss or balm that contains SPF 15-30.

The Edges of Clothing: One of the most common places we forget to apply sunscreen is right at the edge of our swimsuits or around straps. Be sure to actually move your straps when applying sunscreen, so you get full, even coverage.

Remember, daily use of <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/skin-cancers/article/ask-the-expert-breaking-down-spf">SPF of 15 or greater</a> can reduce your risk of skin cancer by 40-50&nbsp;percent.

So, slather it on and get protected!

Medically reviewed in September 2018.

Where You’re Not Applying Sunscreen—But Should

In an episode of The Office, Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam (Jenna Fischer) prank Andy (Ed Helms) by hiding his phone in the ceiling, then calling it so it rings from its mysterious location. Andy cannot find it and gets so mad he punches a hole in the wall. &nbsp;&nbsp;

New research has revealed that for many folks even the idea of losing a cell phone is almost as upsetting as contemplating a terrorist threat. UK scientists had more than 2,000 people rate how stressful they would find 18 different life events. The prospect of losing a smartphone got an average stress rating of 5.79 out of 10; terrorist threats scored 5.84. And it&rsquo;s not the hassle or expense of losing it that is so upsetting&mdash;it&rsquo;s what has been dubbed NOMO (no mobile)-phobia, a terror of being disconnected from the device.

We love what you can do with your smartphone&mdash;track fitness, set reminders to stand up regularly, stay connected to friends and family. But feeling terrorized by the idea of losing it&mdash;that&rsquo;s too much. Our suggestions:

<ul>
	<li>Back up phone data and pictures regularly. If you misplace your phone, you can retrieve the lost info. Consider phone insurance, so a replacement is covered.</li>
	<li>Once a week, especially if you&rsquo;re hyper-attached to your phone, leave it home for eight hours, so you realize life won&rsquo;t end without it. If an emergency arises, you can always borrow someone else&rsquo;s. For most of human history, we did just fine without them.</li>
</ul>

Medically reviewed in March 2020.

Wean Yourself Off Your Smartphone

The instant you finish reading our blog, do this: Get up and get a move on.

Sitting around -- driving, eating, working, knitting, emailing, watching TV -- is lethal. (Move it!) This isn&#39;t news. Everyone&#39;s known for a while that Coach Potato-Itis is a serious heart threat. And recent studies have shown that lots of sitting, even if you get serious amounts of exercise, messes up your blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol.

But here&#39;s the new shocker: Sitting causes cancer. Scientists have just tied 49,000 US cases of breast and 43,000 of colon cancer each year to prolonged sitting. (Move it!) That puts tush time right up there with smoking, obesity and a passion for pork rinds.

<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/controlling-appetite/article/manage-the-munchies-with-this-tv-trick" target="_blank">Does watching TV give you the munchies? Use this simple trick to prevent cravings.</a>

This is tough, since lots of what you have to do or want to do involves sitting, right? (Move it!) But wait. Breaking up endless time on your bum, even for a few minutes, breaks up the bad body effects. Key enzymes move, blood flows, mind and muscles flex. All it takes:

<ul>
	<li>Get up and move at least every 30 minutes. Get more water or coffee or a banana or the mail. Cruise the hallways. Pace when you&#39;re on the phone. Stand and stretch. (<a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/weight-loss/article/lose-fat-just-by-standing" target="_blank">Yep, even just standing helps. Fidgeting does, too.</a>)</li>
	<li>Go ahead, watch your favorite shows. Just don&#39;t sit there. Cook, fold laundry, empty the dishwasher, get up and dance to the theme music, ride a stationary bike (replace the couch with one; both of us YOU Docs have).</li>
	<li>Is the TV thing that important? You bet. This research also just came in: Staring at the tube for an average of 6 hours a day (versus none) shortens your life by 5 to 10 years. (Move it!)</li>
</ul>

Don't Just Sit There Watching TV—Get Up and Move It

Are you a vacation slacker, someone who for one reason or another leaves precious, unused personal time on the table at the end of the year?

If you are, and you think you&rsquo;re an outlier&mdash;think again. A May 2018 survey of 1,200 full-time U.S. employees found that 53 percent of those polled failed to use all of their paid vacation time the year before. In fact, 21 percent of the respondents still had more than five vacation days left by year&rsquo;s end.

A large 2017 online survey of more than 2,200 adults from the online career website Glassdoor also found that, on average, employees who get paid time off as a job-related benefit are only using slightly more than half of these days.

These surveys also provide some clues that could help explain why some employees forfeit a good percentage of their vacation time. Researchers found that many people worry about falling behind or work piling up while they are away. What they may not realize, however, is that not taking vacations could be affecting their health.

Time off is linked to a slew of benefits, including better sleep and improved mental health. There&rsquo;s also mounting evidence that getting away can help protect your heart.

Vacations linked to heart-health 
Time off could help reduce the risk for metabolic syndrome, a cluster of health woes&mdash;including high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess belly fat and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels&mdash;that raise the risk for heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.

In a small study published in June 2019 in Psychology and Health, researchers examined the health and vacation habits of more than 60 full time workers (mostly women) who received paid time off. Over the course of a year, the participants used about two weeks of their vacation time. The researchers found that those who vacationed more frequently were less likely to meet the criteria for a diagnosis of metabolic syndrome. Notably, the risk went down by a quarter with each additional vacation taken.

It&rsquo;s important to note that this was a retrospective study that looked backwards to assess the workers&rsquo; risk for metabolic syndrome. Larger, prospective studies&mdash;which monitor outcomes as they occur over time&mdash;are needed.

These findings do, however, build on one of the most well-known studies on the subject, the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention trial, published in Psychosomatic Medicine in 2000. The study followed more than 12,000 middle-aged men at high risk for heart disease for nine years and found that those who took more yearly vacations were less likely to die from any cause, including heart attacks and other heart problems.

Observational studies like these don&rsquo;t show a clear cause-and-effect relationship. What they demonstrate are associations, explains Jorge Montilla, MD, a cardiologist at <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/group/kendall-regional-medical-center">Kendall Regional Medical Center</a> in Miami, Florida. Meanwhile, there could be more to the picture than just the vacation, he points out. It&rsquo;s possible that people who are able to get away regularly are more financially stable or have good overall job security and satisfaction, which may be associated with other heart-healthy lifestyle choices.

One thing is clear, Montilla notes: taking time off helps relieve stress, which has a correlation with heart disease.&nbsp;&nbsp;

How stress affects the heart 
Stress raises levels of certain hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline. In the short term, this can be helpful, triggering the &ldquo;fight or flight&rdquo; response that helps you deal with immediate threats. Over time, however, <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/stress-reduction/slideshow/7-ways-stress-can-harm-your-body">chronic stress</a> could increase your risk for a slew of health issues, including heart disease.

In fact, repeated stress can lead to episodes of high blood pressure, elevated heart rate and irregular heart rhythms. You might also lose sleep or be tempted to overeat, smoke or drink alcohol in a misguided attempt to de-stress. Those who respond to stress in such unhealthy ways may be increasing their <a href="https://www.sharecare.com/health/circulatory-system-health/article/sneaky-threats-heart-health">risk for heart problems</a>.&nbsp;

Get away from it all, really 
People often worry about how a vacation may affect their workplace or their job status. You may, for example, be concerned that your absence will be too much of a burden on your coworkers or that it could reduce your likelihood of getting promoted. But you shouldn&rsquo;t look at taking a vacation as an indulgence or something to feel guilty about doing. Instead, view time off as well-deserved and something positive that you&rsquo;re doing for your health, Montilla advises.

When you do leave the office for a getaway, it&rsquo;s important to actually unplug to make the most of your vacation&mdash;something many people don&rsquo;t do. The Glassdoor survey found that:

<ul>
	<li>66 percent of those polled reported working while on vacation</li>
	<li>46 percent of the participants felt like they could not fully &ldquo;check-out&rdquo; while away</li>
	<li>23 percent of respondents had a hard time not thinking about work</li>
</ul>

Counterintuitively, taking time off may actually increase your productivity at work. Research has shown that workers expend less effort on routine tasks after their vacation than they did before.

So, how do you leave work behind and effectively de-stress when you&rsquo;re on vacation? Consider these helpful strategies:

<ul>
	<li>Set up your out-off-office email: Let co-workers, clients and others know when you will be gone and who can answer questions until you get back. Hint: set up these autoreplies for the day before you leave and a day after you return so you won&rsquo;t feel overwhelmed right before or after your trip.</li>
	<li>Limit access to work communications: If you must check email, texts or voicemail while away, don&rsquo;t do it all day long. Set aside a half hour or so (perhaps in the late morning) to check in. If possible, delegate any problems that need immediate attention.</li>
	<li>Take shorter vacations: If you feel like an entire week is too long to be away from your job, take several long weekends instead. A quick getaway to the beach, mountains or another &ldquo;happy place&rdquo; can help recharge your batteries.</li>
	<li>Plan your next vacation: The simple act of planning your next trip can make you smile. A study published in the journal Applied Research in Quality of Life in 2010 found that &ldquo;vacation anticipation&rdquo; boosted happiness in the weeks before the trip.</li>
</ul>

Medically reviewed in November 2019.

Sources: 
Kimble. &ldquo;No Vacation Nation: American Workers are Overworked, Under Pressure and Not Taking Time Off.&rdquo; 
Glassdoor.com. &ldquo;Glassdoor Survey Finds Americans Forfeit Half Of Their Earned Vacation/Paid Time Off.&rdquo; 
Cleveland Heart Lab. &ldquo;The Heart Health Move You Can&rsquo;t Afford to Miss.&rdquo; 
American Psychological Association Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse Newsletter. &ldquo;Four Reasons to Take a Vacation.&rdquo; 
Bryce Hruska, Sarah D. Pressman, Kestutis Bendinskas, et al. &ldquo;Vacation frequency is associated with metabolic syndrome and symptoms.&rdquo; Psychology &amp; Health. Jun 2019. 
Harvard Medical School. &ldquo;Only the overworked die young.&rdquo; 
Brooks Gump PhD, Karen Matthews PhD. &ldquo;Are vacations good for your health? The 9-year mortality experience after the multiple risk factor intervention trial.&rdquo; Psychosomatic Medicine. Sep-Oct 2000;62(5):608-12. 
American Heart Association. &ldquo;Stress and Heart Health.&rdquo; 
Cleveland Clinic. &ldquo;Arrhythmia.&rdquo; 
Jeroen Nawijn, Miquelle Marchand, Ruut Veenhoven, et al. &ldquo;Vacationers Happier, but Most not Happier After a Holiday.&rdquo; Applied Research in Quality of Life. 2010:5(1), 35&ndash;47. 
Charlotte Fritz, Sabine Sonnentag. &ldquo;Recovery, Well-Being, and Performance-Related Outcomes: The Role of Workload and Vacation Experiences.&rdquo; Journal of Applied Psychology. Jul 2006; 91(4):936-45. 
Beena Johnson, MBBS, DCH and Johnson Francis, MBBS, MD. &ldquo;Stress and Cardiac Arrhythmias.&rdquo; Indian Pacing Electrophysiology Journal. Sep-Oct 2014; 14(5): 230&ndash;232.