10 Secrets to a Better Love Life

Too much boredom in your bedroom? Revitalize your sex life with these 10 tips.

By R. Morgan Griffin
WebMD Feature

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Most of us can remember the hot -- and frequent -- spicy moments when the romance was new with our partner. But eventually the fire of a good love life may die down. Over time, the sexy nightie languishes hidden in the sock drawer, the massage oil gathers dust next to the athlete's foot powder in the medicine cabinet, and you and your partner have what feels like a humdrum sexual life.

So what is the secret to a better love life that lasts? We asked for some suggestions from two experts on sexuality -- Michael Castleman, author of Great Sex: A Man's Guide to the Secret Principles of Total-Body Sex, and Louanne Cole Weston, PhD, a board certified sex therapist and resident expert for WebMD's "Sex Matters®" message boards.

Make Dates

Castleman and Weston are in firm agreement that couples that have been together for a while need to plan time for sex.

"Make a date for sex," says Castleman, a health journalist who previously answered questions about sexuality submitted to the Playboy advisor. "Don't let it be an afterthought," he tells WebMD. "Do whatever you like to do beforehand, go to a movie or dinner, take a walk, have a glass of wine by candlelight, whatever the couple likes to do as a couple. But set aside that time."

But, you might cry, isn't scheduling unromantic? Isn't sex supposed to be spontaneous? Rare is the lover with a daily planner fetish, after all.

But Castleman has a blunt response. "Grow up," he says. "What's the problem with making a date for sex? People make plans for other things they enjoy, like ski trips or dinners out."

Weston agrees. "I think most people, especially couples with kids, have to plan ahead because they already have so much jammed into their schedules," she says. "Sure there are times when things spontaneously fall together, but those are happy accidents."

Get Out of the House

One good suggestion for a better love life is to take regular nights away from home.

"For couples that have been together for a while, sex can become routine," says Castleman. "You're worn out by the end of the day, after the job, the laundry, the kids' soccer games, and the errands.

"And instead of champagne and oysters on the half shell with a sweeping view of Lake Tahoe as your reward, you've got your same old crummy house and peanut butter and jelly and that's about it," he says. It's not exactly conducive to an exciting sex life.

It can be hard to give into the moment when you're having sex in your all-too-familiar bedroom. Your mind wanders. Did I remember to set the alarm clock? How much will it cost to repair that water damage on the ceiling?

"Lovemaking is, fundamentally, a present moment experience," says Castleman. "The best sex comes when you're not thinking about the past or the future, but only the present. And that can be hard in a room where you've always got grandma's picture smiling down on you."

Castleman recommends getting away to a place that is stripped of these reminders of everyday life. It doesn't have to be a fabulous spot by the ocean, or at least it not every time. A non-descript place off the Interstate might be just fine.

Redecorate the Bedroom

Of course, having a sex life that's wholly dependent on trysts at hotels and overnight babysitters may be a problem if you're not fabulously wealthy, childless, and unemployed. So in addition to some trips away, make some changes at home.

"The bedroom does build up a lot of mundane associations," says Weston. "But if you can do anything to transform your bedroom into something new and different, that can make a big difference."

And a better love life doesn't require installing a revolving bed or ceiling mirrors. "You don't need to do something that will freak out the kids or the housekeeper," says Weston.

Lighting some candles is an obvious suggestion. But maybe getting a nicer set of sheets and a new bedspread will make a difference. Also, removing some of the junk -- the kids' toys, the piles of laundry -- that tends to accumulate in a bedroom out can have an effect. Think about ditching the bedroom TV, too, or at least trying life without it for a while

Figure Out What You Really Want

Everyone's got sexual fantasies of one sort or another. But for some people, those fantasies can be buried pretty deep. If your partner were to turn to you tonight and say, "What's your ultimate sexual fantasy?" or "What do you want to change about how we have sex?" do you know what you'd say?

If you're not sure, you're not alone. "Some people have to do a little work at figuring out what really arouses them," says Weston. But figuring out what you want is key to having a better love life.

So give it a little effort. Weston observes that there are plenty of tools out there to help: books, magazines, videos, and so on. Once you've come up with some ideas, telling your partner about them could be fun for both of you.

Find Out What Your Partner Wants

And then there's the flip side: You need to ask your partner the same questions that you've asked yourself. What does your partner want from your love life?

According to Weston and Castleman, one of the most common complaints they hear is that one partner wants to have sex more than the other.

Some people may huffily assume that they just have higher sex drives than their partners do. But maybe your partner is looking for something different out of your love life but hasn't felt able to ask. So bring up the subject. Talking openly might bring you closer to one another, and that's likely to make sex more interesting for both of you.

Try Something New

Trying something new in the bedroom is a pretty obvious suggestion for attaining a better love life, but it's one that many people have trouble following.

"For a lot of couples, the longer they're together, the more they play it safe sexually," says Weston. "You think it would go the other way, that as people get more comfortable in a relationship they feel more secure to try new things. But that's not the case."

Castleman agrees. "People resist change, especially intimate change," he says. "If you're in an established relationship, you may feel like you have more to lose. You don't want to rock the boat."

But both Castleman and Weston recommend resisting the impulse to play it safe. This can mean all sorts of things -- maybe lingerie, massage, sex toys and so on -- and trying something new doesn't have to be outrageous.

"People have a lot of crazy notions about what a sexual fantasy should be," says Castleman. "They think it must mean S&M or sex on a Ferris wheel. But there are a lot less wild ways of experimenting with something new."

Weston agrees. "One small change that can have a big effect is to interrupt the pattern to how you usually have sex," says Weston. "If you're usually the shy one who waits for the other person to begin things, try starting it yourself. Just take a risk, even if it's a little one."

Don't Ignore Sexual Problems

Sexual problems are a much more open secret now than they once were. For instance, thanks to the efforts of pharmaceutical companies and late night comics, there aren't many people left in the country who aren't aware of medications for erectile dysfunction.

Of course, that doesn't mean that everyone who needs help is getting it.

"People who have sexual problems do often shy away from sexuality because they don't want to face failure," says Weston. "But these problems need to be addressed head on."

Erectile dysfunction has received the most attention, but there are plenty of other issues too, such as premature ejaculation, a loss of libido, or difficulty reaching orgasm caused by medications or medical conditions

Weston reports that women are coming forward in larger numbers and reporting sexual problems too, such as pain during intercourse or an inability to orgasm. According to Castleman, many women complain about vaginal dryness during sex, which can be painful.

"Lubrication is important," says Weston. "Because in terms of how aroused a person is, lubrication for a woman is the equivalent of an erection for a man."

Some sexual problems may need medical attention, while others can be solved by trying different sexual techniques or buying a $5 bottle of lubricant. But the important thing is not to muddle through with problems that are making your sex life worse. Don't settle for a mediocre sex life.

And finally, Weston is quick to point out that no matter what you've heard, drugs for erectile dysfunction do nothing to increase a person's sex drive.

Go Slowly

Some couples find that, the longer they're together, the briefer and more businesslike their sexual encounters can become.

Castleman likens it to navigating a new neighborhood. When you move to a new place, you're always trying out different routes to get to the supermarket or the hardware store. But after time, you decide on the fastest route and only take that one. No more meandering. The same thing happens to couples as they become more familiar with each other sexually.

But the fastest, most efficient route is definitely not what you want in the bedroom. Focusing on the destination -- and only the obvious parts of the anatomy -- is the worst thing you can do, he says.

"The best sex emerges from whole body sensuality -- leisurely, playful, creative," says Castleman. "It has no real direction, a little of this, a little of that."

Castleman argues that men especially have a tendency to go too fast, something that's encouraged by the down-and-dirty efficiency of sex in pornography. But Castleman says that many men find that their sexual problems -- such as premature ejaculation -- subside when they learn to take their time.

"Leisurely love-making benefits everyone," says Castleman. "Women get more turned on and enjoy sex more, while men have fewer sexual problems and feel more confident about themselves in bed. Everybody wins."

Don't Worry About What Everyone Else Is Doing

According to Weston and Castleman, one of the most common questions they get is, "How much should we be doing it?" The question implies that the answer is obvious: more than I am now.

Feeling like you "should" be having a better love life is probably universal. It explains the vast number of titles about sex in the self-help section of the bookstore, and the constancy of articles about sex advertised on magazine covers at the checkout counter (or why so many people click on articles with titles like, say, "10 Secrets to a Better Love Life.")

Castleman observes that the culture we live in -- and especially its films, whether Hollywood romances or pornography -- encourages us to think that we're not living up.

So how often "should" you have sex? "There's no answer to that," says Weston. "Stop trying to decide how much sex you should have and decide how much you want."

Keep Trying

Having a better sex life will take some work. It's like this: for many people, life is an unremitting guerilla war with those extra 10 pounds that ambush you when you're not paying attention. In the same way, people can fall into a sexual rut, a "blah" love life, unless they're making an effort to keep things exciting.

You should expect that some attempts will fall flat. A stab at a sexual role-play may be rendered ridiculous by an ill-timed call and rambling answering machine message from your mother-in-law. Or maybe the aromatic candles make you sneeze violently. Trying something new is always putting you at risk of failure.

But the important thing is to keep trying anyway. Don't let self-consciousness make you play it safe. You should never accept a just average love life.

So there they are: the 10 secrets to a better love life. But, you may exclaim, I think I've heard some of these before. It's a fair point. For instance, upon reading that communication is important for a healthy love life, there is no person in America who will smack her forehead and say, "Golly, and all this time I thought not communicating was the right idea!"

Admittedly, these suggestions are not secrets. Or at least they aren't secrets like the purpose of Stonehenge or the fate of Amelia Earhart. We've read the magazines, and watched the daytime talk shows. Many of us know what we're supposed to do to have a better love life.

But if we already know this stuff, why do we keep buying the magazines and watching the TV shows that tell us what we already know? Ultimately, our good intentions fail and we lapse back into lazy habits. We let the other stuff in life take over.

So the most important suggestion for a better love life is probably the last one: Just keep trying. Making a consistent effort is the key.

"If someone says that they don't have time or energy for a good sex life, then they can't expect to have a good sex life," says Castleman. "It's that simple."

Your Guide to Never Feeling Tired Again

WebMD Feature from "Redbook" Magazine By Nancy Rones

22 ways to tackle life's biggest energy zappers.

Every day, 2.2 million Americans complain of being tired. Most of us chalk it up to having too much to do and not enough time to do it in, especially during extra-busy periods. But often the true culprits are our everyday habits: what we eat, how we sleep, and how we cope emotionally. Read on for some simple, recharging changes that can help you tackle all of the energy stealers in your life.

Energize Your Diet

Why is it that filling up on pasta or Chinese food for lunch leaves us snacky and sleepy an hour later? Or that falling short on fluids makes us forgetful and foggy? Fact is, eating habits play a powerful role in how well we function on every level. Below, six top fatigue-fighting nutrition strategies to chew on.

• Have breakfast... even if you don't feel hungry. You'll be a lot perkier: Studies show that people who eat breakfast feel better both mentally and physically than those who skip their morning meal. British researchers at Cardiff University even found that spooning up a bowl of breakfast cereal every morning is associated with lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
• Eat every three to four hours. Having three smallish meals and two snacks throughout the day can keep your blood sugar and energy levels stable all day long, says Roberta Anding, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association (ADA). Note the word "smallish." Supersized meals demand more of your energy to digest, which can leave you feeling lethargic. At each mini-meal, get a mix of carbohydrates (which the body uses for energy), protein (which helps sustain energy if needed), and healthy fats like those found in fish, nuts, and olives -- these fats and protein contribute to meal satisfaction, so you don't go hunting for sweets an hour later and wind up with a short-lived sugar high and subsequent crash. A few meal ideas: a low-fat yogurt parfait with berries and a couple of tablespoons of whole-grain granola; salmon over mixed greens with whole-grain crackers; and beef tenderloin with a baked sweet potato and asparagus.
• Fill up on more fiber. Fiber has a time-releasing effect on carbs, so they enter your bloodstream at a slow and steady pace, giving your energy staying power, says Anding. When choosing your mini-meals (see above), include fiber-filled options that add up to the daily recommended 25 to 30 grams of fiber (the average person gets only between 10 and 15 grams). Some suggestions: a bowl of raisin bran (5 grams of fiber per cup); black beans and cheese wrapped in a multigrain tortilla (beans have 7.5 grams per 1/2 cup; one tortilla has 5 grams); air-popped popcorn (3.6 grams per 3 cups); an apple with the skin (3.3 grams); and whole-wheat spaghetti (6.3 grams per cup).
• Fuel your brain with omega-3s. Found in fatty fish (such as tuna and salmon), walnuts, and canola oil, these essential fatty acids play a role in keeping brain cells healthy and helping you feel mentally alert. Another potential bonus: Omega-3s encourage the body to store carbs as glycogen — the storage form of glucose (blood sugar) and the body's main source of stored fuel — rather than as fat.
• Stay hydrated. Water makes up the majority of your blood and other body fluids, and even mild dehydration can cause blood to thicken, forcing the heart to pump harder to carry blood to your cells and organs and resulting in fatigue. Also, ample fluids keep energy-fueling nutrients flowing throughout the body, says Nancy Clark, R.D., author of Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook. To gauge your hydration, Clark recommends monitoring how often you urinate. You should be going every two to four hours, and your urine should be clear or pale yellow in color. Tip: Besides drinking more, you can also consume foods that naturally contain water, such as yogurt, broccoli, carrots, and juicy fruits, like watermelons, oranges, and grapefruits.
• Watch caffeine intake after noon. Typically, consuming a moderate amount of caffeine — 200 to 300 mg, the amount found in two to three cups of coffee — can make you more energetic and alert in the hours following, says Anthony L. Komaroff, M.D., a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. But when caffeine is consumed in large quantities — or anytime in the afternoon or evening — the quality of your sleep that night can take a nosedive, leaving you with heavy eyelids the next day. One caution for those who are highly sensitive to caffeine: Although switching to a decaf latte in the afternoon sounds like the answer, researchers at the University of Florida found that out of 22 decaffeinated coffee beverages tested, all but one contained some caffeine

Energize Your Spirit

• We're all familiar with physical exhaustion, but mental strain — sadness, boredom, worry, anger, and general stress (the biggie) — can take an even heavier toll on vitality, completely wearing you out. Life happens, and these difficult emotions will, too. But if you react wisely, your brain and body will rebound — along with your vim and vigor.
• Splash some water on your face or take a shower when you're feeling burned-out. Some 55 percent of study participants reported using these types of "water therapy" to successfully increase their energy, according to findings in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Apparently, a little H ₂ O refresher can instantly help take the edge off when you're feeling overwhelmed.
• Suit up in a "power" outfit to beat the blahs. Fight the tendency to throw on sweats when you're feeling sluggish. Although it may seem counterintuitive to slip into the skirt you save for special occasions, it helps to look in the mirror and see an energizing image — not a deflating one that confirms and reinforces your internal state, says Alice D. Domar, Ph.D., founder and executive director of the Domar Center for Complementary Healthcare in Waltham, MA. Dressing for success will give you a big mental boost every time you catch sight of your reflection (or receive a compliment) throughout the day.
• Vent your feelings. Keeping fear, anxiety, and stress pent up inside may seem like a grown-up way to deal with these emotions. But discussing negative feelings with another person can ease them far better than keeping them bottled up; by airing them, you reduce their ability to sap your stamina, says Komaroff, who is also the editor-in-chief of the Harvard Health Letter.
• Turn on some tunes. Listening to music is one of the most effective ways to change a bad mood, decrease tension, and increase energy. Consider this: Runners in one study who listened to music while on the treadmill ran faster than those who jogged in silence — no matter how loud the volume or how fast the tempo, according to new findings in the journal Ergonomics. Other research suggests that music effectively distracts you from feeling fatigue. Try burning a CD of your favorite songs and playing it anytime you need a pick-me-up. (If you exercise, so much the better — but the music will move you either way.)
• Let go of grudges. Nursing a grudge prompts your mind and body to react as if they're under chronic stress, increasing your heart rate and blood pressure and potentially resulting in an impaired immune system and exhaustion over time, according to a study in the journal Psychological Science. On the other hand, practicing empathy and forgiveness after you've been wronged makes you feel as if you're back in control, which keeps the body's stress responses in check. The next time you find yourself harboring ill feelings, repeat a stress-relieving mantra to yourself, such as, "Forgiveness makes me a happier and stronger person."
• Take belly breaths. When we're under stress, we're prone to take "chest breaths" — short, shallow ones, says Domar. Chest breathing brings less air into the lungs and reduces the supply of energizing oxygen to the body and brain, leaving you physically and mentally drained. The goal is deep, diaphragmatic breathing — like that of a sleeping infant: When you breathe in, your belly should round and fill like a balloon; on an exhale, your belly should slowly deflate. Of course, remembering to practice deep breathing isn't the first thing on your mind when you're under the gun, so as a visual reminder, try posting a tranquil picture (such as a pool of water or your kids smiling) with the word "breathe" next to your computer, or anywhere you tend to feel on edge.
• De-clutter a corner. Go through that teetering pile of papers or overflowing closet and clear it out. Clutter can make you feel out of control and overwhelmed, especially when you're already feeling stressed or down. Plus, simply accomplishing a goal, no matter how seemingly minor, can be energizing, says Domar.
• Do some good. Acts of altruism can lend a little pep to your step. In fact, one study in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior found that volunteer work can boost your energy in six ways: It enhances happiness, life satisfaction, self-esteem, sense of control over life, physical health, and mood. Find short- and long-term volunteer opportunities at volunteermatch.org and charityguide.org.

When you have a lot to do (um...always), usually the first thing to get squeezed off your agenda is sleep. But miss out on shut-eye and your energy, positivity, productivity, and memory are sure to suffer. And nearly a quarter of American adults aren't getting enough rest, which has led to an epidemic of daytime sleepiness, according to a poll by the National Sleep Foundation. The key to bucking this trend is to brush up on sleep hygiene. Try these steps for starters.

• Cut back on TV and computer time after 8 p.m. If you're already a night owl (you go to bed late and sleep in on weekends), the bright light emitted from television and computer screens can make falling asleep at a decent hour even harder. The reason: Light suppresses the production of melatonin, a hormone secreted at sunset that tells the brain that it's nighttime, explains John Herman, Ph.D., director of the training program in sleep medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas. And when melatonin levels are low, your brain is fooled into thinking that it's still daytime — and remains raring to go. Whenever possible, wait until the next morning to tune in and/or log on. If you must use light-emitting technology at night, try to turn it off an hour or two before hitting the sack.
• Hide your alarm clock. Watching the clock to see how long it's taking you to drift off or how much time you have left before your alarm goes off can result in a poor night's sleep, says Kelly A. Carden, M.D., medical director of the Sleep Health Center Affiliated with Hallmark Health at Medford in Medford, MA. This hypervigilance keeps the brain awake and alert and prevents you from slipping into deep, restorative sleep. The easy fix: Set your alarm clock, then either face the numbers away from you or put it on the floor, in a drawer, or across the room.
• Give your pet his own separate sleeping space. At night, pets snore, jiggle their tags, move around a lot, and even hog the covers and bed space. It's no wonder that 53 percent of pet owners who sleep with their pets in the bedroom have some type of disrupted sleep every night, according to a study from the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center in Rochester, MN. Consider relocating your furry friend's sleeping quarters to another area, even if it's just his own bed in your bedroom.
• Lower the thermostat. For a good night's sleep, make sure your room is comfortably cool — enough so that you need a light blanket. This ensures that your environment is in sync with your body's internal temperature, which naturally drops during the night, according to the National Sleep Foundation. Studies suggest the ideal sleeping temperature is between 54 and 75 degrees; anything cooler or warmer may cause you to wake up.
• Skip the nightcap. Alcohol depresses the nervous system — the system of cells, tissues, nerves, and organs that controls the body's responses to internal and external stimuli. So while sipping a glass of wine before bed may help you nod off, the sedative effects wear off as your body metabolizes the alcohol, which may cause you to wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble falling back to sleep. Alcohol has also been shown to interfere with the body's natural 24-hour biorhythms, causing blood pressure to rise and heart rate to race at night when it's normally calm and relaxed. You don't have to give up that evening cocktail entirely to achieve sound sleep — just try to avoid alcohol within two to three hours of bedtime.
• Get your exercise. While scientists don't yet understand why, aerobic exercise has been proved to help you fall asleep faster at bedtime, spend more hours in deep sleep, and wake up less often throughout the night, says Komaroff. At the same time, vigorous exercise can act like a stimulant (which is a great daytime energizer), so schedule your workouts in the morning or afternoon, when you need a boost the most.
• Follow the 15-minute rule. If you can't fall asleep, or if you wake up and can't get back to sleep within about 15 minutes, get out of bed and do something relaxing that will help clear your head, such as reading, meditating, or knitting (but not watching TV or surfing the Web). Then, once you feel sleepy again, go back to bed. If you stay put and fret about being awake, you'll only make yourself more anxious — and less likely to catch the z's you need.
• Write down your worries. During the day, jot down any stressors that are weighing on you, says Carden. Then, do some mental problem-solving before your head hits the pillow — or, if you're falling short on solutions, tuck your list away and resolve to brainstorm ideas during your morning shower or commute to work. Just knowing you've established a plan for tackling your to-do's will make you feel like you've made some progress, allowing you to relax, drift off — and wake up the next morning ready to take on the day.

We Tested and Reviewed the Latest Pick-Me-Uppers

H ₂ O Plus Energize Spa Collection: "I'm not sure if it was the citrus scent of the body wash and scrub or just the warm water, but I did feel more awake after my shower." (h2oplus.com)

TravelSox Odyssey socks: "I was skeptical, but I wore these socks during a five-hour flight, and they really made my legs feel more alive and less cramped than usual." (travelsox.com)

LifeWave Energy Enhancer patch: "It may have been psychosomatic (or what I ate for lunch), but after I put these on, my heart started to race and I felt queasy and sweaty." (lifewave.com)

FOOSH Energy Mints: "I enjoyed the strong, minty taste, but I didn't notice a significant difference in my energy. But I'm not sensitive to caffeine, which is the active ingredient." (vroomfoods.com)

G Pure Energy drink: "The ginger ale taste was nice, and while I wasn't ready to leap tall buildings, it gave me a second wind to tackle some work when I got home from the office." (gpureenergy.com)

Seven Things You Can Stop Worrying About Right Now!

WebMD Commentary from Oprah.com

By Suzan Colon

Whatever's keeping you up at night; enough already! We check in with a bunch of experts who'll convince you to give peace of mind a chance. Rethink these seven situations, and give your mind a break.

I have a bad feeling. I'm never going to lose this weight.

You can’t put all your emotional eggs in the weight loss basket. People say, “I’ll be happy when I reach this size” but that’s a problem, because either you don’t reach the goal, or you do; and you’re no happier than you were 40 pounds ago. Then you ask yourself why you did all this work, you go back to the way you were before, and the lose-gain-lose cycle begins.

Instead of worrying about the future, work toward leading a fulfilled life today. That will naturally make you want to be healthy. Eating right and exercising are my two fields, but when I meet with a client, I ask her about the things that really hold the secret to her success; what the most important areas of her life are, and how she feels about each one.

So do a little self-discovery. Look at what brings you joy and what isn’t going so well. Have a life plan as opposed to a weight plan. Next, figure out how active you’re willing to be and how much time you can devote to exercise. Then balance the calories; but don’t deprive yourself. I’ve never found anyone who should be eating fewer than 1,500 calories.

Finally, set realistic goals, or you’re bound to fail. Adjust your thinking about what’s healthy for you, given your genetics. Some of the healthiest people on the planet are heavier than what we claim is the ideal. Being realistic is not only important, it’s empowering.

Bob Greene, author of The Best Life Diet

I worry that my husband will cheat on me and I won't be able to forgive him. And I'm not even married yet!

You’re probably worried that your spouse will have extramarital sex or an emotional affair. But there are many ways to cheat: neglect, indifference, spite, refusal of physical intimacy, lack of respect. “Cheating” fails to describe the multiple ways people let each other down.

Before thinking about whether you’d be able to forgive him, it’s important to understand what violations of trust mean to a relationship. Forgiveness doesn’t mean acceptance but rather understanding, the ability to come to terms with a certain reality, and a willingness to live with it while it finds its place in our lives.

I once worked with a couple who had been together since high school. The man had an affair after his father died because he wanted to break loose from the constrictions he felt had been imposed on him by his father, and to rebel against being dutiful and responsible. While the wife was no less hurt, understanding that the affair had very little to do with her gave it a different meaning. The couple also gained new insights into each other: This strong woman showed a vulnerable side her husband hadn’t been aware of, and this bold man was not the husband she thought she knew.

The thought that a partner can leave is not a baseless worry; it’s a fact of love. There is no love without the fear of loss. Rather than becoming anxious about the possibility of your spouse cheating on you, think of your concern as an awareness that is part of being in a relationship.

Esther Perel, author of Mating in Captivity

The clock is ticking, but I'm not sure I want a child; yet I worry that if I don't have one, I'll regret it when it's too late.

There are parts of life where you can compromise, but not here: You either have a child or don’t.

The fear of regretting that you didn’t have a child is not the best reason to have one. That said, rarely have I seen a patient who regretted becoming a mother, because once the baby is in the world, the woman loves it. Usually, the woman wants to be a parent and it’s her spouse who isn’t sure; he goes along with it because he listens to her fear of regret. Yet when the baby is born, he doesn’t regret it either; he loves it, too.

On the other hand, I have had patients who’ve regretted not having children. The good news is, there are so many ways you can rectify that, including adoption and IVF.

Dr. Gail Saltz, psychiatrist and author of Anatomy of a Secret Life

Cancer runs in my family. Am I destined to get it, too?

Not necessarily. The top three things you can do to tip the odds in your favor are to maintain a waistline that’s generally less than half your height in inches, eat low on the food chain, and not be a toxic dump; avoid exposure to cigarette smoke and asbestos, things like that. You can’t control your genes, but they aren’t as significant as how you affect them with risk factors you can control, such as smoking and obesity.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, co-author of You: On a Diet

I don't think I'll ever swim out from under the pile of work I have at the office!

You’re right. The reality is that you’ll never get to the bottom of your to-do list. The way our work world has evolved, it isn’t humanly possible anymore. It’s not just information overload; it’s opportunity overload; there are always a million things to do. And please, forget multitasking. It doesn’t increase efficiency at all, and it taxes brain cells in the frontal cortex, which has a terrible impact on performance.

Julie Morgenstern

I don't have enough money to travel! I'm afraid I'll never see French Polynesia, China, and other places I dream of.

Waiting to have enough money will keep you securely ensconced at home. Consider the wonders
of America that can be yours for a weekend and the price of a tank of gas (expensive, yes, but still cheaper than plane tickets). Tourists come from all over the globe to see our national treasures, but how many New Yorkers don’t personally know the beauty of the historic Hudson Valley? How many Seattleites have never visited the Walla Walla wine region? How many folks in Dallas have yet to two-step their way through the old-time dance halls of Texas’s Hill Country?

If you’re still hungry for something exotic, you can find that frisson of foreign travel right here in North America. You can hear Cajun spoken in southern Louisiana, and French in the historic neighborhoods of Old Montreal and Old Quebec. The past is very much alive in the Gaelic culture of Nova Scotia and in the Amish communities of Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

But don’t give up your dream of a larger trip. Make a plan, and make it happen. Commit to a specific departure date, and put aside money regularly. Time passes quickly; better to spend
it looking forward to your trip than allowing regrets to build.

Patricia Schultz, author of 1,000 Places to See in the U.S. and Canada Before You Die

I'm so afraid of terrorism, I can't sleep. How unsafe are we?

Terrorism is violence calculated to create an atmosphere of fear and alarm. It often works.

Terrorist attacks are deadly, dramatic, and visual; how many times have we watched the World Trade Center’s towers fall? And the terror is reinforced by a relentless message of fear in the form of Washington’s color-coded alerts and announcements of imminent attack.

The terrorist threat is real, but we must distinguish between threats to our national security and danger to individual citizens - us. The threat we face as individuals is minuscule compared with the everyday risks we accept. Each year the average American has about a one in 7,000 chance of dying in a motor vehicle accident, and a one in 18,000 chance of being murdered, most likely by a relative or friend. Compare that to about a one in 600,000 chance of dying at the hands of terrorists. Yet, are we ready to toss the keys to the car? Avoid the family picnic? No.

As a nation, we will combat terrorism. As individuals, it is up to us to combat terror; our own; by putting terrorist fears in perspective.

Brian Michael Jenkins, senior advisor on terror and homeland security for the RAND Corporation

Originally published on August 1, 2007

Yogurt Maker Sued Over Health Claims

Lawsuit Accuses Dannon of Deceptive Ads for Probiotic Activia and DanActive; Nutritionists Weigh In

By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Medical News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Jan. 25, 2008 -- A class action lawsuit has been filed against the yogurt company Dannon over its marketing for yogurt products Activia and DanActive.

Activia is a yogurt marketed as being "clinically proven to help regulate the digestive system when eaten daily for two weeks," according to Activia's web site.

DanActive is a drink marketed as being "clinically proven to help strengthen the body's defense systems," states DanActive's web site.

Those claims focus on probiotics, which are healthy gut bacteria. There are many strains of probiotics; Activia and DanActive tout trademarked probiotic strains.

The lawsuit alleges a "massively deceptive" advertising campaign about those products' "clinically" and "scientifically" proven health benefits not available in other yogurts, states a news release from Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP, the San Diego law firm that filed the lawsuit earlier this week.

Dannon countered with its own news release, in which Dannon says it "vigorously challenges this lawsuit" and "proudly stands by the claims of its products and the clinical studies which support them."

Nutritionists' Views

"Does this make yogurt a bad thing? No. If people want to eat yogurt, by all means, they should because you're getting nutrients in yogurt that you're not going to get in a pill," Leslie Bonci, MPH, RD, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, tells WebMD.

WebMD Director of Nutrition Kathleen Zelman, MPH, RD, LD, agrees.

"Yogurt is good for you," Zelman says. She suggests that people who buy yogurt look for products that contain "live and active cultures or are enriched with additional healthy bacteria because there's sound science to document the healthfulness of those products."

But Bonci and Zelman say consumers shouldn't expect any yogurt to cure digestive disorders by itself.

Everybody probably won't find all their digestive problems solved by eating specialized yogurt products for two weeks, and "that may not be the yogurt's fault," Bonci says. "What else are they doing in their diet?

"I think if people are looking to maximize their digestive health, it's probably going to take more than a container of something that's in your refrigerator," she says.

Consuming enough fluids and fiber, being physically active, and controlling stress are also important for good digestive health, Bonci says

Blame Sweet Soda for Gout?

Soft Drinks Worse Than Hard Liquor for Gout, but Diet Sodas OK

By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Medical News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Jan 31, 2008 -- For gout, sweetened soft drinks are worse than hard liquor -- and nearly as bad as beer -- doubling the risk for heavy drinkers. Diet sodas, however, don't affect gout risk.

The findings come from a huge study of 46,393 male health professionals in Canada who filled out detailed questionnaires about their health and their diet every four years for 12 years. Over that time, 755 of the men developed gout.

Compared with men who almost never drank sugar-sweetened soft drinks -- fewer than one per month -- frequent soft-drink drinkers were significantly more likely to suffer gout:

• Two or more soft drinks each day upped gout risk by 85%.
• One soft drink each day upped gout risk by 45%.
• Five or six soft drinks each week upped gout risk by 29%.

The men who drank the most soft drinks had twice the gout risk of the men who drank the fewest soft drinks.

That's comparable to the gout risk of men who drink two to four alcoholic beverages a day.

Beer raises gout risk by 49% per daily serving. A daily serving of spirits raises gout risk by 15%. Sweetened soft drinks, find University of British Columbia researcher Hyon K. Choi, MD, PhD, and colleagues, raise gout risk by 35% per serving.

"This is the first study -- and a very large one -- linking these commonly consumed products to this common disorder," Choi tells WebMD. "We find that if you have high consumption of fructose your gout risk is doubled. And that is due to easily available sugary beverages."

It's a surprising finding, says Karen Atkinson, MD, MPH, chief of rheumatology at the Atlanta VA Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at Emory University.

"It is a shock," Atkinson tells WebMD. "Most of us think of purine-rich foods as those that increase gout risk because they feed directly into the uric acid pathway. Certainly fructose processed by the liver can affect that pathway, but this is not what we usually think of."

Atkinson warns that while the Choi study definitely links soft drinks to gout risk, it does not prove that cutting back on soft drinks will lower that risk.

"But most doctors would agree that high-fructose carbonated beverages don't have any nutritional benefit. You don't want to be pouring high-fructose soft drinks into your body," she says.

Gout Risk: Food and Drink vs. Family History

Gout is an extremely painful form of arthritis in which uric acid crystals accumulate in the joints. It most often affects the big toe but commonly affects other joints in the leg. Men are more likely to suffer gout than are women, although women's risk greatly increases after menopause. Choi says about one in 10 people over the age of 60 develops gout.

"When it occurs you suffer really a lot for a week to two weeks," says Choi, a rheumatologist. "It is very severe pain. Just putting your bed sheet on the joint hurts. Gout causes intense swelling and pain, one of the worst pains you can suffer."

Foods already known to cause gout have high levels of purine compounds. Such foods include red meat, organ meats, and shellfish. But diet isn't the only cause of gout. Many gout sufferers inherit a tendency to generate too much uric acid; others inherit an inability to efficiently eliminate uric acid in the urine.

That's why the American Beverage Association, which supports the soft drink industry, takes a dim view of the Choi findings. Maureen Storey, PhD, the association's senior vice president for science policy, says the Choi study failed to account for family history of gout.

"The most important risk factor for whether a person develops gout or not is family history," Storey tells WebMD. "All of the research that has been conducted on gout over the last century or so has shown that foods and beverages high in purines -- such as alcoholic beverages, beer, gravies, and certain kinds of meat -- are strongly linked to development of gout. Soft drinks don't have that in them."

What soft drinks do contain is high-fructose corn syrup. Unlike glucose, the sugar our bodies uses for fuel, fructose raises uric acid levels. High levels of uric acid are linked to gout. But Choi agrees with Storey that his study is the first to link fructose to gout.

Strengthening Choi's fructose hypothesis is his finding that diet sodas -- which don't have fructose -- don't alter gout risk. Moreover, Choi and colleagues find that people who eat lots of sweet fruits, such as apples and oranges, also up their gout risk.

"We find a similar level of increased gout risk from apples and oranges as from sweetened soft drinks, but the caution is misplaced here because these fruits offer benefits against other major disorders such as stroke, diabetes, and certain cancers," Choi says. "There may be certain limited situations, such as treatment-resistant severe gout, where reducing all sources of fructose may be of use. But overall, fruits are beneficial."

Choi and colleagues report their findings in the Jan. 31 online issue of the journal BMJ.

Healthy Aging - Sexual Vitality

Because sexuality tends to be a private matter, it's likely that you've heard less about sexual change than any other element of aging. Fortunately, the news is good-for most healthy adults, pleasure and interest don't diminish with age. Most people are sexual throughout their lives, with or without a partner, and some feel greater sexual freedom in their later years. On the other hand, some men and women are content to be sexually inactive.

Around age 50, men and women typically begin to notice changes in their sexual drive, sexual response, or both. Like so many other physical changes that evolve over time, these aren't signs that you are losing your sexuality. Rather, these changes are simply something to adjust to and discuss openly with your partner and/or health professional.

Normal sexual changes in men

As you age beyond your 50s, you may find that:

• Male sex drive is minimally affected by age (although health problems, certain medications, or relationship stress can lower sex drive).
• Erections become less firm and tend to take more time than when you were younger.
• You may be able to delay ejaculation for longer than when you were younger.

Normal sexual changes in women

After menopause, estrogen and androgen levels drop, causing physical changes. You may find that:

• It can take longer to become sexually excited.
• Your skin may be more sensitive and easily irritated when caressed.
• Intercourse may be painful because of thinning vaginal walls (regular sex often helps prevent this from becoming severe). If a water-based lubricant (such as Astroglide or Replens) isn't enough, talk to your health professional about vaginal estrogen cream, which reverses thinning and sensitivity. For more information, see the topic Menopause and Perimenopause.
• You are less interested in sex.

If you have noticed sexual changes that don't seem to be linked to normal aging, talk to your health professional. There are a number of medications that can cause sexual problems, as well as health conditions that can cause sexual problems.

Adjusting to age-related sexual changes

With a little experimentation and patience, you can adjust to sexual changes and satisfy your sexual and intimacy needs. If you think your sexual interest might be affected by a medication or health problem, work with your health professional to correct or treat it. Talk with your partner about any misgivings you might have so you can handle them together.

With your partner, take your time to set a relaxed mood and engage in foreplay. Use a lubricant if vaginal dryness or irritation is a barrier to enjoying sex. If you drink alcohol, remember that a small amount may relax you and increase your responsiveness, but too much alcohol is likely to work against you.

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are a risk no matter what age you are. Unless you and your partner have recently been tested or you are 100% sure that you both have been monogamous for many years without infection, make sure that you practice safe sex to prevent STDs.

WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise

Last Updated: June 22, 2006

This information is not intended to replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any liability for the decisions you make based on this information.

@ 1995-2007, Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health

Your Pregnancy Week by Week: Weeks 1-4

If you are newly pregnant, or trying to conceive, you have many questions about what to expect. How will your body change? What's happening inside you? WebMD has teamed up with experts from The Cleveland Clinic to guide you, week by week, through the nine months of pregnancy. Each week offers information about your body and baby's, as well as invaluable tips. Let's start with a peek inside the womb.

Weeks 1 and 2

Baby:Your baby is still just a glimmer in your eye. Although it's confusing to think about a pregnancy starting before your child is even conceived, doctors calculate your due date from the beginning of your last cycle since it's hard to know exactly when conception occurred.

Mom-to-be: At the beginning of a cycle, about 20 eggs called ova begin to ripen and occupy fluid-filled sacs called follicles. One of these follicles matures and ruptures, releasing an egg that will travel down the fallopian tube, where it awaits fertilization. This all takes place about 14 days before the end of your cycle. This is the time you're most fertile, so light some candles, take the phone off the hook, and set aside some intimate time. An egg can be fertilized for only about 12 to 24 hours once the ovum is released. Don't be disappointed if it doesn't work the first time. You have only about a 20% chance of getting pregnant each month.

Tip for the Week: Make sure you've scheduled a preconception visit with your OB-Gyn to determine risks of genetic diseases, environmental hazards and lifestyle changes necessary to ensure a healthy pregnancy and baby. Most important, make sure you've started taking 0.4 milligrams, or 400 micrograms, of folic acid a day. Folic acid taken a few months before conception has been shown to dramatically reduce the likelihood of neural tube defects, such as spina bifida.

Week 3

Baby:Congratulations! If your egg and your partner's sperm have joined successfully, your embryo is really there, although it's very small -- about the size of the head of a pin. It doesn't look like a fetus or baby; it's just a group of about 100 cells multiplying and growing rapidly. The outer layer of cells will become the placenta, and the inner layer will become the embryo.

Mom-to-be: You won't notice any changes. It's too soon. Remember, you haven't even missed your period yet.

Tip for the Week: Home pregnancy tests are about as reliable as a urine test or blood test done in the doctor's office and can give you more immediate results than waiting for a doctor's visit. To ensure accuracy, make sure you've read the directions carefully and that all equipment being used is clean

Week 4

Baby:Your baby is still very small, only about 0.014 inches to 0.04 inches in length. The embryo, probably in about its second week of development, has multiplied to about 150 cells. Your baby is being nourished by secretions from the uterine lining. Layers of cells already are specialized according to functions. The outer layer will become the nervous system, skin and hair; the inner layer will be the breathing and digestive organs; and the middle layer will become the skeleton, bones, cartilage, muscles, circulatory system, kidneys and sex organs.

Mom-to-be:You're probably expecting your period this week, and if it doesn't occur it might be one of the first signs that you're pregnant. You may also notice light spotting as the embryo implants itself in your uterus. You might not feel any different yet, but the amniotic cavity, which will be filled with fluid, and the placenta, which will bring oxygen and nutrients to nourish your baby, are forming in your uterus.

Tip for the Week:Try to eat healthfully, which means choosing a variety of foods from the recommended food groups and drinking at least six to eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. But you don't really need to "eat for two." You need only an extra 300 calories per day during pregnancy. And don't worry if your food intake drops a little in the beginning because of morning sickness. If you've been eating right already, your baby will get what it needs.

What’s Happening Inside You?

As the fertilized egg grows, a water-tight sac forms around it, gradually filling with fluid. This is called the amniotic sac, and it helps cushion the growing embryo.

The placenta also develops. The placenta is a round, flat organ that transfers nutrients from the mother to the baby, and transfers wastes from the baby.

A primitive face takes form with large dark circles for eyes. The mouth, lower jaw, and throat are developing. Blood cells are taking shape, and circulation will begin.

By the end of the first month, your baby is about 1/4 inch long - smaller than a grain of rice!

Reviewed by The Cleveland Clinic Birthing Services and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Too Sick to Work?

How sick is too sick to go to work? Advice on when you should just stay home.

By Susan Seliger
WebMD Feature

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

What’s a good enough reason to call in sick? If you wake up feeling sneezy, sleepy, dopey and grumpy, as if you've turned into nearly all of Snow White’s dwarves overnight, you might be wondering whether you should tough it out or just stay home. Here’s some advice on how to tell when your symptoms warrant staying at home – or when you have to roll out of bed and get to work.

#1 Good reason to call in sick: You’re a danger to others

“You have to ask yourself the key question: Are you a danger to yourself or to others?” says Michael Bagner, MD, attending physician at St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital and Medical Director of Roosevelt Hospital Doctors Offices in New York.

If, for example, you have an earache that affects your balance or concentration, you can’t do much harm sitting at your computer.

“But for someone who drives a bus or is a pilot, that earache could be very dangerous, for everybody,” Bagner explains. Also, if you are taking medication that can make you so groggy as to make it dangerous to perform your routine duties, you should do everyone a favor and stay home.

#2 Good reason to call in sick: You’re contagious

Contagion is another critical deciding factor – but not always an easy one to determine.

“A lot of diseases are contagious before you realize you’re sick,” Bagner tells WebMD. “Once you know you’re sick, you may not be contagious any more, and may as well go to work.”

But it pays to err on the side of staying home “if you work in close quarters with your co-workers – or you work with elderly or small children or people with cancer or chronic conditions —those are the most vulnerable people in our society,” says Bagner. “A minor nuisance of an illness to you could be fatal to them.” (Check out the symptoms below to help you determine contagiousness.)

#3 Good reason to call in sick: You won’t be productive

The third issue to consider is how productive you will really be. Ask yourself whether showing up just to prove you are a team player could make things worse.

“Sometimes people come back too soon and they get even sicker and wind up staying out longer,” says Paula H. Harvey, a human resources consultant with K & P Consulting and Adjunct Professor at Winthrop University as Rock Hill, SC.

It’s no wonder many people make decisions based on the health of their bank accounts rather than that of their bodies. About one-third of companies offer no sick leave pay at all, according to a 2006 study by the Society for Human Resource Management.

“If you have less than a year’s tenure in some companies they may terminate you if you have been out of work for three days – that’s common in manufacturing,” Harvey says. So if you stay home and snooze, you lose.

Symptoms to Help You Decide – Should You Call in Sick?

Your symptoms can provide the clearest clues as to whether you may be dangerous, contagious or unproductive enough to stay at home. Here’s how to decode the most common symptoms as you decide whether you have good reason to call in sick, get to a doctor, or just get up and go.

Sniffles, Sneezes, Fever and Coughs

If you are sniffling but have no other symptoms – no aches or fever -- it’s likely to be allergies. No excuse – grab a tissue and go to work.

If you have a stuffy nose, a productive cough, stuffed up sinuses and you feel achy and tired, it is likely a cold. Sometimes there will be a low-grade fever as well.

“Colds are most contagious early on – even before you are symptomatic,” says Bagner, so if you recognize the symptoms early enough, stay home for a day or two and see if you improve. You should also stay home if you are taking cold medicines that make you so drowsy that you are likely to make serious, even dangerous errors, at work.

The best thing you can do to keep from spreading the disease to others, at home or at work, is wash your hands as well as objects that you share with others.

“I read one study that said the dirtiest thing in a hotel room is the remote control – the cleaning staff cleans the bathroom but not the remote control,” says Susan Kahn, MD and Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics with a practice in Pelham ,NY.

“Wash your hands and also elevator buttons, light switches, computer keyboards, the handle of the coffee pot, to keep from spreading your illness to others,” Kahn says.

Hand sanitizers couldn’t hurt either, says Bagner: “They really work -- they contain antiseptics and alcohol that kill the germs.”

Flu symptoms tend to be more severe than cold symptoms and usually come on fast, within several hours. In addition to the aches common to the cold, you may have a fever, chills, a dry cough, and extreme tiredness.

“This is the most important time to stay home as you can get dehydrated from the fever,” says Bagner. And you are even more contagious than cold carriers.

Coughing alone doesn’t mean you should stay home, Bagner says, but you should see a physician if it lasts more than a couple of days.

“It could be a sign of anything from postnasal drip from a cold or allergies, to undiagnosed asthma, acid reflux or heartburn – and on the more serious side, emphysema or lung cancer,” says Bagner. “If you are also experiencing shortness of breath, and green mucous, stay home until you get a doctor’s appointment,” advises Bagner. It could be more than a lingering cold – perhaps bronchitis or pneumonia.

A fever plus a sore throat and white patches on your tonsils may indicate a strep throat. This is highly contagious. So stay out of work and get to the doctor for a strep test.

Back Pain

Going to work could merely prolong the pain, especially if you have a job that requires either physical exertion or the opposite -- prolonged sitting or standing. “You may not think of a desk job as strenuous, but it’s worse for your back sometimes than a physical job,” Bagner says.

Stay home for a day or two – but don’t stay in bed. “We no longer recommend bed rest for backaches,” Bagner says. “You are better off staying at home and doing some normal activities but don’t sit at the computer for long and don’t do exercise or heavy lifting.”

Headaches and Migraines

If your headache is combined with other cold and flu symptoms, you’re contagious and should stay home. If it’s a migraine, where the extreme pain and sensitivity to light and noise make it hard to get any work done, you probably shouldn’t bother heading in to work either.

“If it’s a migraine, lying in a cool, dark, quiet area, with a cool compress over the forehead can help,” Bagner says. There is also a wide array of medications and treatments that can help – so see a doctor.

Earache

If you have an earache with no other symptoms – and the pain is intense – see a physician. “Sometimes pain in the ear is not really from the ear – it could be a throat infection or sinus pain or inflammation of the jaw,” Bagner says, and antibiotics may be necessary.

If the earache is mild and accompanies other cold symptoms, you should probably stay home for the first day to see if the earache goes away – and to keep from spreading the cold to others, says Bagner.

Ear infections are not contagious but the pain can become intense quickly -- and you won’t be much good on the job.

Pinkeye

If your eyes are red, and your eyelashes feel sticky and matted, think pinkeye. It can be viral or bacterial.

“It’s no more contagious than a cold, just more obvious,” says Kahn. “Go see a doctor -- if antibiotic drops are called for, you will no longer be contagious after 24-to-48 hours.”

But until then, she says, it is wise, not to go to work, wash your hands frequently, and don’t rub your eyes or you might spread it from one eye to the other.

Sprains/Strains

It’s OK to go to work if you can sit comfortably all day. But if you have to stand or move in a way that puts pressure on the injured limb, the resulting swelling and discomfort could retard the healing process – and delay your return to productivity and good health. Ice packs and anti-inflammatory pain relievers can help reduce swelling and inflammation.

Poison Ivy

Poison ivy can be uncomfortable and unsightly – but if you’re looking for an excuse to stay home, keep looking – you are not contagious. “The rash is an allergic reaction to the oils in the plant – the reaction usually occurs three to four days after exposure. By that time the oil from the original poison ivy is not present [as long as you have washed the clothes you were wearing several times], so you can’t spread it to others or spread it further on yourself,” says Bagner.

7 Most Effective Exercise

Experts offer their favorite moves for making the most of your workout time.

By Barbara Russi Sarnataro
WebMD Weight Loss Clinic-Feature

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Experts say there is no magic to exercise: You get out of it what you put in. That doesn't mean you have to work out for hours each day. It just means you need to work smart.
That said, experts agree that not all exercises are created equal. Some are simply more efficient than others, whether they target multiple muscle groups, are suitable for a wide variety of fitness levels, or help you burn calories more effectively.
So what are the best exercises? We posed this question to four fitness experts and compiled a list of their favorites.

1. Walking.

Any exercise program should include cardiovascular exercise, which strengthens the heart and burns calories. And walking is something you can do anywhere, anytime, with no equipment other than a good pair of shoes.

It's not just for beginners, either: Even the very fit can get a good workout from walking.

"Doing a brisk walk can burn up to 500 calories per hour," says Robert Gotlin, DO, director of orthopaedic and sports rehabilitation at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. Since it takes 3,500 calories to lose a pound, you could expect to lose a pound for every seven hours you walk, if you did nothing else.

Don't go from the sofa to walking an hour day, though. Richard Cotton, a spokesman for the American Council on Exercise, says beginners should start by walking five to -10 minutes at a time, gradually moving up to at least 30 minutes per session.
"Don't add more than five minutes at a time," he says. Another tip: It's better to lengthen your walks before boosting your speed or incline.

2. Interval training.

Whether you're a beginner or an exercise veteran, a walker or an aerobic dancer, adding interval training to your cardiovascular workout will boost your fitness level and help you lose weight.

"Varying your pace throughout the exercise session stimulates the aerobic system to adapt," says Cotton. "The more power the aerobic system has, the more capacity you have to burn calories."

The way to do it is to push the intensity or pace for a minute or two, then back off for anywhere from two to -10 minutes (depending on how long your total workout will be, and how much time you need to recover). Continue doing this throughout the workout. ^

3. Squats.

Strength training is essential, the experts say. "The more muscular fitness you have," says Cotton, "the greater the capacity you have to burn calories."
And our experts tended to favor strength-training exercises that target multiple muscle groups. Squats, which work the quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteals, are an excellent example.
"They give you the best bang for the buck because they use the most muscle groups at once," says Oldsmar, Fla., trainer David Petersen.
Form is key, though, warns Petersen.
"What makes an exercise functional is how you perform the exercise," he says. "If you have bad technique, it's no longer functional."
For perfect form, keep feet shoulder-width apart and back straight. Bend knees and lower your rear, says Cotton: "The knee should remain over the ankle as much as possible."
"Think of how you sit down in a chair, only the chair's not there," suggests Gotlin.
Physical therapist Adam Rufa, of Cicero, N.Y., says practicing with a real chair can help.
"Start by working on getting in and out of a real chair properly," he says. Once you've mastered that, try just tapping the chair with your bottom, then coming back up. Then do the same motion without the chair.
Gotlin sees lots of patients with knee pain, and says quadriceps weakness is the cause much of the time. If you feel pain going down stairs, he says, strengthening your quads with squats may very well help.

4. Lunges.

Like squats, lunges work all the major muscles of the lower body: gluteals, quadriceps, and hamstrings.

"A lunge is a great exercise because it mimics life, it mimics walking," only exaggerated, says Petersen.

Lunges are a bit more advanced than squats, says Cotton, helping to improve your balance as well.

Here's how to do them right: Take a big step forward, keeping your spine in a neutral position. Bend your front knee to approximately 90 degrees, focusing on keeping weight on the back toes and dropping the knee of your back leg toward the floor.
Petersen suggests that you imagine sitting on your back foot. "The trailing leg is the one you need to sit down on," he says.
To make a lunge even more functional, says Rufa, try stepping not just forward, but back and out to each side.

"Life is not linear, it's multiplanar," says Rufa. And the better they prepare you for the various positions you'll move in during the course of a day, the more useful exercises are.

5. Push-ups.

If done correctly, the push-up can strengthen the chest, shoulders, triceps, and even the core trunk muscles, all at one time.
"I'm very much into planking exercises, almost yoga-type moves," says Petersen. "Anytime you have the pelvis and the core [abdominals and back] in a suspended position, you have to rely on your own adherent strength to stabilize you."

Push-ups can be done at any level of fitness, says Cotton: "For someone who is at a more beginning level, start by pushing from the kitchen-counter height. Then work your way to a desk, a chair, the floor with bent knees, and, finally, the floor on your toes."

Here's how to do a perfect push-up: From a face-down position, place your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Place your toes or knees on the floor, and try to create a perfect diagonal with your body, from the shoulders to the knees or feet. Keep the glutes [rear-end muscles] and abdominals engaged. Then lower and lift your body by bending and straightening your elbows, keeping your torso stable throughout.

There are always ways to make it harder, says Rufa. Once your form is perfect, try what he calls the "T-stabilization" push-up: Get into push-up position, then do your push-ups with one arm raised out to the side, balancing on the remaining three limbs without rotating your hips.

6. Abdominal Crunches.

Who doesn't want firm, flat abs? Experts say that when done correctly, the familiar crunch (along with its variations) is a good choice to target them.

For a standard crunch, says Cotton, begin lying on your back with feet flat on the floor and fingertips supporting your head. Press your low back down and begin the exercise by contracting abdominals and peeling first your head (tucking your chin slightly), then your neck, shoulders, and upper back off the floor.

Be careful not to pull your neck forward of the rest of your spine by sticking the chin out; don't hold your breath, and keep elbows out of your line of vision to keep chest and shoulders open.

For his part, Petersen teaches his clients to do crunches with their feet off the floor and knees bent. He says that with feet kept on the floor, many people tend to arch the back and engage the hip flexors.

"Crunches can be excellent, but if they're not done correctly, with the back arching, they can actually weaken the abdominals," Petersen says.

To work the obliques (the muscles on the sides of your waist), says Cotton, take the standard crunch and rotate the spine toward one side as you curl off the floor.

"Twist before you come up," he says. "It's really important that the twist comes first because then it's the obliques that are actually getting you up."

But keep in mind that you won't get a flat stomach with crunches alone, says Cotton. Burning belly fat requires the well-known formula: using up more calories than you take in.

"Crunches work the ab muscles; [they're] not to be mistaken as exercise that burns the fat over the abdominals," he says. "That's the biggest myth in exercise going."

7. Bent-over Row.

Talk about bang for the buck: This exercise works all the major muscles of the upper back, as well as the biceps.
Here's how to do it with good form. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, then bend knees and flex forward at the hips. (If you have trouble doing this exercise standing up, support your weight by sitting on an incline bench, facing backward.) Tilt your pelvis slightly forward, engage the abdominals, and extend your upper spine to add support. Hold dumbbells or barbell beneath the shoulders with hands about shoulder-width apart. Flex your elbows, and lift both hands toward the sides of your body. Pause, then slowly lower hands to the starting position. (Beginners should perform the move without weights.)

Technique

These seven exercises are excellent, efficient choices, the experts say. But with just about any strength or resistance exercise, says Petersen, the question is not so much whether the exercise works as how well you execute.

"Done with good technique, all exercises do what they're supposed to do," says Petersen.

The trouble is that poor form can change the whole exercise, putting emphasis or even strain on different areas than intended. This can hurt, rather than help you.

So especially if you're a beginner, it's a good idea to seek the advice of a fitness trainer - whether it's a personal trainer or a trainer at your gym -- to be sure your form is safe and correct.

Plan Your Day to Lose Weight

Making lifestyle changes doesn't come naturally. To change your eating and exercise habits, you've got to plan - to make it happen.

By Jeanie L. Davis
WebMD Feature

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD, MD

You're running late, flying out the door. You might skip breakfast: the cereal box is empty, and the milk's gone sour. Forget taking lunch: there's peanut butter in the jar, but you are out of bread. Exercise before work? You've got to be kidding. It's a typical hectic morning, at the beginning of a typical jam-packed day. What happened to those resolutions to exercise more, eat healthier, lose weight? It's easy for them to get lost in the daily shuffle.

In a perfect world, we could accomplish all this by the time our busy day starts:

• Jump out of bed by 6:30 (or earlier).
  
• Get a good chunk of exercise, 20 minutes or more.
  
• Eat a satisfying but healthy breakfast: fresh fruit, high-fiber cereal, low-fat milk.
  
• Brown-bag a wholesome lunch: more fresh fruit, low-fat yogurt, whole-wheat bread, homemade vegetable soup (maybe that you prepared last night).

It's true -- with a little planning, this could be your reality. Your morning rush would go more smoothly, and your weight loss efforts would stay on track. You bounce out of bed, knowing what your next move is - all day, all week, all year.

"If you leave exercise and healthy eating to chance, it's not going to happen," says Milton Stokes, RD, MPH, chief dietitian for St. Barnabas Hospital in New York City. "You're responsible for you. Use your personal digital assistant to set your day - gym time, dinner. Make these things pre-meditated - so it's not like a surprise, you've got an extra hour, should you go to the gym or watch TV. If you don't plan it, you won't do it."

Planning for Weight Loss

Planning helps you build new habits, says Barbara J. Rolls, PhD, the Guthrie Chair in Nutrition at Pennsylvania State University in Pittsburgh and author of The Volumetrics Weight Control Plan. "Without planning, you're always going to be struggling - trying to figure out how to eat what you should. You'll end up making yourself eat things you don't want to eat. Eating will always feel like work."

Indeed, planning involves discipline - and that is a key trait that is evident among the "successful losers" who belong to The National Weight Control Registry. They have maintained a 30-pound weight loss for at least a year - and many have lost much more, and kept it off for much longer.

"It is very difficult to lose weight and keep it off - and people who succeed must have discipline," says James O. Hill, PhD, the Registry's co-founder and director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. "People who are most successful plan their day to ensure that they stick to their eating plan and get regular physical activity. It takes effort to be successful in long-term weight management."

Goal No. 1: Plan Your Daily Food

First, take note of every bite of food you have during the day. Don't forget that run through the supermarket - all those tasty samples you couldn't pass up. "A food journal is the single best thing you can do," says Gary Foster, PhD, clinical director of the weight and eating disorders program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. "You become more conscious of what you're doing. It helps you monitor yourself, and make corrections in mid-course."

Dietitians call it a food journal. But really, it's research for your plan of action, he explains. You'll see where you need improvement. "Plans work better than platitudes," Foster tells WebMD. "Instead of 'I'll exercise more,' make it 'I'll walk tomorrow morning at 7 a.m.'"

Keep it simple. Journals don't have to be labor-intensive, he says. Focus on your high-risk time slots when you're most likely to get off course. Example: You know you eat junk at night, or that you snack after 3 p.m., or between lunch and dinner. Just keep notes during that time period. You'll quickly see problem habits: banana split vs. banana, the whole container of nuts vs. a handful.

Set specific goals. You can't just tell yourself to eat less junk food after 8 p.m. Be specific - 'I'm going to substitute popcorn for potato chips.' That way you know exactly what to do. There's no question.

Use weekends wisely. "When things are a little quieter on weekends, you can think about the upcoming week," says Stokes. "Decide what you're going to eat. Go to the market, so you're a little ahead of the game. You can even prepare food on the weekend and freeze it, then pull it out during the week."

Consider your options. Keep lists of healthy foods and meals you love, and plan accordingly, adds Elisabetta Politi, RD, MPH, nutrition manager at the Duke Diet & Fitness Center at Duke University Medical School. "I advise people to think of five different breakfast, lunch, and dinner options. Then you'll have some freedom - you can choose from your favorites. But your eating will be more structured. That's what's important."

Shop wisely. A well-stocked fridge and pantry can make it easier to grab a healthy snack or prepare delicious meals that are also good for you. Keep basics like these on hand: low-fat milk and yogurt, eggs, peanut butter, a variety of fresh fruits (include berries and grapes) and vegetables (include carrots and celery), soybeans, garlic, whole grain pasta/bread, fish, and high-fiber cereal.

Plan healthy treats. Low-fat cheese or yogurt, hummus with veggies, and fresh fruit are great choices. Keep them at home; take them to the office. That will help you eat the right foods when you're starving - especially in the late afternoon, during drive time -- and when you finally get home at night.

Do it yourself. These are great prepare-ahead healthy meals that will keep you feeling full and help you control your weight:

• Make a dried-fruit-and-nut mix for emergency snacking. (Be wary of granola, since it typically has lots of sugar, says Stokes.) Pack small amounts in a little plastic bag - great for the car or office.
  
• Cook a big pot of homemade vegetable soup, which can be frozen for several lunches or dinners.
  
• Try smoothies - blend low-fat yogurt and fruit - for a grab-and-go meal.
  
• Mix up big salads or a pasta primavera with lots of veggies and whole-wheat pasta. Prepare large quantities so you can have a moderate-sized helping for dinner and then have leftovers for lunch the next day.

Buy healthy frozen entrées. "These have really improved," says Rolls. "They have more whole grains in them now, and they seem to be getting tastier. If I'm traveling and can't get to the grocery store, I make sure I have frozen entrees on hand."

Don't limit yourself. It's OK to eat breakfast food for snacks, lunch, or dinner. "You can eat a hard-boiled egg or cereal any time, not just breakfast," Stokes advises.

Goal No. 2: Plan Your Exercise

First, talk to your doctor - especially if you are overweight or are at high risk for heart disease, advises Thompson. Your doctor may suggest that you ask a fitness trainer to develop a workout plan that best suits your needs.

Analyze your morning schedule. "You'll find there's a lot of free time there," says Gerald Endress, ACSM, fitness director at Duke Diet & Fitness Center at Duke University Medical Center. "People tell me it takes them two hours to get ready for work. It's not that they're prettying themselves up - they're basically just wasting time. But when they start exercising in the morning, they find they use their time better. One guy told me he got to work 20 minutes earlier on days he exercised. If you've got a structured period of activity, you know to keep things moving."

Set your program. Decide what works best for you, such as 8 a.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. "You don't let anything interfere with that," advises Thompson. "That's not to say once a month something comes up you can't exercise. That's OK. It's when you're making excuses three, four, five days in a row -- that's a problem. It's got to be the highest priority because it's your health."

Know your options. What kind of exercise - or physical activity - will get you out of bed in the morning? A yoga video, walking, a workout session at the YMCA? Figure out what will motivate you.

Tackle roadblocks. Is inertia a problem for you in the morning? "When the alarm clock sounds, it's easy to hit the snooze button," says Bryant. A workout buddy can provide motivation. "If you know someone is waiting for you, counting on you, you'll go. Once you go, you're happy you went. Once you get past that inertia, you're glad you did the workout."

Don't think of it as "early". It's a mindset issue, says Foster. Setting the alarm 30 minutes early should not be a negative in your day. Give it a positive spin. "Quit thinking of it as getting up early. Your day starts when the alarm goes off. That's how you should think of it."

Remind yourself. Put yellow sticky notes on the fridge or the computer - like "get off the bus four stops early - Mon., Wed., Fri."

Reward yourself. "Establish a goal for your workouts - daily, weekly, monthly goals," Bryant advises. "When you've done those workouts, accomplished those goals, pat yourself on the back." He suggests going out and buying a favorite DVD or CD, or even getting yourself that iPod you wanted! "Rewards help keep you motivated," says Foster.

"Planning helps you overcome the unpredictability of daily life," says Foster. "Having any plan, even if it's a bad or ineffective plan, increases your confidence in accomplishing the task at hand. Just the fact that you've thought it through means it will have some effect."

The Top 10 Medication Mistakes Parents Make

WebMD Feature from "Good Housekeeping" Magazine

By Francesca L. Kritz

Consult Your Doctor

One night a few summers ago, when my 18-month-old daughter's mosquito bites were making her itchy, cranky, and sleepless, I went to a 24-hour pharmacy to buy antihistamine. It wasn't until I got home that I read the package instructions: for children under 6, consult physician. By then it was after 10:00 p.m., and I didn't want to bother her doctor. So I guessed and gave Dina a teaspoonful. As it turns out, the amount was right, but that didn't keep me from getting a warning from my pediatrician when I called the next day: Just one extra dose of an antihistamine could make a child of Dina's weight (20 pounds) sluggish. Four times that dose could heavily sedate her.

Doctors say many well-intentioned parents slip when giving medication. The mistakes listed here can prolong a child's illness, cause bothersome side effects, and even sabotage treatment.

Measurements

"A few months ago, I started to give a patient medicine using a standard measurement cup," recalls Cheston Berlin, M.D., F.A.A.P., chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics' committee on drugs and a pediatrician at Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. "Her mother asked me to use a kitchen teaspoon instead, since that was how she gave her daughter medicine at home." Kitchen spoons or cooking measuring utensils should never be used, says Dr. Berlin, because they don't provide accurate measurements — a child may get too little or too much of the drug. Whenever you give your child liquid medication, be sure to use marked spoons, cups, or syringes.

Gauge by Weight

Dosages for most nonprescription children's drugs are based on a child's weight, not his age, says Joseph Greensher, M.D., F.A.A.P., professor of pediatrics at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, New York. Two teaspoons of the pain reliever acetaminophen should bring down a 55-pound eight-year-old's fever within an hour, but it will take three teaspoons to budge the thermometer if he weighs 75 pounds. Always note your child's new weight at each doctor visit, advises Dr. Greensher. And because not all over-the-counter children's medications list dosage information by weight, check with your pharmacist or doctor.

Check Your Doses

Matthew, my one-year-old, gets a different antibiotic every few weeks to treat his chronic ear infections, and the dose is usually a teaspoonful. So it wasn't until I'd given him a few doses of his most recent antibiotic that I happened to check the label and realized I'd been giving him a quarter of a teaspoon too much. In this case the extra amount caused more intense side effects — gas and diarrhea. But with pain relievers a few extra doses over several weeks could lead to possible liver or kidney damage. Check all labels carefully

Keep tabs on expiration dates, too, especially with drugs that your child takes only once in a while. "A mother called me recently to tell me that the drug her child takes occasionally for painful heartburn wasn't working," recalls Marilyn Bull, M.D., F.A.A.P., director of developmental pediatrics at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. "The problem was that the drug has a shelf life of only thirty days, and the mother hadn't remembered to refill the prescription."

What to Look For

Anyone who has tried to give medication to a fidgety child knows that sometimes both adult and child can end up wearing a lot of it. But enough may have entered the youngster's system, and giving another full dose could be dangerous. The same applies to children who vomit within an hour of downing medicine. In both cases, it's best to call your pediatrician, who can advise you on whether — depending on the drug — it's okay to give another dose.

Follow Through

Your child is feeling better, but you've still got a half bottle of antibiotic left. Your instinct may be to shelve it. After all, you wonder, why spend money on more if you need it a few months later? But, says Laura Prager, M.D., F.A.A.P., a pediatrician with Kaiser Permanente in Redwood City, California, most prescriptions, especially antibiotics, are meant to be used in full. If you don't give your child the entire dose, the illness could recur.

If your doctor switches your child from one type of refrigerated liquid antibiotic to another halfway through, don't store the first kind for future use; refrigerated antibiotics tend to lose their potency after two weeks. You can save unused tablets or capsules, but don't give them to your child unless you have your doctor's approval, says Dr. Prager.

Don't Use Old Medication

"I recently examined a child whose parents had started him on his sister's leftover antibiotics because they thought he might have had a recurrence of strep throat," says Jerome Paulson, M.D., F.A.A.P., an associate professor of health-care sciences and pediatrics at George Washington University Medical School in Washington, D.C. "By the time I saw him three days later, there was no way to accurately diagnose him because the drug had either cleared up the infection or wasn't necessary in the first place."

Giving a child an unnecessary antibiotic also increases the chance that the bacteria will develop a resistance to it. If that happens, the drug may not work when the child does need it.

Quality, Not Quantity

Parents sometimes assume that if a drug does not work right away they need to give a little more. With many drugs, including antibiotics, it can often take three to four days before your child will start to feel better, points out Dr. Prager. An extra teaspoonful won't speed up recovery and could cause serious side effects.

Questions to Ask Your Doctor

Ask the doctor if it's okay to skip nighttime doses. Sometimes it is more important to wake a child than to let him sleep. And make sure baby-sitters, relatives, and other people who look after your child know how and when to administer the medication.

Mistakes

A frantic parent once called Dr. Greensher in the middle of the night because she had grabbed adult cough syrup in the darkness and given it to her seven-year-old instead of his antibiotic. "This can happen during the day too," says Dr. Greensher, "especially if a busy parent is in a rush." To be on the safe side, call the doctor should such a mistake occur.

Never Assume

"Parents shouldn't just assume that a drug is working," says Dr. Greensher. "Ask the doctor when your child should show signs of improvement and about potential side effects." If you're in any doubt, don't hesitate to call. Your pediatrician may need to give your child a different medication.

How to Give Medication

It's tempting to slip medicine into food or drink to make it more palatable. "But this can prevent drugs from being absorbed," says Howard Mofenson, M.D., F.A.A.P., a pediatric pharmacologist at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, New York. Some key precautions:

• Most antibiotics should be taken an hour before or an hour after meals. Those that can be taken with meals include sulfa drugs, commonly prescribed for ear infections, and new types of erythromycin and amoxicillin.
  
• It's best to give drugs with water. Carbonated beverages can inhibit absorption, as can milk when downed with tetracycline, fluoride drugs, and drugs for pediatric heart conditions. Doctors say it's fine, however, to pour some chocolate syrup into a dose of liquid medicine.
  
• DON'T TAKE WITH FOOD includes juice, although a half ounce or less usually won't degrade the drug.
  
• If a drug can be mixed with food, use just enough to mask the taste — a teaspoon of applesauce, yogurt, or ice cream should do the trick. If a portion is too large, a child may not finish it and won't get the full dose.

Broccoli Good for the Heart
Nutrients in Broccoli May Help Protect the Heart, Say Scientists Studying Rats
By Miranda Hitti WebMD Medical News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Jan. 18, 2008 -- Here's another reason to eat broccoli: It may help your heart.
University of Connecticut researchers report that news after studying broccoli and heart health in rats.

The scientists brewed a broccoli extract and fed it to rats for a month in addition to regular rat chow. For comparison, they fed other rats water instead of the broccoli extract in addition to their regular diet.

After feeding the rats broccoli extract or extra water for 30 days, the scientists tested the rats' hearts. Some of those tests deprived the heart of oxygen, similar to a heart attack.

The rats that had eaten the broccoli extract had three heart advantages over the other rats:

• Better blood-pumping ability
  
• Less heart damage during oxygen deprivation
  
• Higher levels of heart-health chemicals during oxygen deprivation
  

Broccoli's key nutrients include selenium and sulforaphane, which may also curb cancer, note graduate student Subhendu Mukherjee and Dipak Das, PhD.

Their findings appear in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Green Tea May Ward Off Weight Gain
But You'd Have to Drink a Lot of Tea to Match Preliminary Lab Tests in Mice
By Miranda Hitti WebMD Medical News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Jan. 23, 2008 -- The benefits of green tea might include blocking fat and keeping extra pounds at bay, according to preliminary lab tests in mice.

Don't skip over that word "preliminary." There's no proof yet that sipping green tea will do the same for people. Staying in shape continues to be a balancing act between calories and activity.
Here's what those preliminary lab tests in mice show:

• Less weight and fat gain. Among mice with an obesity gene, those that ate chow laced with green tea extract gained less weight and less fat.
• Less fat in the liver. There was less sign of "fatty liver" disease in the mice with the obesity gene that ate chow laced with green tea extract.
• Lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels in mice with the obesity gene that ate the chow laced with green tea extract, compared to other mice with the same obesity gene.

A healthy liver isn't fatty. But obesity -- in mice or in people -- can lead to fatty buildup in the liver and cause nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

As for that green tea extract, the study used it in doses equal to what a person would get from drinking at least seven cups of green tea a day.

The University of Connecticut's Richard Bruno, PhD, RD, and colleagues report their findings in February's edition of The Journal of Nutrition.

Middle Age a Global Bummer
Across The Globe, People Are Happier Before, After Middle Age, Study Shows
By Miranda Hitti WebMD Medical News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Jan. 29, 2008 -- If life is a journey, happiness hits a speed bump in middle age for people worldwide, a new study shows.

But on the bright side, emotional well-being perks up again with age, according to the report.
Those findings come from more than 204,000 people in 72 countries. They rated their happiness or life satisfaction.

Around the world, from Austria to Zimbabwe, happiness ratings were higher before and after middle age. Picture a U-shaped curve, with middle age down in the valley of the U.
Getting Back to Happiness

U.S. men were almost 53 years old when they emerged from their midlife blues; U.S. women shifted back toward happiness earlier, when they were about 39 years old.

Those ages varied somewhat around the world, with the 40s as the turning point for men and women in Europe and developing countries.

The findings are based on adults of all ages. But participants weren't followed over time; the study was a snapshot of worldwide well-being.

Marriage, income, and education didn't explain the results. The impact of health on happiness wasn't part of the study.

The report comes from two economics professors: David Blanchflower, PhD, of Dartmouth College and Andrew Oswald, DPhil, of England's University of Warwick.

Why the Midlife Downturn?

The study doesn't show why happiness dips in midlife and picks back up again later. But the researchers have three theories:

* People adapt to their strengths and weakness, ditching unrealistic expectations during middle age.
* Cheerful people may live longer, making for more happiness later in life.
* In middle age, a person may look around at others who have had a hard time and start to appreciate their own lives more.

Of course, the data paint a very broad picture. The findings don't mean that middle age is miserable for everyone.

The study is due to appear in an upcoming edition of Social Science & Medicine, according to a University of Warwick news release.