We shared how Men’s Health readers feel on the name-changing tradition—now hear Women’s Health Health‘s readers’ side of the story Continue reading
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Why Women Choose to Keep Their Last Names—Or Not
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How Men REALLY Feel When You Keep Your Last Name
Think the name-changing marriage tradition is overrated? Wait’ll you hear how Men’s Health readers feel on the subject Continue reading
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5 Ways to Make the Honeymoon Phase Last
If that can’t-keep-your-hands-off-each-other passion has been long missing from your relationship, don’t freak out just yet. Most couples make a shift from romance to routine by their second anniversary, says sex and relationships counselor Ian Kerner, Ph.D., author of She Comes First and founder of Good in Bed. It’s part of deepening intimacy and a more stable commitment between the two of you.
But that doesn’t mean your relationship can’t benefit from some extra spark. Here, five expert-approved ways to relive your honeymoon phase year after year:
Mix Up Date Night
“The infatuation phase of relationships involves the spiking of a potent neurochemical cocktail, so it’s really as though couples are under the influence,” says Kerner. Luckily you can mix a similar dopamine and norepinephrine cocktail by simply doing new things with your man, according to research from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. What’s more, when your body is physiologically aroused (think: slippery palms and a racing heart) you associate that feeling with whatever’s in your environment… like each other. In one Stony Brook study, couples that participated in “exciting” activities reported greater marriage satisfaction than those who engaged in “pleasant” activities together. On your next date night, try taking a rock-climbing class or going after each other in a heated game of laser tag. Get the blood pumping, and you’ll feel the rush.
RELATED: 5 Valentine’s Day Dates Your Guy Will Love
See Things a New Way
The next time you and your guy have a fight, try to envision it from an outside, neutral perspective. Practicing this third-party assessment trick can help make you feel like you’re back in the honeymoon phase, according to a new study from Northwestern University. In the study, researchers asked 60 couples with declining relationship satisfaction to write about their disagreements for seven minutes, three times a year—from a neutral perspective. When the year was up, their decline in relationship satisfaction, passion, and sexual desire was completely halted. Try it yourself: The next time you and your guy go at it, take some time after to write out a perfectly neutral assessment of how it all went down. You don’t necessarily need to share your notes with him, but the act of putting yourself in an outside perspective can help you take a more balanced approach to the situation, rather than focusing exclusively on your feelings and how hurt or angry you are.
RELATED: 4 Strategies to Stop Relationship Arguments
Schedule Sex
The more often you have sex, the better. Period. Regular sex makes both of you produce more libido-revving testosterone so you’ll start going at it like rabbits even without a schedule. And couples that have regular sex are 65 percent more likely to be happy in their relationship, according to research published in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy. So as not to bruise your guy’s manhood, say “I really miss having sex with you.” Schedule sexy-time once a week, so even if you miss a bout you won’t go a whole month sans loving.
RELATED: Boring Sex, Begone!
Keep the Mystery Alive
If familiarity doesn’t breed contempt, it definitely breeds indifference. Studies have shown that attraction relies on constant and lasting discovery of your partner. And the strongest individuals build the strongest bonds, Kerner says. So avoid texting each other real-time updates on every aspect of your life and give each other space. Try scheduling some guys and girls nights out, or even separate vacations with friends, he suggests.
RELATED: 6 Ways to Strengthen Your Friendships
Get Physical
Olivia Newton-John was right. Exercise makes you want to have sex. Exercise boosts your sex drive, mood, and clears your mind of clutter than can get in the way of any woman’s O, Kerner says. And if you’ve been considering welcoming a little blue pill into your bed, consider a gym date instead: In one study of 31,000 men, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health found that those who exercised vigorously for 20 to 30 minutes a day were 30 percent less likely to report erectile dysfunction than were couch potatoes.
RELATED: The Do-Anywhere CrossFit Workout
photo: Elena Rudakova/Shutterstock
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Jessica Alba’s go-to tips for making affordable, stylish nontoxic choices for your home and family! Buy The Honest Life today!
How Long Should a Cough Last?
Has your annoying cough been dragging on for weeks? It’s annoying for sure, but it’s also totally normal. People tend to underestimate how long a cough should last, according to a new study published in the Annals of Family Medicine. Skewed expectations may be one reason why antibiotics are over-prescribed, even for viral infections.
In a phone survey, researchers asked 493 people how long they thought a case of ACI (acute cough illness, a.k.a. a cold that causes coughing) should last. At the same time, they looked at the existing medical literature to see how long ACI actually lasts on average. Survey respondents guessed that a cough should last 7-9 days. The literature, by contrast, showed that the mean duration of a cough is almost 18 days.
18 days of hacking sounds like a long time, which helps explain why many people would be tempted to see a doctor much sooner than that. Doctors may feel pressured to prescribe antibiotics, even when it’s unnecessary or (in the case of a viral infection) useless.
There’s a reason we get anxious about a lingering cough, says lead study author Mark H. Ebell, MD, MS, an associate professor at the University of Georgia. “There are a lot of infections like the common cold … that last maybe a week to 10 days,” he says. “I think people extend that to bronchitis or a chest cold and think it should last that long as well.” Some coughs hang around for longer, and as inconvenient as they can be, we need to allow ourselves enough time to recover. “Americans are not known for being the most patient people in the world,” Ebell adds.
Knowing the actual timeline can keep you from getting freaked out for no reason. Still, there are signs to watch out for, says Meir Kryger, MD, a professor of pulmonary medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. Watch to see if your cough has a creepy partner in crime, like funky-looking or excessive phlegm. “If you’re coughing and you’re bringing up something, it’s usually something you should go to the doctor for,” says Kryger. Also watch for changes in the color of your phlegm or traces of blood, both of which merit a trip to the doc.
If your cough is accompanied by shortness of breath or a wheezing noise in your chest, it’s also smart to get checked out. A barking or whooping sound, accompanied by a coughing spasm, could be a sign of adult whooping cough, which Kryger says is on the rise. In addition, some coughs can be caused or aggravated by certain medications, like those used to treat high blood pressure.
While you may not be breathing easy in just one or two weeks’ time, see a doc if you have any of the above symptoms. “It’s better to be safe than sorry,” says Kryger.
More from WH:
The Best OTC Cold and Flu Meds
Germ-Proof Your Office
Your Step-By-Step Guide to Hand-Washing
Discover surprising walking tips, tricks, and techniques to melt fat fast and get a tighter, firmer butt with Walk Your Butt Off! Buy it now!
How Long Should a Cough Last?
Has your annoying cough been dragging on for weeks? It’s annoying for sure, but it’s also totally normal. People tend to underestimate how long a cough should last, according to a new study published in the Annals of Family Medicine. Skewed expectations may be one reason why antibiotics are over-prescribed, even for viral infections.
In a phone survey, researchers asked 493 people how long they thought a case of ACI (acute cough illness, a.k.a. a cold that causes coughing) should last. At the same time, they looked at the existing medical literature to see how long ACI actually lasts on average. Survey respondents guessed that a cough should last 7-9 days. The literature, by contrast, showed that the mean duration of a cough is almost 18 days.
18 days of hacking sounds like a long time, which helps explain why many people would be tempted to see a doctor much sooner than that. Doctors may feel pressured to prescribe antibiotics, even when it’s unnecessary or (in the case of a viral infection) useless.
There’s a reason we get anxious about a lingering cough, says lead study author Mark H. Ebell, MD, MS, an associate professor at the University of Georgia. “There are a lot of infections like the common cold … that last maybe a week to 10 days,” he says. “I think people extend that to bronchitis or a chest cold and think it should last that long as well.” Some coughs hang around for longer, and as inconvenient as they can be, we need to allow ourselves enough time to recover. “Americans are not known for being the most patient people in the world,” Ebell adds.
Knowing the actual timeline can keep you from getting freaked out for no reason. Still, there are signs to watch out for, says Meir Kryger, MD, a professor of pulmonary medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. Watch to see if your cough has a creepy partner in crime, like funky-looking or excessive phlegm. “If you’re coughing and you’re bringing up something, it’s usually something you should go to the doctor for,” says Kryger. Also watch for changes in the color of your phlegm or traces of blood, both of which merit a trip to the doc.
If your cough is accompanied by shortness of breath or a wheezing noise in your chest, it’s also smart to get checked out. A barking or whooping sound, accompanied by a coughing spasm, could be a sign of adult whooping cough, which Kryger says is on the rise. In addition, some coughs can be caused or aggravated by certain medications, like those used to treat high blood pressure.
While you may not be breathing easy in just one or two weeks’ time, see a doc if you have any of the above symptoms. “It’s better to be safe than sorry,” says Kryger.
More from WH:
The Best OTC Cold and Flu Meds
Germ-Proof Your Office
Your Step-By-Step Guide to Hand-Washing
Discover surprising walking tips, tricks, and techniques to melt fat fast and get a tighter, firmer butt with Walk Your Butt Off! Buy it now!
The Secret to Making Weight Loss Last
Planning to go on a diet? Prepare yourself—literally. According to a recent study from Stanford University, it’s easier to keep the weight off if you adopt healthy lifestyle habits, like eating mindfully and taking brief walks, before you start your weight-loss plan.
The study, which appears in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, found that women who spent eight weeks mastering weight-maintenance skills before embarking on a weight-loss program shed the same number of pounds as women who started a weight-loss program immediately. More importantly, the results showed that the “maintenance-first” women regained only 3 pounds on average a year later, compared to the average 7-pound gain for the immediate dieters.
“The premise for the ‘before’ idea was that women could have an opportunity to master the maintenance skills before having to worry about losing weight,” says study author Michaela Kiernan, PhD. That way, study participants were able to channel their initial motivation and excitement into maintenance, the usually elusive part of weight-loss management, Kiernan adds.
Make this method work for you. If you’ve struggled to keep off excess pounds, start with these five healthy habits before actively starting to lose weight.
Make a healthy grocery list
“Stocking your pantry with healthy staples will set you up for success,” says Rachel Berman, a registered dietician and director of nutrition for CalorieCount.com. Healthy staples include frozen or fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, nut and nut butters, dried beans, seeds, condiments—like olive oil—low-fat milk, yogurt, and eggs, she adds. Here’s a shopping list you can start with.
Start drinking more water
Drink about 8-10 cups of water per day to keep your energy high and metabolism strong. “Staying hydrated helps you become more in tune with your physical hunger cues so you’re less likely to overeat,” Berman says. Also, ditch sugary drinks like lemonade or soda and instead add fresh fruit flavor to water using an infusion pitcher. If you’re not sure which drinks to ditch, here’s a list of the worst beverages at the supermarket.
Create a support system
Keep your family in the loop about the healthy changes you’re making, without mentioning weight loss as the reason. Even better, try and get them to join in. “Statistics show that people have more success losing weight when they have a support system,” Berman says. Could your friends and family be to blame for your weight? Here’s how to not fail prey to fat peer pressure.
Start a food journal
Track your food with plain old pen and paper or use more interactive logs found online—like CalorieCount.com. “This helps you stay accountable for what you’re eating and recognize where you need to make improvements,” Berman says. “Mindfulness of what you’re eating and drinking is a key ingredient in making changes,” she adds.
Find your favorite exercise
If you dread going to the gym or doing an hour-long boot-camp workout, you won’t stick with it. “Finding an activity you enjoy is important for sustainability and keeps you motivated to create and keep healthy habits,” Berman says. Try going to a dance class or take a stroll for 20 minutes first thing in the morning. Still bored with your routine? Here are 21 ways to make fitness fun!
photo: Photodisc/Thinkstock
More from WH:
Healthy Habits of the Successfully Fit
10 Ways to Get a Flat Stomach
How to Lose Weight Fast
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