Move up dinnertime, roll your shoulders and stop ‘power peeing’ — and 7 more health tips to help you have a great week

Hi, Yahoo readers! My name is Rachel Grumman Bender, and I’m here to bring you the internet’s best wellness tips of the week.

Has this ever happened to you? One minute, you can barely keep your eyes open and can’t wait to crawl into your cozy bed. The next, you’re wide awake and thinking, Now would be a great time to rearrange that junk drawer (those random slips of paper and half-dead pens aren’t going to throw themselves out). It’s called a “second wind,” and it can make you perk up when you should be passing out.

So what stops your brain from winding down and gives you that burst of energy when you don’t exactly need it? It might surprise you, but that second wind in the evening is a normal part of the body’s circadian rhythm. The problem: Lifestyle factors can make you more alert — and for longer. One big factor, along with stress, is doomscrolling in bed. That bright screen might as well be a cup of coffee, since it sends a signal to your brain to stay alert. (It also robs you of rest: Research shows that every hour you spend staring at a screen in bed cuts your overall sleep duration by 24 minutes.) Another factor: missing your initial sleep window. Your body clock loves predictable routines more than your type A dad and expects you to go to sleep around the same time each night. If you miss your usual bedtime, and especially if you’re doing stimulating activities, your body clock gets the message that it should help you stay awake.

“Anxiety, late-night work, social media use or engaging in stimulating activities can trigger the release of stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine, increasing alertness,” Dr. Chris Allen, a board-certified sleep medicine physician and sleep science adviser at Aeroflow Sleep, told LiveScience.

Here’s what you can do when that second wind strikes and you really need to hit the hay: Get out of bed, if you’re already in it, suggests Dr. William Lu, medical director of the online sleep clinic Dreem Health. He tells USA Today that the last thing you want is for your body to associate being in bed with not sleeping. Next, pick a relaxing activity to tell your body it’s time to wind down. Try reading, listening to calming music (a little Enya, maybe?), practicing some breathing exercises, journaling or meditating. You should be getting some zzz’s in no time.

Want to know what the weather will look like when you wake up? Check your local forecast. Feeling like you could use some astrological guidance? Give your horoscope a read. Then, choose “one small thing” to take better care of your health this week. Start here.

💪 Compare your fitness level to an 80-year-old (hear me out)

Forget smarter than a fifth grader — are you fitter than an 80-year-old elite athlete? If you just guffawed and thought, “Of course I’m in better shape than an 80-year-old athlete!” prepare to be humbled. The Washington Post took a comprehensive (read: super-long) test called the Sustained Athlete Fitness Exam and boiled it down to the two most important exercises, which check strength and coordination: “Five Times Sit to Stand” (sit on the edge of a chair, rise without using your hands until you’re fully upright and sit back down; repeat five times in a row as quickly as you can, while someone times you) and “Maximal Walking Speed” (measure a 10-meter, or 32.8 feet, course like a long hallway, step back an extra 10 feet from the starting point and then walk as fast as you possibly can while someone times you; calculate how many meters per second you did by dividing the distance, 10, by how many seconds it took you to speed-walk those 10 meters.). If your sit-to-stand time is 8 seconds, congrats — you’re as fit as an 80-year-old athlete (a 50-year-old athlete should be able to complete it in about 6 seconds). If your walking speed is about 2 meters per second, that’s the pace of an 80-year-old athlete (athletes in their early 50s get around 2.3 meters per second or faster). How’d you do?

🧠 Stay sharp with brain games

Keeping your brain sharp has never been more fun. Whether you’re hooked on Wordle or slay at Solitaire, giving your brain some playtime can pay off. My Yahoo colleague Natalie Rahhal recently spoke with neurosurgeon Dr. Rupa Juthani, who says that classic games like Sudoku and crosswords are the gold standard for brain health. Even playing brain-boosting games like Pac-Man, Fruit Ninja FX and Grand Piano at the popular chain Dave & Buster’s can help challenge memory, rhythm and coordination. There are also specific brain training games that improve attention and processing speed — and some are better than others. According to CNN, games like BrainHQ’s Double Decision and Freeze Frame may help preserve acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that helps the brain stay more alert and focused.

💦 Avoid ‘power peeing’

Whether you’re on a road trip or are just swamped at work, you may find yourself putting off a bathroom break, even though you need one. When you finally get up and go, it’s like you’ve opened up the floodgates. It’s called a “power pee,” and while I’m all for empowerment, here’s why you don’t want to become a human fire hydrant: Normally, when you pee, your pelvic floor muscles relax, which allows your urethra (the tube you pee out of) to open up, Sara Reardon, a pelvic floor physical therapist known as “the Vagina Whisperer,” explains to Self. But when you force out your flow, your pelvic floor muscles don’t have time to completely relax, and your urethra may not be fully open, says Reardon. Over time, that type of pressure can weaken your pelvic floor muscles and raise your risk of incontinence. Instead, Reardon suggests that it’s best to “just sit and chill because your bladder is a muscle that pushes pee out for you.”

❤️ Roll your shoulders to lower blood pressure

Whenever I see a dog stretch, I have to say, “Gooood stretch” (those are the rules; I didn’t make them). But apparently, we should be saying that to ourselves. A small study found that the stretching — specifically, rolling your shoulders to your ears, leaning back slightly and flexing your upper back for 10 to 15 seconds (without holding your breath) — not only feels good, but it can also drop your blood pressure. Stephen Juraschek, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and a hypertension specialist (who was not involved in the study), explains why to the Washington Post: “Muscles can be a repository of a fair amount of blood. The act of muscle contraction and relaxation itself can induce blood pressure changes.” While shoulder stretches shouldn’t replace your high blood pressure recommendations, experts say it’s another possible tool that may help. And at the very least, it’s a great way to relax tight muscles after being hunched over a computer all day.

🏋️‍♀️ Lift weights for this long to get stronger

You already know that strength training is good for you in so many ways (some even call it “the fountain of youth”), but let’s be honest: The fun part is seeing the fruits of your labor, aka some actual muscle definition. But how long do your workouts need to last to make that happen? Scientists have the answer: a 30-minute strength training session twice a week leads to an increase in strength and muscle growth, reports Prevention. (Do that for six weeks, and you’ll find yourself admiring your biceps in the mirror.) That aligns with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations of doing two muscle-strengthening activities each week, along with 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity (think: walking at a fast pace, riding a bike on smooth terrain or playing doubles tennis). Haven’t picked up a dumbbell in a long time … or ever? Experts say it’s never too late to start.

📅 Schedule some ‘worry time’

Feeling stressed out? While giving yourself time to just sit and think about what’s worrying you may sound like the exact opposite of what you want to do, experts say it can help, especially when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep. “Scheduled worry time is a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention used for insomnia, and can help with anxiety and stress management,” clinical psychologist Lara Barbir tells EatingWell. “Over time, it can also improve sleep quality.” Set a 10- or 15-minute timer to let yourself focus on what’s worrying you — or better yet, write about it in a journal or jot down some steps you can take to deal with it on a notepad or sticky note, and then set it aside.

🥝 Eat kiwi to ease constipation

Step aside, prunes. Eating kiwi when you’re constipated can help get things moving. That’s a recommendation from the first-ever evidence-based dietary guidelines for adults with chronic constipation. (Constipation means having fewer than three bowel movements a week, which lasts for more than three months.) The catch is that you’ve got to eat more than a few slices to see results — scientists recommend three kiwis a day, with or without the skin. If you’d rather go the supplement route to get your constipation under control, the recommendations also include psyllium fiber supplements (more than 10 grams per day) and certain probiotics, including B. lactis and Bacillus coagulans Unique IS2, reports NBC News.

🍽️ Have dinner early

Did you know there’s an ideal time to eat dinner? Dietitians tell Real Simple that the sweet spot is 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. (and as it turns out, more people than ever are opting for early bird specials). Here’s why it’s better for your health: That typically gives your body enough time to digest dinner and lower your risk of acid reflux, which can mess with your sleep. This mealtime window also helps prevent you from raiding the pantry and overeating at night, which can happen when you wait too long to eat. But don’t sweat it if you can’t swing dinner before 7 p.m. — experts recommend wrapping up your last meal about three hours before bed.

🛏️ Find the best pillow for your sleeping style

Sleeping is one of my favorite things to do, but for some reason, it feels almost impossible to find a truly comfortable pillow, except perhaps when I’m staying at a swanky hotel. But finding the right one is important for a good night’s sleep. “A pillow should keep the head and neck aligned with the spine,” Dr. Geet Paul, director of interventional pain medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine, tells the Guardian. “But many pick one just because it feels soft or fluffy.” (Why do I feel called out?) Here’s how to choose the right pillow for your sleeping style: Side-sleepers should opt for a medium-firm pillow that keeps your neck straight and isn’t too high or too low, which can put it out of alignment and cause neck pain. If you’re a back-sleeper, look for softer pillows that leave “at least four fingers between your chin and chest,” Dr. Lindsay Orosz, director of research at the National Spine Health Foundation, tells the publication, and stick a pillow under your knees to ease pressure on your lower back. Sorry, stomach sleepers — experts don’t recommend this position because it can cause back, shoulder and neck pain. But if you must, put a pillow under your head and hips for support.

Also, unlike diamonds, pillows are not forever. Orosz suggests swapping them out every one to two years (which is much more often than I ever expected). Or try this quick test from Orosz: Bend your pillow in half. If it immediately snaps back into shape when you release it, it should be fine to use. If it doesn’t — or if your pillow is lumpy or you’re frequently waking up with neck pain — it’s time to replace it.