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    Laura Schocker

    Laura Schocker

    Executive Editor, RealSimple.com

  • This Will Make You Never, Ever Want To Get In A Hot Tub Again

    It turns out, you can pick up some unappetizing and even dangerous bugs from a hot tub dip, both from the water itself and also from the steamy atmosphere around it. Unlike a pool, the warmer temperature of a hot tub makes it more difficult to maintain the proper disinfectant levels that kill certain germs, Hlavsa explains. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is commonly found in water and soil, and multiplies in the water when disinfectant levels dip.

  • Here's The Wisest Advice These 11 Highly Successful People Have Ever Received

    At last week's Thrive conference in New York City, hosts Arianna Huffington and Mika Brzezinski encouraged attendees to redefine success beyond the first two metrics of money and success to include a third metric -- one defined by well-being, wonder, giving and wisdom.

  • Why You Can't Get That Song From 'Frozen' Out Of Your Head

    Science has labeled the stuck-song phenomenon an "earworm," which is a direct translation from the German word "ohrwurm." One University of Cincinnati study found that 98 percent of people occasionally experience a song lodged in their heads (popular earworms in that study, which was conducted more than 10 years ago, included Kit-Kat's "Gimme A Break" jingle, "Who Let The Dogs Out" and "YMCA"). In another 2010 study published in the British Journal of Psychology, researchers found that artists such as Pink Floyd and Justin Timberlake were repeat earworm offenders. Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

  • Your Body Does Incredible Things When You Aren't Awake

    Sleep is anything but a waste of time. Scientists divide sleep into four stages -- each full sleep cycle takes about 90 minutes to complete, meaning we cycle through roughly five rotations during 7.5 hours between the sheets. The amount of time spent in each stage of sleep varies by cycle, with more deep sleep taking place earlier in the night and more dreaming sleep in the second half of the night.

  • This Is What A Migraine Feels Like

    The symptoms of a migraine sound straightforward enough: An attack often includes throbbing head pain, sometimes localized to one side, which can be accompanied by sensitivity to light, sounds or smells, nausea or vomiting and blurred vision. "If you've never had one, imagine a friend who is trying to work through a hangover," says Jason Rosenberg, M.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Headache Center in Maryland (and a migraineur himself).

  • 13 Things Not To Say To Someone With A Migraine

    To save everyone from the additional, er, headache, we asked our Twitter and Facebook communities, along with Buse and Jason Rosenberg, M.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Headache Center in Maryland (and a migraineur himself), for their least favorite comments about migraine headaches.

  • What Seattle Can Teach The Rest Of The Country About Living Well

    On Sunday, Seattle fans cheered their hometown team to victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII. While game day took place across the country in East Rutherford, NJ, the city of Seattle was undoubtedly on a national stage -- and it's a reminder that this Washington gem is one of the healthiest places in the country. From yoga and beyond, read on for seven things the Seattle area can teach the rest of the country's nacho-eating, pizza-noshing football fans about living well.

  • Why You Should Never, Ever Put A Lemon Wedge In Your Glass Of Water

    Welcome to Ask Healthy Living -- in which you submit your most burning health questions and we do our best to ask the experts and get back to you. Have a question? Get in touch here and you could appear on Healthy Living! "Ask Healthy Living" is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice.

  • 13 Things You Probably Don't Know About Tears

    "Tears are necessary to keep the eyeball moist, and contain proteins and other substances which maintain the eye healthy and to combat infection," Michael Trimble, author of Why Humans Like To Cry, told Scientific American. "Crying, as well as other sorts of intense emotional experience, can help highlight for us what's important and what we need to focus on," Lauren Bylsma, Ph.D., a post doctoral scholar at the University of Pittsburgh, who has conducted multiple studies and written several papers on tears and crying, tells HuffPost.

  • Florida Now Has More Of These Than McDonald's Restaurants

    The Sunshine State has more indoor tanning facilities than McDonald's restaurants, according to a new study. The research, published in the journal JAMA Dermatology, revealed that Florida has a total of 1,261 tanning facilities, which breaks down to one tanning salon for every 50 square miles -- or one per 15,113 people. As points of comparison, Florida has 868 McDonald's, 693 CVS pharmacies and 756 Publix supermarkets.

  • What Santa Claus Can Teach The Rest Of Us About Living Well

    Santa Claus is coming to town. While Santa's health has come into question over the years (that belly fat! those all nighters!), it only stands to reason that someone so magical must have a thing or to to teach when it comes to well-being. Despite persistent, unconfirmed infidelity rumors that Santa's been spotted kissing Mommy, from what we can tell, Mr. and Mrs. Claus have a strong, healthy partnership.

  • What Pittsburgh Can Teach The Rest Of The Country About Living Well

    As a city whose signature sandwich comes with fries on top, we wouldn't blame you if Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania wasn't the first place to spring to mind as an icon of healthy living. What's more, a 2012 survey found that residents in the Pittsburgh area rated their happiness as a 7.8 out of 10, compared to the 7.4 national average. While Pittsburghers still have room for improvement in the health department (despite some gains, they have one of the highest air pollution rates nation-wide, for one), there are more than a few things to be gleaned from Pennsylvania's second-largest city.

  • These 8 Inspiring People Will Change The Way You Think About Autism And Asperger's

    After the performance, Susan Boyle catapulted into a singing sensation, selling more than 14 million records worldwide. "Asperger's doesn't define me. Asperger syndrome is one of a group of developmental brain disorders, which are collectively called autism spectrum disorder or ASD, according to the National Institutes of Health.

  • What It'd Really Take To Curb Drowsy Driving

    In the wake of the news that sleep deprivation may have possibly played a role in Sunday's deadly train derailment in New York, attention has turned to the topic of drowsy driving. While some have called for the transportation industry to continue to take measures to prevent its drivers from hitting the roads (or the sky or the rails) while sleep deprived, the problem of drowsy driving is also about what happens when you're not on the clock. "People have to recognize that this is a shared responsibility.

  • Even These Successful People Are Terribly Misguided About This One Important Thing

    With our jam-packed schedules and overcommitted lives, it can be tempting to skimp on sleep to fit everything in. There's even research that it can take a toll on innovation, HuffPost previously reported. Unfortunately, a deeply embedded American cultural tradition dismisses sleep as a waste of time.

  • This Is Why You're Late All The Time (And What To Do About It)

    Last week, HuffPost blogger Greg Savage asked the question, "How Did It Get to be OK for People to Be Late for Everything?" And if the 350,000 Facebook likes (and counting) on his post are any indication, he's not the only one wondering. You might write, for example, that being timely will make you look more responsible, or that it will stir up less conflict with co-workers.

  • What's Really In A Chicken Nugget

    Unreal Eats is Healthy Living's original video series, where we go behind calorie counts and health claims to examine what's really in the processed foods that scream loudest in our food environment. Nobody walks into (or drives through) a fast food restaurant expecting to order a health food. Think again: What many fast food meals feature is real-life mystery meat.

  • The 8 Habits Of Extremely Well-Rested People

    "It's maintaining a regimented sleep/wake cycle and protecting one's sleep," says Michael Decker, Ph.D., a sleep specialist and associate professor at Case Western School of Nursing. Decker and Joe Ojile, M.D., founder and CEO of the Clayton Sleep Institute in St. Louis, Mo., shared some of the most common traits among the bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. People often obsess about bedtimes, but one of the most important things in establishing a healthy sleep pattern is sticking to a regular wake time (and seeking bright light first thing in the morning).

  • The Sunday Night Blues Are Real -- Here's How To Beat Them

    The phenomenon is a real one -- 78 percent of respondents in a recent international Monster.com poll reported experiencing the so-called "Sunday Night Blues." And a whopping 47 percent said they get it "really bad." In the U.S., that number jumps to 59 percent. The Sunday Night Blues are created by a combination of realizing weekend fun is coming to an end and anticipating the beginning of five days of pressure, meaning it can strike even those who like their jobs. "Work is now spread out into home life with increasing demands because of email and the ability to work remotely," says Steven Meyers, professor of psychology at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Ill. "Work has become more of a drain for many people than it was a decade or two ago.

  • 15 Things You Never Knew About Your Nails

    "The nail plate (hard part of the nail) grows out from the matrix (the root) in a shape something like an ocean wave," says Jessica Krant, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist, founder of Art of Dermatology and an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in New York City. Toenails, on the other, uh, hand, grow an average of 1.6 millimeters a month, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. White spots on your nails don't indicate a calcium deficiency.