Many methods to improve your health are pretty
straightforward: to lose weight, eat less and exercise more; to boost your
energy, get more sleep; to prevent dehydration, drink more water. Others,
however, are totally counterintuitive. The following 12 tips really do work—but they may leave you
scratching your head.

DRINK COFFEE TO HAVE A BETTER NAP

In a Japanese study that examined how to make the most of a
nap, people who took a “coffee nap”—consuming
about 200 milligrams of caffeine (the amount in one to two cups of coffee) and
then immediately taking a 20-minute rest—felt
more alert and performed better on computer tests than those who only took a
nap.

Why does this work? A 20-minute nap ends just as the
caffeine kicks in and clears the brain of a molecule called adenosine,
maximizing alertness. “Adenosine is a byproduct of wakefulness and
activity,” says Allen Towfigh, MD, medical director of New York Neurology
& Sleep Medicine. “As adenosine levels increase, we become more
fatigued. Napping clears out the adenosine and, when combined with caffeine, an
adenosine-blocker, further reduces its effects and amplifies the effects of the
nap.”

FOR HEALTHY TEETH, DON’T BRUSH AFTER EATING

Don’t brush your teeth immediately after meals and drinks,
especially if they were acidic. Acidic foods—citrus
fruits, sports drinks, tomatoes, soda (both diet and regular)—can soften tooth enamel “like wet
sandstone,” says Howard R. Gamble, immediate past president of the Academy
of General Dentistry. Brushing your teeth at this stage can speed up acid’s
effect on your enamel and erode the layer underneath. Gamble suggests waiting
30 to 60 minutes before brushing.

TO WEAR A SMALLER SIZE, GAIN WEIGHT

Muscle weight, that is. If two women both weigh 150 pounds
and only one lifts weights, the lifter will more likely fit into a smaller pant
size than her sedentary counterpart. Likewise, a 150-pound woman who lifts
weights could very well wear the same size as a 140-pound woman who doesn’t
exercise. The reason: Although a pound of fat weighs the same as a pound of
muscle, muscle takes up less space, says Mark Nutting, fitness director of SACO
Sport & Fitness in Saco, Maine. “You can get bigger muscles and get
smaller overall if you lose the fat,” he says. “The bulk so many
women fear only occurs if you don’t lose fat and develop muscle on top of
it.” Cut back on calories and add weight to your workout to lose inches.

TO EAT LESS, EAT MORE

Grabbing a 100-calorie snack pack of cookies or pretzels may
seem virtuous, but it’s more likely to make you hungrier than if you ate
something more substantial, says Amy Goodson, RD, dietitian for Texas Health
Ben Hogan Sports Medicine. “Eating small amounts of carbohydrates does
nothing but spike your blood sugar and leave you wanting more carbs.”
Goodson recommends choosing a protein such as peanut butter or string cheese
with an apple. “They are higher in calories per serving, but the protein
and fat helps you get full faster and stay full longer—and you end up eating fewer calories overall,”
she says.

SKIP ENERGY DRINKS WHEN YOU’RE TIRED

Energy drinks contain up to five times more caffeine than
coffee, but the boost they provide is fleeting and comes with unpleasant side
effects like nervousness, irritability, and rapid heartbeat, says Goodson.
Plus, energy drinks often contain high levels of taurine, a central nervous
system stimulant, and upwards of 50 grams of sugar per can (that’s 13 teaspoons
worth!). The sweet stuff spikes blood sugar temporarily, only to crash soon
after, leaving you sluggish and foggyheaded—and
reaching for another energy drink.

DRINK WATER WHEN YOU’RE BLOATED

When you feel bloated, drinking water sounds as if it would
only make matters worse, but it can often help, says James Lee, MD,
gastroenterologist with St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, Calif. If you’re on a
high-fiber diet, for instance, then your body needs more water to work more
efficiently, says Dr. Lee. “Water mixes with water soluble fiber and makes
it into a gel like substance. This affects the motility of the gut and reduces
the symptom of bloating.” Drinking more water also relieves bloating
caused by dehydration. When you’re dehydrated, your body clings to the water
your body does have, causing you to puff up.

DITCH DIET SODA TO LOSE WEIGHT

You should ditch all soda, including diet. Research from the
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health revealed that overweight and
obese adults who drank diet beverages ate more calories from food than those
who drank regular soda. Additionally, a University of Texas study found that
diet soda drinkers had a 70% greater increase in waist circumference than
non-drinkers over the course of about 10 years.

“In addition, many people think ‘low-fat,’ ‘low-sugar,’
or ‘light’ means fewer calories, but that’s not always true,” says
Goodson. “Typically when manufacturers cut something out and the end
result tastes just as good, they’ve added something like additional
sugar.”

DRINK A HOT BEVERAGE TO COOL OFF

Which will cool you off faster on a steamy summer morning:
iced coffee or hot? Two recent studies say the latter—and so do other cultures where drinking hot tea in
hot weather is the norm, like in India. When you sip a hot beverage, your body
senses the change in temperature and increases your sweat production. Then, as
the sweat evaporates from your skin, you cool off naturally.

EXERCISE WHEN YOU’RE TIRED

After a long, exhausting workday, exercising sounds like the
last thing you’d want to do, but getting your sweat on will actually energize
you. Fatigue along with mood and depression improved after a single 30-minute
moderate intensity exercise session, according to a study published in Medicine
and Science in Sports and Exercise. “Everything we do uses oxygen, so when
you exercise it helps you work more efficiently and you don’t tire as
easily,” says Nutting. “You also function better mentally.”

HANDWRITE NOTES TO BOOST YOUR BRAINPOWER

Typing notes enables you to jot down more material, but
you’re more likely to remember those notes if you handwrite them, according to
research from Indiana University. “To learn something means you have
processed it,” says Dr. Towfigh. “And when you take handwritten notes
you ‘process’ or learn more information. You begin the learning process as you
listen to the lecture.” Plus, since you look at the page on which you are
writing, you naturally review the material and reinforce the information you’ve
already processed, Dr. Towfigh says.

TO IMPROVE YOUR RELATIONSHIP, SPEND LESS TIME TOGETHER

Jumping from one social event to another without any time to
come up for air could sacrifice the quality of your relationships. Spending time
alone allows you to process your thoughts rather than act impulsively and, as a
result, you get to know yourself better, says Elizabeth Lombardo, PhD, author
of Better Than Perfect: 7 Strategies to Crush Your Inner Critic and Create a
Life You Love. “Alone time enables you to be more in touch with yourself
and can better give and receive,” Lombardo says. “In addition, it
reduces stress and anxiety, which could also contribute to relationship
strains.” Meditate, go for a walk, sit in a café and people watch, or even clean out your closet,
she suggests.

DITCH ANTIBACTERIAL SOAP TO PREVENT ILLNESS

Reaching for the soap bottle labeled
“antibacterial” won’t necessarily reduce your risk of getting sick or
passing illness to others—in fact,
there is no evidence that antibacterial soaps are more effective than regular
ones. What’s more, long-term exposure to some ingredients in these products,
such as triclosan, may pose health risks like bacterial resistance or hormonal
effects, according to a 2013 FDA statement. More research on the effects of
triclosan is needed, and in the meantime, the FDA is working toward requiring
manufacturers to prove their products are safe for long-term use—and the state of Minnesota has
banned triclosan-containing products altogether.