Your Health-Is it All About Location? Yikes!

Sometimes I wonder if I should read much less write some of the things that I do for fear of being more neurotic than I already am.

The below information that I found on the Prevention magazine website is one of those articles. It is great information to know so that we can make better choices for our health but as usual- take it all in stride.

I have always known that location is important but here are some locations that can provide you with either healthy or unhealthy habits. I think I do most of these the unhealthy way. I marvel daily that I am still alive and so healthy.

Your Health-Is it All About Location? Yikes!

The Worst place for your toothbrush- On the bathroom sink. The sink itself is not the problem but b/c of its proximity to the toilet this can cause problems. There are 3.2 million microbes per square inch in the average toilet bowl, according to germ expert, Chuck Gerba, PhD . See, some things really are better left not knowing). When you flush, aerosolized toilet funk is propelled as far as 6 feet settling on the floor, sink, your toothbrush . Oh my!

The Worst Place To Set Fruit Before Washing It-The Kitchen Sink-Of all the household germ depots, the kitchen sink sees the most bacterial traffic-even more than the germy toilet, says Kelly Reynolds, PhD, a professor and environmental microbiologist at the University of Arizona.

The Worst Place For A Nighttime Reading Light- Overhead. The overhead light puts out relatively bright light-enough to significantly delay the body’s secretion of melatonin, showed a 2000 study. That can wreck your night, since rising melatonin levels are a major cue for your body to prepare for sleep. I personally use one of those little book lights and that seems to work well. Thank goodness there were no germs in this one. Yucko.

The Worst Stall To Pick In A Public Restroom- The one in the middle. The center stall has more bacteria than those on either end, according to unpublished data collected by Gerba. Just wash your hands before you leave and you should be okay.

The Worst Place to Set Your Handbag-The Kitchen Counter-I hope all you guys are taking note of this! Your handbag is a major tote for microbs: Gerba and team’s swabs showed up to 10,000 bacteria per square inch on purse bottoms-and a third of the bags tested positive for fecal bacteria! A woman’s carryall gets parked in some nasty spots, on the floor of the bus, under the table at a restaurant. Just put your bag anywhere food is not prepared or eaten. I had my bag on the kitchen counter last night as a matter of fact-never, ever again-I hope.

The Worst Place To Try To Fall Asleep-Under bunches of blankets. Being overheated can keep you from nodding off, researchers say: A natural nighttime drop in your core temperature triggers your body to get drowsy. To ease your way to sleep, help your body radiate heat from your hands and feet, says Helen Burgess, PhD, assistant director of the Biological Rhythms Research Laboratory at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Put socks on to dilate the blood vessels in the extremities-then Take the socks off and let a foot stick out from under the blankets. I love all my blankets so not sure if I can handle this one.

The Worst Place To Sit On An Airplane-The Rear-Avoid this section if you’re prone to airsickness, says retired United Airlines pilot Meryl Getline, who operates the aviation website fromthecockpit.com. The farther from the center you are the more up and down movement you experience. Because the tail tends to be longer than the front it is the bumpiest. Smoothest is sitting as close to the wing as you can.

Honestly I think that I do most of the things that I shouldn't in these regards so am going to take a non neurotic moderate approach to all this. I really loved this and found it so interesting and I hope that you did too!