When two o’clock comes around and you’re head is periodically hitting the keyboard, keep walking past the coffee pot and go stare at a tree. A brisk walk in a Chicago winter may also do the trick (of simultaneously freezing your faux-fabric-clad behind), but research out of the University of Michigan shows that a walk in a natural setting goes farther to recharge your batteries than a stroll in the city streets. If greenery is too far a haul, though, change that screen saver to a snapshot of nature’s wonders, and that too improves memory and concentration while freaking out your cubicular neighbors as an added bonus: “Dude, the trees are telling me to relax.” Hmmm…maybe let the pictures do the talking.

‘Tis the season to hit the gym, work up a sweat and shed some pounds and a new study linking weight loss with an improved sex life may give men a bit more incentive to hop on the treadmill. Researchers examined a group of morbidly obese men that underwent gastric bypass surgery and discovered that the significant drop in poundage improved sexual function. Morbidly obese fellers tend to suffer from the same amount of sexual dysfunction as non-obese men nearly 20 years older, so dropping the extra weight helps clear up erectile dysfunction and stamina issues. Plus, imagine all the chicks a newly-slimmed down you can scoop up strutting the beach in that leopard-print thong hiding in your closet.

Although New Year’s Eve is now only a memory of which the pain has hopefully faded, anyone who hits the bottle on a regular basis may want to check out the five biggest myths about drinking brought to you courtesy of Cracked.com. If you’re sure you know the answers to questions like “What DO I do when my girlfriend passes out (and remain within the limits of the law)?”, “How do I prevent a hangover?” or “Why would I need to take a coat to the bar when it’s twenty below?” take a couple a mo’s to check your alcohol IQ; it could just save your life or the life of the person you were sure was going to be your girlfriend/boyfriend the next morning.

What do Victoria Beckham, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera all have in common (other than oodles of cash)? Overexposure…of the scalp, thanks to the use of hair extensions. Many are calling for a ban on the popular beauty aid saying that the tension caused to the follicles can lead to permanent hair loss in the infected areas, also known as traction alopecia, a rather traumatic experience for ladies desperate enough to glue new hair to their scalps in the first place. Can anyone say Sinead O’Connor-style comeback?

Anyone betting against the effectiveness or longevity of the Jonas Brothers’ purity pledges could refinance that falling 401K if a new study to appear in the journal Pediatrics has anything to say about it. Those who shudder at the idea of abstinence-only sex education in the AIDS era have some science on their side: students who took the pledge had just as much of all types of sex as their more smutty-minded counterparts, but the pledgers were less likely to use condoms (or any type of birth control for that matter) when they did the dirty deed. Anyone for attaching a “Condoms for Jesus” rider at the end of that pledge certificate? Secret compartment in the purity ring?

Stressing about those pounds packed on during the holidays? Well, don’t waste a resolution if you’ve wandered out of the single-digit sizes, ladies, since a new survey out of Britain reveals that the happiest females are sporting a size 14 (an American 10 or 12, depending on the source). Stars like Kate Winslet have been known to flaunt their healthy curves and deride Hollywood’s penchant for twiggy leading ladies. Size 12’s came in second, followed by size 8’s and 16’s. So take a little pride in your cleavage this New Year’s and flaunt that junk in the trunk!

Not sure what to do with all those candy canes laying around the house post-Christmas? Well, if you have grown bored with playing chuck peppermint at the loud neighbor, then consider using the season’s most famous candy to treat an upset stomach or fend off germs. New studies suggest that peppermint, the primary flavoring in candy canes, boasts a plethora of health benefits with some doctors suggesting the use of peppermint oil as the first line defense against irritable bowel syndrome. Be good to your belly and your sweet tooth and find a use for all those decorative sweet treats that doesn’t involve a sticky candy cane cake.

If you’re trying to secure insurance and they ask if you have a Wii, it might be advisable to fudge the truth or ditch the game. British doctors are reporting at least ten Wii-related injuries a week, which most often consist of extremely painful sensations in the shoulder or knee thanks to the tennis, running and fitness games. Some doctors are even saying that frequent play could result in rheumatism or arthritis later in life and strongly suggest stretching before playing the popular game system. How about getting off the couch to do something other than play Wii? It’s called sunlight people, find some.

Newborns with their own blogs and Facebook pages are nothing new, but why wait for birth to start building those Google search results? Kickbee, a belt to be worn by pregnant mothers, sends minute-by-minute updates via Twitter about all-things-fetal for all the world to see. Inventor Corey Menscher wanted to share his wife’s experience of pregnancy and hopes the technology can also be used to monitor potentially dangerous slowing of fetal movement as well. Future plans include Facebook updates as well. Not sure if anyone really wants to know when little Cletus the Fetus is walloping Mommy’s bladder, but to each his or her own.

Toilet training is rarely easy, especially when the little one in question is equipped with his own hose, but imagine the post-traumatic toilet stress disorder (PTTSD) of a male toddler who has had his wee wee whacked by a falling toilet seat. Several British doctors are concerned that a new trend of heavy ornamental toilet seats could have a literally crushing effect on little guys new to the potty game and are subsequently recommending that the seat stay up to prevent any more of these accidents from occurring. Holidays are a time of special concern as toddlers confront new and unfamiliar toilets, so parents should be sure to check out the facilities and give the boys a helping hand. Your relatives will likely appreciate the lack of additional wall decorations a little supervision could control as well.

Following a car accident in 2002, Jessica Andersson began receiving disability benefits due to neck injuries, but the government is cutting off her payments since she refuses to reduce her front load, so to speak. One of her doctors claimed Ms. Andersson would no longer be in pain if her breasts weren’t weighing her down, but as she said, “my breasts have been large since I got them. But I didn’t have any problems with pain before the car accident… the injury would still be there after an operation.” This is weird on so many levels that we’ll just leave it at that.

Cell phone use by drivers is rather frightening when other people do it, tempting for yourself, and deadly when it comes to teenage drivers. Researchers at the University of Utah think they might have a solution to the problem with Key2Safe Driving, a key that disables cell phones while driving with exceptions for 911 and other pre-approved calls. They hope to lure auto manufacturers and insurance companies into the game by rewarding safe drivers by syncing the device with GPS information. The obvious loophole would be to use your friends phone, but, hey, it was designed by a urologist, not a high school teacher.

Does “Orgasmic Birth” sound like some sort of new age hippie fetish porn? Well, before your mind floats off to a nauseating visual, read on. A documentary set to air on ABC in January claims some women report experiencing an orgasm as the baby passes through the birth canal. “Orgasmic Birth” has made the rounds at film festivals since May and every showing inevitably stirs up a lot of conversation. With debate raging about unmedicated births versus epidurals and c-sections, the film touches a sensitive spot (no pun intended) with some women arguing the film does little more than make new mothers feel inadequate. Check out the flick on “20/20″ January 2 and draw your own conclusions.

Children born as leaves turn from green to gold face a higher risk of developing asthma than kids entering the world in other seasons. A new study appearing in the latest issue of The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine reports that autumn babies have a 30 percent higher risk for the respiratory disease. Researchers speculate that because fall babies tend to be around four-months-old with immature immune systems when cold and flu season kicks into high gear, they face a higher risk of contracting a severe virus and in turn increase the risk of developing asthma. So, no knocking boots between January and March, if you want an easy breathing baby.

If Americans are serious about universal healthcare, healthcare reform expert Dr. Marc Nuwer says we’re going to have to take a serious look at our priorities. Resistance to limits on choice, the aggressive measures taken with the seriously ill and the minute-by-minute medical oversight of those on the precipice of the great beyond are boosting the cost of our medical system far beyond those of Canada and Europe. Dr. Nuwer also cites physicians’ tendencies to try longshot tests with little regard or possibly even knowledge of the costs of these measures. Many would say these are the benefits of our system over those of other countries, but with the baby boomers jumping on the Medicare train in droves, hard choices loom.

You know that insurance commercial where the strangers pass warm fuzzies to each other via their good deeds? Well, they may not be that far off the mark, but you needn’t give away a free stuffed animal, just smile like it’s going out of style! A new study shows that happy vibes spread like a nasty virus up to three degrees from the original happy person, a far more widespread effect than that of the blues. So get out there and Facebook some perkiness, people!

Doesn’t everyone have some crazy stories (or crazy friends) from their late teens and early twenties that you hope the kids never discover? Well, a report published in the Archives of General Psychiatry this month may shed a bit of clinical light on those memories (or lack thereof). Almost fifty percent of people from the ages of 18 to 24 show signs of a substance abuse problem or mental health issue, though only a quarter of those receive any kind of help. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that college kids showing evidence of alcohol abuse were far less likely than their non-collegiate counterparts to seek help, but nicotine addiction and personality disorders were more common outside of the ivory towers of learning.
(Photo Credit: René Mansi/iStockphoto)

Heavy lids often lead straight to the closest Starbucks, but if sleepiness has you on the verge of snoozing, skip the Joe in favor of a fluffy pillow. Scientists have discovered that a nap does more to improve physical and mental performance than a jolt of caffeine. Sleepy research subjects that dozed off for a catnap did significantly better on verbal tests and exhibited sharper motor skills than both the caffeine takers and placebo group. Yet another reason to pull a George Costanza and curl up under your desk for a some shuteye.

Forget liberal guilt and working mommy guilt, the new thing raising unease across the country is TiVo. DVR fanatics fell in love with the idea of curling in to watch favorite shows anytime without annoying commercials or trying to keep track of all those darn VCR tapes, but somewhere along the way, glee turned into anxiety as unwatched programs piled up and delete didn’t feel like an option. TiVo guilt has spread as people plop down for a little boob tube action, but find themselves overwhelmed by options and unwilling to delete months-old unwatched programming. Plan on a prescription solution to TiVo guilt to hit the market by 2011, but you’ll of course never see the sing-songie, Xanax-happy commercial because you will have fast-fowarded.

Start baring the moobs, boys, because it’s time to pony up for your mammogram! Men may make up only one percent of breast cancer cases in the United States each year, but by the time the disease is discovered it has often made its way into the armpit, whereas early detection using mammograms could have prevented that spreading. Poor advertising or shyness about the procedure or that part of their bodies may be partly to blame for the lack of screening in men, but could make all the difference in the world to the 450 who die of breast cancer annually. Let’s look at the bright side, guys: at least this procedure doesn’t involve stirrups.

Is there anything more frustrating than not being able to find the hemorrhoid cream in the cupboard thanks to all those bottles of vitamins? Well, clear the shelf, scientists say they’re not doing you any good. A quick rundown of the depressing results of numerous studies shows that vitamin C protects cancer cells along with healthy ones, does nothing for heart disease, and doesn’t do much for colds either; vitamin E in high doses can increase your chances of dying; beta carotene users show a higher cancer rate, etcetera, etcetera. Folic acid for the preggers population is still a good idea, but the whole article is definitely worth a closer look-see. From now on, hide the hemorrhoid creme behind the expensive perfumes you can buy now that vitamins aren’t on your shopping list.

Women young and old looking for info on their own health and anatomy had better save it for the “anything goes” home computer since computers with a Google “strict” setting — often found in workplaces and schools — will yield zero results; however, the word “penis” will land you 33,000,000 results. So, is the internet world saying that, “…women’s lives [should] be shrouded in the great Internet burqa of “safeness”? You make the call.

If you’d like to avoid dangerous medication interactions (and who wouldn’t?), skip Wikipedia when searching for prescription med info. Researchers from Florida’s Nova Southeastern University examined the Wikipedia entries for 80 drugs and while the team discovered few factual errors, frequently omitted information caused concern. Comparing the Wikipedia entries to Medscape Drug Reference (MDR), a free peer-reviewed site, using a set of 80 different drug information questions, the researchers found that MDR gave answers to 82.5 percent of the questions while Wikipedia answered a paltry 40 percent. It should seem obvious, but remember, don’t get your medical advice from a site that refers to Oregon as “California’s Canada or Washington’s Mexico.”

Proponents of stem cell research are looking to brighter days ahead thanks to president-elect Obama’s promise to overturn a Bush ban on embryonic stem cell research. Although strides have been made using adult cells and the lines created before August 9, 2001, scientists are thrilled by the prospect of exploring the world of stem cell research without federal restrictions. Obama explained his support of the research by citing the number of unused embryos in fertility clinics and said, “I believe that it is ethical to use these extra embryos for research that could save lives when they are freely donated for that express purpose.” Opposition to the practice are rearing for a fight, but admit they may lose this battle, if not the war.

If the sight of blood or bodily injury causes you to hit the floor, you may want to skip this medical update, but for the more stout of stomach, read on. In an era of skyrocketing medical costs, the American Medical Association and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued new guidelines regarding payment for medicinal maggots, which will hopefully push insurers to accept the practice. While the treatment of certain types of ulcers and wounds can run into the tens of thousands of dollars and possibly lead to amputation, the use of medicinal maggots may come in under $100 and prevent amputation in 40-50% of cases. Don’t worry, though, about baby flies reproducing in your boo-boos; the juvenile larvae used for the procedures are pre-pubescent, so to speak, and secrete enzymes dissolving dead tissue. The push for the procedure used in the time of Napoleon and WWI comes as more antibiotic-resistant infections are rearing their ugly heads. So let’s leave it to the professionals, folks, and stay out of the garbage can to save a buck.