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Harvard Medical School experts reveal: Secrets to a great night’s sleep Dear Reader, Getting enough sleep is as important for your body as eating right, exercising, and practicing good dental hygiene. That’s because lack of sleep not only makes it harder for you to get through the day, it is also linked to all kinds of health problems — from diabetes to increasing blood pressure to weight gain and increased risk for a heart attack. Inadequate sleep even makes it more likely that you'll catch a cold. To help you get the rest you need, Harvard Medical School experts created Improving Sleep: A guide to a good night’s rest. This fascinating report reveals: How the different stages of sleep help your body Proven ways to fight insomnia Health problems that may be making it tough to sleep The type of sleep that helps restore alertness The best treatments for snoring and sleep apnea How to wake up feeling refreshed And more! LEARN MORE

Order your copy of Improving Sleep — and save 30%!

Wake up feeling well-rested, energized, and better than ever! Click here now to discover how to sleep better to lower your risk of health problems, plus learn important facts about sleep, such as: The best treatment for insomnia — no medication needed The hormone that naturally induces drowsiness The sleep stage when your mind puts memories into long-term storage Home-based tests that can help determine if you have sleep apnea (much less stressful than hospital testing) Why dropping just a little weight can help you stop snoring LEARN MORE

Get started today and sleep better tonight! Plus you’ll get a Special Bonus Section at no extra cost — Practical tips for sounder sleep — that explains: Why you should never exercise within two hours of bedtime When you need a nap — and when it’s a bad idea Why reading from a backlit electronic device at night is a no-no Comforting bedtime rituals that can help lull you to sleep A technique that helps battle insomnia Click here now and you’ll save 30% off the $29 cover price! If you toss and turn all night instead of blissfully nodding off, click here to get your copy of Improving Sleep now. There’s no risk. You not only save 30% off the $29 cover price, you also get our 100% Money-Back Guarantee. If you’re not 100% satisfied, you can return Improving Sleep for a full refund! Don’t miss out. Order it Now! LEARN MORE & GET STARTED TODAY!

SUBSCRIBE | SHOP THE BOOKSTORE The advantages of body-weight exercise All exercise is beneficial. But even stacked up against other types of workouts, body-weight exercise has a lot to offer. Not only does it provide an excellent workout, but it can also help you overcome some common excuses for avoiding exercise, like "I don't have time to go to the gym" and "I don't have space for a stationary bike at home." All you have to do is move your body. Here's a closer look at some of the pluses: It couldn't be more convenient. No matter where you are, you've got your body, so you can start exercising anywhere, anytime - in your bedroom when you wake up, in the kitchen while you're waiting for water to boil, in your hotel room when traveling. That makes it easy to find the time. Get your copy of Body-Weight Exercise The health and fitness experts at Harvard Medical School perfected workout routines that use your own body weight to strengthen your whole body — routines that offer a wealth of better health and more pep in your step. They’re all in the Body-Weight Exercise Special Health Report, along with step-by-step directions and how-to photos. You can do these feel-younger exercises at home and adjust them to your fitness level. And there’s positively no equipment necessary to get great results.   SHOW ME MORE → The price is right. With body-weight exercise, there's nothing to buy other than a pair of shoes. You don't need stylish clothing. You don't even need a yoga mat, much less an expensive gym membership, although you can certainly do these workouts at the gym, too. You might want a few props, such as a chair, bench, or counter to modify some moves, but these are all items that you have on hand. The intimidation factor is low. You can do these exercises solo. You don't have to walk into a gym full of buff exercisers and complicated-looking weight machines that require adjustments and may still not fit you properly. It's effective. Research published in the journal Physiology and Behavior found that, as a form of resistance training, body-weight exercise helps build muscle "independent of an external load." But it does more than that. When researchers looked at the effects of 10 weeks of body-weight exercises on various physical fitness parameters in a small group of young women, they found improvements in seven out of nine of the parameters. The biggest gains were in aerobic capacity, with a 33% improvement. Muscle endurance, particularly in the core, increased by 11%, while lower-body power posted a 6% gain. Even flexibility was better after the training. You don't necessarily have to do a lot of it. While it's good to meet the Physical Activity Guidelines, smaller amounts of body-weight exercise can also deliver results. In a small study of active people in their 60s, Japanese researchers found that a workout consisting of eight simple lower-body exercises increased the participants' muscle strength and power by about 15% after 10 months. That may not sound like much, but during this stage of life, strength and power are often declining. What's more, the participants achieved these gains by doing only six workouts a month. It provides functional exercise. Most body-weight exercises work multiple muscles at once rather than training an isolated muscle or muscle group, as many exercise machines and dumbbell exercises do. Therefore, body-weight exercises are considered more functional, using more muscles and joints at a time, engaging balance, and mimicking everyday activities. It can be adjusted to your fitness level. It may not be obvious how to do this at first. When you're using your body as the weight, you can't just remove 10 or 20 pounds as you can with machines or dumbbells. But there are ways to modify moves to decrease or increase the resistance. You can adjust your body position - for example, doing push-ups against a wall rather than the floor - or you can change the number of times you repeat an exercise or modify the pace you're working at. It's good for your health. Literally thousands of studies have shown that the more you move, the lower your risks for heart disease, diabetes, obesity, multiple types of cancer, joint pain, and Alzheimer's disease. Exercise can also lift your mood, reduce your stress level, and improve your sleep. Body-weight exercise is no exception. For more fast, equipment-free ways to get strong, fit and healthy, check out Body-Weight Exercise, a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School. Image: © Yagi-Studio/Getty Images Share this story: FEATURED CONTENT Body-Weight Exercise • What is body-weight exercise? • Safety first • Program overview • Basic-level workouts • Post-workout stretches • SPECIAL SECTION: Staying motivated • Bonus workouts Click here to learn more »

Harvard examined nearly 40 weight loss and nutrition plans and here’s what we found... Dear Reader, Finding the right weight loss and nutrition plan can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. There are so many plans, it’s enough to make your head spin. Many diets make extravagant health claims — sometimes with only flimsy evidence to back them up. Good news! Now you can get the critical information you need to evaluate whether a popular diet plan is right for you. The Diet Review — a special report from Harvard Medical School — takes a close look at today’s most popular weight loss and nutrition plans from Atkins to Ornish...Ketogenic to Okinawa...Mediterranean to South Beach...and many more. Our experts reveal the ins and outs, pros and cons, and what the evidence says about the likeliness for weight loss success and the potential health benefits — and risks — for each of the nearly 40 popular diets. Discover exactly what you can and can’t eat and get a handy sample menu for each diet plan. Plus, you’ll get the inside scoop direct from Harvard nutritionists on Which diet plans work, and which ones don’t... Which plans are backed by science, balanced, easy to follow, and affordable and which ones are not... LEARN MORE

How to understand nutrition science

Inside The Diet Review you’ll also get clear, concise answers to clear the confusion... Should you cut out carbs completely... Is low-carb better than low-fat for weight loss... Why a plant-based diet doesn’t equal a vegan eating plan... Which diets could leave you deficient in vitamins and minerals... Can being on a raw diet long-term rob you of important nutrients... What does clean eating actually mean... And more If you’re thinking about starting a popular diet plan, don’t wait! Order this special report, The Diet Review, today. Available in print or PDF format. Howard E. LeWine, M.D. Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing LEARN MORE & GET STARTED TODAY! P.S. Here’s another great reason to order The Diet Review today: this report gives you the research-based insights and tips to choose an eating plan that fits your goals and lifestyle and is good for your health. Learn more here.

Harvard Medical School offers special reports on over 60 health topics. Visit our website at http://www.health.harvard.edu to find reports of interest to you and your family. PHONE ORDERS - please call our toll-free number: 1-877-649-9457.

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Your feet should feel as young as you do Feet are often overlooked when it comes to health and fitness. But once feet start to hurt, they will quickly remind you of your neglect. Proper foot health helps keep feet looking and feeling good - and it also reduces your risk for injury. Get your copy of Healthy Feet Do your arches ache or your heels hurt? Got gout or battling bursitis? If so, you are among the three out of four Americans who will suffer some kind of foot ailment in their lifetime. This Special Health Report, Healthy Feet: Preventing and treating common foot problems, covers the most common foot problems and helps you prevent and treat them.   SHOW ME MORE → It's never too late to start taking care of your feet. These five strategies will get you off on the right foot. Stretching your feet and ankles regularly may help reduce the incidence of injury as you age. You can follow some of the simple exercises here. And remember to warm up your feet by marching in place if you haven't exercised in a while. As you get older, think about incorporating a range of foot-friendly exercise activities into your routine, such as swimming or bicycling, that put less pressure on the joints of the foot. Make sure your footwear provides appropriate support in the form of comfortable shoes that fit well but aren't too constrictive. You may want to add over-the-counter cushioning shoe inserts to your shoes if you plan to increase your activity level. Foot skin health is important, too. The skin grows thinner and drier with age, so remember to moisturize your feet regularly so you don't develop cracks (fissures) in the skin. These can be painful, and leave you open to infection. Pay special attention to the heels, as these can get very dry. However, do not apply lotion or cream between your toes, as this area tends to be moist, and you may end up encouraging fungal growth (athlete's foot). With age, toenails tend to become thicker and more brittle. If you wear nail polish regularly, you may notice that your toenails seem yellow when you remove the polish, likely due to the chemicals and dyes in the polish. To reduce yellowing, remove the nail polish once a week and let your nails "breathe" for a day or two before you polish them again. Pay attention to nutrition, too - maintaining overall good health, including eating well, helps your feet stay healthy along with the rest of you. For more information on caring for your feet, buy Healthy Feet: Preventing and treating common foot problems, a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School. Image: © Mladen Zivkovic | GettyImages Share this story:

FEATURED CONTENT Healthy Feet • The fantastic foot               • SPECIAL SECTION: Keeping your feet healthy           • Heels that hurt                                  • Aching arches and flat feet        • Tormented toes         • Missteps and mishaps: Foot injuries                  Click here to learn more »