Life Kit: Health

Knowing when and what to eat may sound simple, but dieting can mess up our connection to hunger cues. The practice of intuitive eating can help people make peace with food.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The way many of us think about weight loss is totally counter-productive. Focus on healthy habits you can sustain instead of the numbers on the scale. Here's what to remember:- Forget goal weights. Instead, focus on behavioral goals. - Start with small changes and let them snowball.- A loss of only 3% of your body weight can meaningfully improve your health.- Remember that your best weight is the one you reach when you live the healthiest life you can actually enjoy.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Our biology makes it hard to lose weight. In this episode, we won't tell you how to lose weight — or whether you even need to. We will give you five realities about biology, and they might even help you be kinder to your body. Here's what to remember: - Metabolism slows when you lose weight.- Hormonal changes that come with weight loss make you hungrier. - What you eat is more important than how much you exercise.- Exercise seems to play a big role in maintaining weight and preventing further gain.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

We all can feel the effects of weight stigma, no matter what our size is. In this episode, we help you feel good about the body you're living in and give strategies to improve your health without obsessing about your weight. Here's what to remember: - Recognize that weight stigma can actually harm your physical health. - Remember that weight and body mass index are imperfect indicators of your health. - Focus on well-being, regardless of your weight. - Even if you don't experience weight stigma in daily life, ask yourself: Am I helping to perpetuate it?Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Difficulty sleeping can cause anxiety, which often leads to more trouble sleeping. Life Kit host Allison Aubrey talks to sleep experts about how cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia can bring relief for people with chronic sleep issues.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

From mediation to melatonin to putting on a pair of socks, we all have routines to help us reach that blissful state of slumber. These are the ones that work:- Forget sheep. Instead, use mental imagery — picturing a walk in the woods or a stroll on a beach — to help relax. - Relaxation and meditation apps can help you unwind. - Melatonin supplements might ease your way into sleep, but too much melatonin could disrupt it. - Over-the-counter sleep medications may knock you out, but they won't result in effective sleep.- If young kids wake you in the wee hours, don't react in a way that increases their stress — but do find strategies that make it no fun to be up.- Sleep rituals are personal. If you believe in yours, that might be all you need.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

From the moment you wake up, your body starts to prepare for sleep. We show you how to adjust your daytime habits to get the best possible night of rest.Here's what to remember:- Start the day with natural light — from an east-facing window, or even better, go outside — to put the brakes on melatonin. - Cut the caffeine off by late morning. Even if it doesn't keep you up, caffeine impacts how much deep sleep you're getting. - Get moving during the day. Exercise can increase the quantity and quality of your sleep.- Avoid the nightcap. Alcohol makes you feel sleepy but disrupts deep sleep.- Ban the smartphone and TV from the bedroom. Too stimulating, when you should be letting go.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy