100% healthy with Thanksgiving fun!

One of our favorite holidays is right around the corner, and experts say the fun ways you're gearing up for it are a boon for your health!

- By Brenda Kearns

Erase achiness with a Thanksgiving movie

Enjoying a seasonal favorite, such as A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving or Planes, Trains and Automobiles, can quash pain and limber you up more quickly and effectively than painkillers can, say researchers at North Carolina's Wake Forest University. That's because the relaxation and contentment that you feel when you're enjoying a familiar, feel-good movie prompts your brain to release powerful painkilling hormones called endogenous opioids.

OR SNEAK IN A SNOOZE!

When you're feeling stiff and sore, indulge in a quick couch break. A study in Sleep Medicine Reviews found stretching out for 10 minutes daily (whether you drift off or just daydream) cuts stiffness and pain in half. Turns out deep relaxation and power naps quash the production of the ache-triggering stress hormone cortisol.

The 10-second trick that beats the blues!

British investigators reporting in the Journal of Research in Personality found that taking a few seconds to give thanks for your blessings-on Thanksgiving and every day! reduces your risk of blue moods by 75%. Scientists say grateful musings coax the body to release a steady stream of mood-lifting brain chemicals.

Restore stamina with RSVPs