Tiny tweaks for good health

Good news: Making small changes to your everyday routine breaks up the humdrum while improving vitality and boosting mood!

- GABRIELLE LICHTERMAN

Trading to-dos for daydreaming eases stress!

If you normally try to snap out of a daydream when you find your mind wandering and have a lot to do-don't! Allowing yourself to imagine a happy, soothing place (whether it's a lake you visited as a child or a lush, green garden) tricks your mind into thinking you're actually there. The result: Korean research suggests that you'll lower your stress levels up to 39% in just a few minutes.

Strengthen memory with your other hand

To make it easy to remember names, dates and other details, do one thing differently each day, like brushing your teeth with your nondominant hand or taking a new route to the store. A recent Canadian study shows that brief departures from your routine sharpen recall within eight weeks. Why? Novel experiences stimulate the brain's memory-processing hippocampus, boosting its ability to store and retrieve information.

OR ADD A NEW HOBBY

Exploring multiple interests—like photography, painting and playing guitar—is a great way to fill your free time and boost your memory, say UC Davis experts. Each hobby exercises the brain in unique ways, keeping it tiptop shape.