POWER SLEEP _ The book Power Sleep offers tips on getting more sound sleep:
• Go bland before bedtime. To fall asleep quickly, avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol for at least four hours before you go to bed.
• Be predictable. Go to bed around the same time every night, and try to follow a similar routine.
• Don’t toss and turn. If you can’t sleep after 20 minutes, get out of bed and do something else.
• Save the bed for sleep and sex. Avoid paying bills, watching TV, or scrolling on your phone in bed.
• Take a bath. When your body gets ready for sleep, your temperature drops. A bath may nudge your bedtime biochemistry along.
PEOPLE WITH FULL BLADDERS MAKE BETTER DECISIONS _ Anyone considering an expensive purchase might drink a bottle of water first because scientists concluded that people with full bladders make wiser decisions. Researchers discovered the brain’s self-control mechanism provides restraint in all areas at once. They found people with a full bladder were able to better control and “hold off” making important, or expensive, decisions, leading to better judgement. Psychologists (University of Twente in the Netherlands) linked bladder control to the same part of the brain that activates feelings of desire and reward.
PICK THE SECOND CHEAPEST WINE AT A RESTAURANT _ Wine has so many varieties and varying degrees of value that it can be intimidating to order when you’re out to dinner. Wine expert Gerald Morgan Jr. suggested a simple tip about picking a wine: By the glass, pick the wine that isn’t the cheapest wine, but the next cheapest wine. It’s always going to be your best value. Picking a glass of the cheapest wine probably comes from a bottle that costs the restaurant $4, but if you pick the next one up in price you’re ordering a wine that costs the restaurant at least twice as much as their cheapest bottle.
THINGS YOU DON’T WANT TO HEAR AT A TATTOO SHOP _ Some things you don’t want to hear at a tattoo shop.
• “Eagle? I thought you said BEAGLE.”
• “We’re all out of red, so I used pink.”
• “Gosh, I hate it when I get the hiccups.”
• “Anything else you want to say? You’ve got plenty of room back here.”
