4 Ways to Burn More Fat

Strength training is the gift that keeps giving. You burn calories during your workout. You also burn them for hours afterwards. The harder you work, all else being equal, the more you should burn both during and after.

But there’s a catch: The most advanced lifters don’t get much of a post-workout metabolic boost, which scientists call EPOC, short for excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. A recent study at Florida State University recruited a group of experienced lifters and had them do two different workouts. (All the lifters did both workouts, with at least one week in between.) Both workouts included the same four exercises using fairly heavy weights—85 percent of their one-rep max. But one workout included twice as many sets as the other.

4 Ways to See Your Doctor Faster

When a mystery ailment pops up but it isn’t serious enough to warrant a trip to the urgent-care clinic or ER, you’d still like to get it checked out soon. The only problem: Your doctor’s a busy guy.

On average, you’ll need to wait 19.5 days to see a family doctor, says a recent survey by healthcare company Merritt Hawkins.

Special appointments are even worse. The delay for dermatology, for example, is 28.8 days.

There’s no magic word that will make other patients’ appointments vanish off the calendar, but you have more scheduling power than you think. Use these tactics to make sure you get seen as soon as possible.

The Science behind Why You’re a Picky Eater

You call your palate “selective.” Your friends call you a picky eater. But researchers have discovered that there are actual scientific reasons that may explain why the short list of foods you eat mostly comprises of chicken fingers, buttered noodles, grilled cheese, and pizzas.

“Like many behaviors, it appears to be the result of a complex interaction between your genes and the environment,” says Marcia Pelchat, Ph.D., a researcher at Monell Chemical Sense Center in Philadelphia who focuses on food preferences.

Let’s start with genetics. Variants of a gene associated with taste, called TAS2R38, determine how strongly you taste bitter flavors, like coffee or kale, researchers say. And if you perceive that broccoli, for instance, as being unbelievably bitter, you may shun it.

When You Should Say No to Sex

Guys are expected to be horndogs, ready for sex at the drop of a bra. But that’s a lot of pressure, says Men's Health Sex Professor Debby Herbenick, Ph.D.

“Sometimes men end up accepting sex because their partner wants it, but they’re not that into it,” she says. “Then they have difficulty with erections, and it sets them up to feel like they have ED.”

Why Disobedient Kids Are More Likely to Become Millionaires

My 10-year-old daughter is a handful. Love her dearly, it goes without saying. Problem is, Taylor thinks she's in charge. Hardly a day goes by in which we're not arguing over: her attitude, her tone, her backtalk, the completely inappropriate thing she did in public, the fight she started with her older sister . . . The list goes on.

But I've also noticed two things about her:

1) She's incredibly competitive. Taylor isn’t the most athletic kid on her soccer team, but if she gets smoked a couple of times in a 1v1 drill, the claws come out. She won't get smoked again. Likewise, no matter the size or significance of the argument, she’s relentless. She won't back down. No threat eases the tension; no punishment (and we've tried them all) prevents it from happening again. She. Must. Win. Even if it leaves half the household in tears.

7 Sleep Doctors Reveal Their Favorite Tricks for Falling Asleep Fast

Sleep doctors toss and turn sometimes—but it’s never for long. That’s because they use scientifically-sound methods to lull themselves into dreamland. Steal their techniques so you can finally get a good night’s rest.

Blow bubbles
It sounds ridiculous, but blowing a few bubbles—like the kind that comes in a plastic bottle that you played with as a kid—right before bed can help you fall asleep faster, says Rachel Marie E. Salas, M.D., a professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

It’s like a deep breathing exercise, which helps calm your body and mind, she says. And since it’s such a silly activity, it can also take your mind off of any potential sleep-thwarting thoughts.