Having a cup of coffee before closing your eyes is the most effective way to combat daytime dronwsiness, according to research. That may sound counterintuitive, but it takes 20 minutes for the caffeine to get into your blood stream. So if you take the recommended 20-minute nap (any longer and you can wake up groggy), caffeine’s stimulating effects will be kicking in when your nap is ending. “You’ll awaken feeling alert from the coffee and refreshed from the nap,” says Jim Mass, PhD, a professor of psychology at Cornell University.

TIP To help yourself fall asleep, try to stimulate bedtime, even if that just means putting your head down on the desk or reclining in your chair at work. If a nap isn’t possible, closing your eyes and meditating is better than nothing to refresh your mind and body, says Maas.

People performed difficult tasks faster after walking backward than they did after walking forward or even sideways in a recent study. The scientists believe that the “avoidance” mode of walking backward, similar to how you might retreat from a dangerous situation, help focus your thinking.

TIP Practice backward walking on a treadmill, where the rails can be used for support, advises Janet S. Dufek, PhD, an associate professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Try walking forward for 5 minutes and backward for 2 minutes, then repeat the pattern throughout your workout. Caution: Walking in reverse is much harder, so slow your pace by at least 50%.

High-fiber cereals and bread and most veggies metabolize slowly, helping you burn more fat – as much as 55% - while you work out, find British researchers. So go for whole grains and produce and avoid refined foods and sweetened drinks, which spike blood sugar and produce higher concentrations of circulating glucose and insulin. Low-GI foods also produce hormones that suppress hunger.

TIP After exercise, opt for foods loaded with protein, such as Greek yogurt, fat-free milk, egg whites, and peanut butter – the protein helps rebuild muscles.

Acids in foods and drinks can soften tooth enamel, making teeth more sensitive and vulnerable to damage from brushing. Since you don’t always know if a meal contains highly acidic foods, stick with the 1-hour rule regardless of what you eat. Bonus: Waiting also gives your saliva a chance to wash away acids and for the enamel to harden.

TIP Rinse thoroughly with water or unsweetened tea to dilute acid while you wait the hour to brush (or if you’re not able to brush). Both green and black tea kill germs that cause tooth decay and bad breath, and they’re natural sources of protecttive flouride.

The rate of polyp detection is significantly higher when tests are done earlier in the day, possibly because physicians aren’t fatigued. The quality of bowel preparation is also better during morning screenings.

TIP To ease the toughest part of the colonoscopy – the prep to eliminate fecal matter so the physician has a clear view of the colon – ask your doctor for a “low immune” prep, which is half the amount previously required for cleansing, suggests Carole A. Burke, MD, director of the Center for Colon Polyp and Cancer Prevention at the Cleveland Clinic. You can also request a “split-dose” regimen. Research shows that taking a dose the night before and a few hours prior to the procedure results in a cleaner colon too – so polyps are more likely to be detected.

The longer the steep time, the greater the quantity of health-boosting flavonoids, explains Jeffrey Blumberg, PhD, professor of nutrition at Tufts University. Drink tea with a squueze of lemon juice and you’ll increase antioxidant levels by up to 80%.

TIP If you like to drink tea with milk, go easy: Milk may reduce the absorption of tea’s beneficial components, says Blumberg. This may explain wht the consumption of black tea, which is associated with the reduction of heart disease, provides greater benefits to folks in the Netherlands and the United States – but not in Great Britain, where adding milk to tea is more common.