Little Habits, Huge Health Payoffs

In Less Than 10 Minutes You Can...

Overweight women who ate two eggs for breakfast for eight weeks as part of a low-fat diet lost 65 percent more weight than those who chose bagels. They also experienced an astonishing 83 percent greater reduction in waist size, say researchers at Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center.

Do absolutely nothing -- besides silently repeating a relaxing word like "calm" -- for 5 to 10 minutes before hitting the sack. You'll fall asleep faster and sleep better. "Sitting quietly and concentrating on your breath tells your body it's time to slow down," says Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, author of From Fatigued to Fantastic!

Carve out 10 minutes three or four times a week to relax and slow your breathing to fewer than 10 breaths per minute, and you may lower your blood pressure 5 to 10 points, according to the Journal of Human Hypertension. To help get to that snail's speed, try meditation or the expert-recommended Resperate, a device that uses rhythmic tones to help regulate breathing ($300, www.resperate.com).