Kate Bayless

If you’ve ever woken up with a stiff neck after spending the night on a sofa, then you’re probably already well aware that couches don’t exactly make the best sleep surfaces. But just how bad is sleeping on the couch, really?
While the rare night on the couch won’t kill you, says Jason Queiros, licensed chiropractor at Norwalk Sports and Spine, regularly catching Z’s on your sofa can harm both your body and your sleep. “If you do get in a regular habit of sleeping on your couch, you’re subjec...

If you’ve ever woken up with a stiff neck after spending the night on a sofa, then you’re probably already well aware that couches don’t exactly make the best sleep surfaces. But just how bad is sleeping on the couch, really?
While the rare night on the couch won’t kill you, says Jason Queiros, licensed chiropractor at Norwalk Sports and Spine, regularly catching Z’s on your sofa can harm both your body and your sleep. “If you do get in a regular habit of sleeping on your couch, you’re subjec...

Looking to boost your next cardio workout? Before you start sweating, you may want to pop in your headphones and queue up your favorite playlist: A January 2019 PeerJ study shows that music can encourage you to exercise longer.
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And any genre will work. The key is the song's beats per minute or BPM. For moderate cardio activities like jogging or an elliptical workout, look for songs between 120 and 140 beats per minute, which roughly coincides with a person's average heart rat...

Set the stage for doing AMRAP with the perfect CrossFit workout playlist: Music can motivate you whether you're hitting the local box or just heading downstairs to your home gym.
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Since CrossFit workouts often involve a lot of reps, heavy weights or high intensity, the right playlist can keep you pushing hard through every CrossFit exercise, through the final minute of that killer EMOM workout.
If you're inspired by the action sequences of the Rock or Lara Croft, this playlist...

If you've ever seen all the sweat on the floor after a SoulCycle class, you know that cycling workouts are intense, which is why having the perfect cycling workout playlist is so important.
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In fact, a July 2018 study published in Frontiers in Psychology shows that synchronous music — the kind that matches the beat of your pedal strokes — can make hot, sweaty cycling workouts feel easier. The perfect pedaling playlist can help you crush it on the bike even harder.
When picking...

Looking to hit a PR during your next strength-training session? Pop in some headphones and pull up a weight-lifting playlist.
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While the connection between weight lifting and music isn't so much about cadence — the way it is in these cardio playlists — the right music can still boost your performance in the weight room. In fact, a June 2015 Perceptual and Motor Skills study shows that music, especially self-selected music (aka your favorite jams), can lead to "a significant in...

When you hear the word summer vacation, do you think lounging by a pool or zip lining in northern Idaho? Every summer, my husband and I pack our three boys into a VW Westfalia van and head out on the road for 2-3 weeks of adventure. This summer took us from our home in California to the Pacific North West. From river rafting to mountain biking, zip lining to obstacle course climbing, here are four fun family activities in Northern Idaho you’ll want to add to your next vacation list!
Summer Fa...

Everyone wants a good night’s sleep, but that’s easier said than done. If you have a bigger body, it can be difficult to get quality shut-eye for a variety of reasons.
“It has been reported that higher-weight individuals experience more sleep problems, including difficulty falling asleep, sleep disturbances, excessive daytime sleepiness, and insufficient sleep,” says Terry Cralle, RN, certified clinical sleep educator and Saatva sleep consultant.
From sleep apnea to acid reflux to low back pa...

Ever wonder how fit you really are? There are multiple ways to get an idea of your current fitness level — like tracking your reps, monitoring your heart rate, or measuring your body fat percentage. But one metric you may be less familiar with is aerobic capacity.
Whether you’re new to exercising or consider yourself a workout pro, finding out your aerobic capacity can be a great way to gauge how fit you are and track your progress over time. Here’s what you need to know about aerobic capacit...

Cardio before weights, or weights before cardio? Everyone seems to have a different answer: Your friend swears by doing her cardio workout before hitting the free weights. Your brother says it’s better to do strength training first and then crush your cardio. So how can you decide, once and for all, whether it’s better to do cardio before or after your workout?
The short answer: It depends on your fitness goals.

Stiffness, muscle pain, feeling like a 90-year-old when you try to sit on the toilet — delayed onset muscle soreness is no joke.
Whether you like to hit the gym or sweat through a barre session like Openfit’s Xtend Barre, run outdoor trails or power through a quick HIIT workout at home, chances are you’ll end up with sore muscles at some point. (Although it’s okay if you don’t — you don’t need to experience muscle soreness to see results.)

If you've had the same workout playlist in rotation long enough to have the exact order memorized (along with memorizing all the words and guitar solos), summer is the perfect time to mix up your workout with a set of new tunes. It may seem a bit trivial, but the right selection of tunes can help you get the most out of your workout.

Full disclosure: I’m not one of those people who “glows” when I work out. I sweat. And I swear by antiperspirant to keep me dry and B.O.-free. But lately I’ve been intrigued by the influx of natural deodorants on the market — could they actually hold up to a sweaty gym sesh as well as my trusty, traditional antiperspirant?
In recent years, there’s been a growing push to use fewer chemicals in our health and beauty products — and that includes switching from antiperspirants to natural deodoran...

While you’ve probably done your fair share of downward dog and cobra pose, you may not have tried a different form of yoga gaining popularity: face yoga.
Curious? I was — so I gave face yoga a try.
What Is Face Yoga?
Face yoga is a series of facial exercises intended to tone the muscles in the face. Those who practice face yoga say...

Hitting the gym can help you stay fit, but you could end up getting more than just an endorphin rush — sharing gym equipment can also put you in close contact with bacteria (like staphylococcus), viruses (like the flu), and fungi (like athlete’s foot and ringworm).
And while that’s true of many public places — from subways to public pools — gyms present unique germ-prevention challenges. “A gym is more of a risk than, say, a grocery store, because a gym has more high-touch surfaces and theref...