Follow the '1-set rule,' eat popcorn, brush your teeth before breakfast — plus 5 more health tips to help you have a great week

Hello, health enthusiasts! My name is Kaitlin Reilly, and I’m here to round up this week’s best wellness tips.

Are you drinking less these days — or just more carefully considering how much you imbibe? If so, you’re not alone: A recent Gallup poll found that many Americans are rethinking their relationship with alcohol. Today 53% of U.S. adults say moderate drinking is bad for your health, compared with just 28% in 2015. The increase is driven largely by young adults, but older adults are also more likely than ever to view even one or two drinks a day as risky. That leads to less drinking overall, with the Gallup poll finding that reported drinking by Americans was among the lowest in decades.

What could be behind this change? It may have to do with shifting guidelines and attitudes around imbibing from public health officials. In January 2023, the World Health Organization officially stated that no amount of alcohol is safe for our health — and more recently, former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy stated that he wanted to place cancer warning labels on alcohol. That’s a stark contrast from the beliefs many held about alcohol, including that a moderate amount of red wine was good for your heart.

Drinking less can be good for your health: Alcohol disrupts your sleep, gut health and liver function. At a party and want to indulge? Consider swapping every other drink for water or having a low-sugar mocktail to reduce your overall consumption.

Looking at the week ahead? Peek at your local weather forecast, then check out your horoscope if you’re so inclined. Finally, find your “one small thing” to do this week to improve your well-being. Here are some ideas.

🍿 Swap chips for popcorn

If you crave salty snacks, swap out a bowl of potato chips for some air-popped popcorn, experts tell Eating Well. While both provide that salty crunch, popcorn has a nutritional leg up. “Popcorn is a whole-grain snack packed with insoluble fiber, which adds bulk to stool and helps food move more efficiently through the digestive track,” dietitian Jessie Wong says. Plus, popcorn contains polyphenols, compounds that have antioxidant properties. Just skip drowning yours in butter, which adds extra saturated fat and calories. Instead, add some flavor by sprinkling on spices like cayenne pepper, cinnamon or even some nutritional yeast.

🕔 Eat dinner at this time

The best time to eat dinner depends on when you’re going to bed, with experts telling Prevention that you should aim to eat at least two to three hours before you hit the hay to help with digestion and get a better night’s sleep. That’s because as you get closer to bedtime, the body becomes “less efficient at handling sugar, so late meals can lead to higher blood sugar and may disrupt sleep in some people,” dietitian Michelle Routhenstein explains. Plus, research has shown that people who eat dinner earlier are more likely to lose weight, while people eating later are more likely to gain it.

Still feel hungry post-dinner? Go for a light, plant-based snack, experts recommend, and try to eat it at least one hour before you hit the pillow. Some good options are pistachios or cherries — they both contain melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep.

🏋️ Do ‘just one set’ at the gym

Become more efficient at building muscle by following this tip from Tom’s Guide: Do just one set at the gym. New research published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise found that individuals could build muscle by doing just one set of each exercise twice a week as long as they worked close to muscle failure each time. So, instead of eeking out a bunch of reps over multiple sets, focus on lifting as heavy as you can while still maintaining proper form, so you can burn out in just one go-round. You’ll save time while still making gains.

🤳 Leave your phone outside your bedroom

Dr. Craig Canapari, a pulmonologist and director of the Yale Pediatric Sleep Center, recently shared his list of tips for getting the best night’s rest with Today. An easy one that you can follow right now is to leave your phone outside the bedroom, especially if you’re prone to scrolling before shutting your eyes. Apps like TikTok could be keeping you awake, Canapari says, because they’re “calibrated to give these really short bursts of media back to back and tend to be incredibly engaging and difficult to unplug from.” Want to wind down? Try reading a book instead, or even engaging in a meditation practice.

🪥 Brush your teeth before breakfast

It’s an age-old debate: Is it better to brush your teeth before or after breakfast in the morning? Our friends at Women’s Health spoke to dentists who have the answer: Brush right after you wake up, before you have anything to eat or drink. Not only will it squash “horrible morning breath,” dentist Steven Katz says, but it will also “remove the plaque and bacteria that developed overnight.” Plus, dentist Anjali Rajpal says that brushing with toothpaste before you eat protects your teeth from acid (like in a morning glass of OJ) by coating your teeth with “protective fluoride, hydroxyapatite, calcium phosphate or other minerals.”

🏃🏿‍♀️‍➡️ Work out twice a week

Only have time to work out a couple of days a week, like on the weekend? That’s OK, according to research in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Women’s Health reports that the study, which looked at individuals with type 2 diabetes, found that so-called weekend warriors still significantly lowered their risk of dying from heart disease when compared with those who didn't exercise at all. This follows previous research that shows that exercising on weekends offers the same reduced risk of 264 diseases as sweating it out during the week. While staying active as often as you can is ideal, if you’re strapped for time, squeeze in as much exercise as you can when you have a few free hours: Go for a spin class or hike with friends instead of brunch, or run around with your kids at a park instead of heading to the movie theater.

🥫 Pick healthier versions of ultra-processed foods

Ultra-processed foods have a bad rap — and for good reason. But a new report from the American Heart Association says not all of them are the same. While the organization recommends cutting back on these types of foods — think highly processed meats like hot dogs and sausages, as well as packaged cookies, chips and pastries — healthier options include “certain whole grain breads, low-sugar yogurts, tomato sauces and nut- or bean-based spreads.”

Overall, though, the problem with ultra-processed foods is that they can contain high amounts of fat, sugar and sodium and not enough nutrients, CNN reports. Keep them as a minimal part of your diet by picking whole foods like vegetables, fruit, nuts, eggs and fish whenever possible.

🙆 Practice wall Pilates

Wall Pilates is exactly what it sounds like: Pilates you do against the wall — and as Women’s Health reports, it’s surprisingly challenging. The movements are based on the ones you’d find in a traditional Pilates class, except using a wall to improve stability, support and resistance. One move to try at home is the “roll-up,” in which you lie on your back with feet flexed against a wall and arms overhead. Exhale as you curl up and reach toward your toes, then repeat for eight reps at a time. Your abs may burn, but you’ll get stronger with every move.