Healthy with fall hobbies!

Your favorite autumn pastimes are proven health boosters

- GABRIELLE LICHTERMAN

Dial down stress with a fun scare!

Look forward to fun frights like horror movies, ghost tours and haunted houses? They tame stress! Sounds counterintuitive, but research from the University of Pittsburgh shows that exposing yourself to safe scares triggers euphoria once it's over. It deactivates areas of the brain involved in tension, leaving you calm.

Sleep better with farm-fresh apples

Enjoy visiting farmstands and farmers markets? Then you already know that you'll find apples, pumpkins, corn, spinach, sweet potatoes and other seasonal produce at their tastiest right now. But what you might find surprising is that these same foods also improve your sleep. University of Michigan scientists found that women who eat the most fruits and vegetables fall asleep faster, reach deeper stages of sleep and feel more rested upon awakening. Produce delivers vitamins and minerals that improve sleep, such as magnesium (found in pumpkin and spinach), which helps create the sleep hormone melatonin.

OR SQUARE DANCE

A new Florida State University study found that people who dance about 3 hours a week experience a significant improvement in sleep length and quality.

Block back pain by leaf peeping