Hello, Yahoo readers! My name is Rachel Grumman Bender, and I’m here to bring you wellness tips to help you get healthier and bring some positivity to your week.

If you’re still reaching for that leftover Halloween candy (guilty as charged), you’ll want to read this: Sugar is hard to resist for several reasons — it lights up the brain’s reward system, delivers a quick burst of energy and tastes delicious. But having too much of it — something many Americans do on a daily basis — is linked to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, inflammation and obesity, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Candy, ice cream, cookies, soda and sweetened coffee and tea are obvious sources of added sugars (which, as the name implies, areadded to food and beverages during processing — unlike natural sugars found in fruit and milk). But added sugar can also hide in some sneaky spots, including salad dressings, flavored yogurt, spaghetti sauce, condiments like ketchup, protein bars and premade soups.

Limiting the amount of added sugars in your daily diet isn’t just good for your health, it can also make you feel better. Yahoo contributor Korin Miller recently spoke to people who ditched added sugar and said their mood improved and they had more energy afterward. Some even called it “the best decision” they made for themselves. If you’re looking to dial back, there are a few things you can do: Start by cutting back on liquid sources, such as sugary sodas, sweetened coffee and tea drinks, and fruit drinks that aren’t 100% juice. Next, give your taste buds time to adjust by gradually reducing the amount of sugar in your coffee or tea, morning oatmeal and baking recipes until you’ve cut it back by half. Also, pay attention to food labels. If sugar is listed as one of the first three ingredients, experts suggest looking for an alternative with a lower amount.

Thinking about the week ahead? Check your local forecast to see what the weather will be like. And while you’re at it, look up your horoscope too. Then choose “one small thing” to improve your health this week. Let’s get to it.

🛏️ Try the Scandinavian sleep method

The secret to a happy marriage is good communication, mutual respect ... and your own comforter? Couples (literally) tired of battling over the blanket or playing tug-of-war with the duvet are opting for the Scandinavian sleep method — namely, each using their own bedding to get a better night’s rest. People are posting about the trend on TikTok, with some saying it’s a good alternative to a “sleep divorce,” in which couples snooze in separate bedrooms, Women’s Health reports. The sleep hack is especially appealing if one of you runs hot while the other likes to pile the blankets on. And experts say you shouldn’t feel guilty about it: “You spend a third of your life in bed,” says Shea Soucie, principal and cofounder of Soucie Horner Design Collective. “Your sleep setup is not about your relationship. It’s about comfort, body alignment, and temperature.”

☕ Consider a coffee nap

Coffee and naps seem to go together like oil and water, but they just might be the perfect match — that is, if you time it right. Yahoo creator Alesandra Dubin explains how a coffee nap works: Drink 200 mg of caffeine (about one cup of coffee) and then, immediately after, take a 15- to 20-minute power nap (set an alarm so you don’t oversleep). The idea is that the coffee will kick in right as you’re waking up, which may leave you less groggy and more focused post-nap. Experts explain that the caffeine-nap combo targets the sleep-inducing chemical adenosine. “Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors, but a nap helps flush adenosine from your system first,” sleep and circadian rhythm expert Dr. Nayantara Santhi explains. “That means caffeine works better and faster after a nap.”

😅 Jump 50 times in the morning

Want to start your day off right? Try jumping 50 times in the morning. It may have taken off as a social media trend and there’s no magic about that specific number, but there’s real science behind the benefits of jumping. When I interviewed orthopedic surgeon Dr. Vonda Wright for a recent story, she pointed out that jumping — whether it’s jumping jacks, using a jump rope or jumping up and down in place — builds bone. “The literal biomechanical force of impact turns into biochemical signals to lay down bone,” she explained. Jumping also gets your heart rate up and boosts blood flow, which helps you feel more alert, according to Self. Plus, exercise in general triggers the release of feel-good hormones, which is why experts say it’s a “nice way to wake your body up.”

🍅 Eat some salsa

When you think about vegetables, classics like broccoli, green beans and zucchini likely come to mind. But in a new TikTok, Cook With Dr. Brooke, Dr. Brooke Resch, a psychiatrist certified in nutritional psychiatry, urges people not to discount other often-overlooked vegetables, especially since most Americans don’t eat enough produce to begin with. Resch suggests not sleeping on salsa (“if you’re putting chicken and salsa in a Crock-Pot, that’s a protein and a vegetable,” she says), as well as potatoes (they have potassium, vitamin B6 and fiber, if you eat the skin) and canned pumpkin (yes, it’s technically a fruit, but Resch explains that canned pumpkin acts like a vegetable in savory dishes, like this easy pumpkin chili recipe). “They are vegetables and they do count,” she says.

👄 Don’t share your lip balm

Sharing may be caring, but not when it comes to lip balm or lip gloss. Dr. Jack Levy, a dermatologist at Weill Cornell Medicine, tells Today that lip balm can collect bacteria and viruses from lips and saliva, as well as spread the herpes simplex virus, which can cause cold sores on and around the mouth. So if you’ve got a parched pucker — which is especially common in the winter thanks to the cold, dry air and indoor heating — keep your lip balm to yourself. And if you’ve already shared your lip balm and don’t want to toss it, experts recommend wiping or scraping off the top layer and spritzing it with germ-killing isopropyl alcohol.

🦵 Ease knee pain

Got joint pain and stiffness in your knees? Osteoarthritis may be to blame. It’s incredibly common and is typically caused by the normal wear and tear of the cushiony cartilage between joints. While you may be tempted to rest when your knee is bothering you, new research suggests you should do otherwise. This study found that aerobic exercise (walking, running and swimming) reduces pain, makes it easier to move and improves quality of life for people with knee osteoarthritis. “Aerobic exercise consistently showed the greatest benefits across almost all outcomes,” study author Dr. Lei Yan tells CNN. “It reduced pain, improved movement and gait performance, and enhanced overall quality of life more effectively than any other exercise type.”

🫥 Take an ‘invisible day’

With constant texts, pings and app alerts, there’s so much tugging at our attention these days that it’s easy to feel a bit fried or downright overwhelmed. Try designating an “invisible day” by pausing notifications and disappearing digitally. Experts say taking a tech time-out can decrease cortisol levels and give you a much-needed reset. Real Simple suggests some ways to do it: Give immediate family and close friends a heads-up so they don’t worry if you don’t answer them all day. Put your phone in airplane mode so you’re not constantly getting notifications. And do something restorative — take a nature walk, read the book that’s been sitting on your nightstand for a week or listen to your favorite music.

🥚 Grab a healthy late-night snack

You don’t want to go to bed on a full stomach (hello heartburn, my old friend), but you don’t necessarily want to hit the sheets with a growling gut either, which can make it hard to fall asleep. So how do you solve a problem like a late-night hunger pang? Experts say the best late-night snack that satisfies and supports sleep and brain health is — drumroll, please — a hard-boiled egg and almonds. Experts tell EatingWell that the dynamic duo contains a good balance of protein, fat and fiber, along with magnesium for sleep and choline, which plays a key role in brain health.