Use it to write down a list of household tasks—such as doing laundry, walking the dog and taking out the trash—and who’s responsible for doing each. According to a recent study in the journal Communication Research, couples who make it clear who’s responsible for certain household tasks have warmer, more positive conversations than couples who don’t make it clear. And, no wonder! Without a clear-cut list, each partner expects the other to take care of it, resulting in arguments when it doesn’t get done.
[photo: tomeppy]
University of Rochester Medical Center researchers found that children exposed to second-hand smoke have fewer disease-fighting antioxidants in their blood than those who aren’t exposed to it. “The body uses up its store of antioxidants to fight the free radicals breathed in from second-hand tobacco smoke, so it doesn’t have any left over to fight free radicals from other sources,” explains Karen Wilson, M.D., M.P.H.