The 16 Worst Places to Stash Your Stuff...

Location, location, location: Store owners aren't the only ones
concerned with finding the perfect spot in which to situate their
stuff. Researchers in a wide variety of fields know that how you
organize your environment — from where you stand in fitness class to
the place you choose to store your meds — has a surprising effect on
everything from your weight to your chances of staying well. In other
words, when it comes to how you feel, it's not just what you do, it's
where you do it. Here, surprisingly bad locales for your health — and
the best places to optimize it.

The worst place for your toothbrush: on the bathroom sink
There's
nothing wrong with the sink itself — but it's awfully chummy with the
toilet. There are 3.2 million microbes per square inch in the average
toilet bowl, according to germ expert Chuck Gerba, PhD, a professor of
environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona. When you
flush, aerosolized toilet funk is propelled as far as 6 feet, settling
on the floor, the sink, and your toothbrush. "Unless you like rinsing
with toilet water, keep your toothbrush behind closed doors — in the
medicine cabinet or a nearby cupboard," Gerba says.

The worst place to set your handbag: the kitchen counter
Your
fancy handbag is a major tote for microbes: Gerba and his team's swabs
showed up to 10,000 bacteria per square inch on purse bottoms — and a
third of the bags tested positive for fecal bacteria! A woman's
carryall gets parked in some nasty spots: on the floor of the bus,
beneath the restaurant table — even on the floor of a public bathroom.
Put your bag in a drawer or on a chair, Gerba says — anywhere except
where food is prepared or eaten.


The worst place for your sneakers and flip-flops: in the bedroom closet
Walking
through your house in shoes you wear outside is a great way to track in
allergens and contaminants. A 1999 study found that lawn chemicals were
tracked inside the house for a full week after application,
concentrated along the traffic route from the entryway. Shoes also
carry in pollen and other allergens. Reduce exposure by slipping off
rough-and-tumble shoes by the door; store them in a basket or under an
entryway bench. If your pumps stay off the lawn, they can make the trip
to the bedroom — otherwise, carry them.

The worst place to try to fall asleep: under piles of blankets
Being
overheated can keep you from nodding off, researchers say: A natural
nighttime drop in your core temperature triggers your body to get
drowsy. To ease your way to sleep, help your body radiate heat from
your hands and feet, says Helen Burgess, PhD, assistant director of the
Biological Rhythms Research Laboratory at Rush University Medical
Center in Chicago. Don socks to dilate the blood vessels in the
extremities — then take the socks off and let a foot stick out from
under the blankets.


The worst place to cool leftovers: in the refrigerator
Placing
a big pot of hot edibles directly into the fridge is a recipe for
uneven cooling and possibly food poisoning, says O. Peter Snyder Jr.,
PhD, president of the Hospitality Institute of Technology and
Management in St. Paul, MN. The reason: It can take a long time for the
temperature in the middle of a big container to drop, creating a cozy
environment for bacteria. You can safely leave food to cool on the
counter for up to an hour after cooking, Snyder says. Or divvy up hot
food into smaller containers and then refrigerate — it'll cool faster.


The worst stall to pick in a public restroom: the one in the middle
The
center stall has more bacteria than those on either end, according to
unpublished data collected by Gerba. No, you won't catch an STD from a
toilet seat. But you can contract all manner of ills if you touch a
germy toilet handle and then neglect to wash your hands thoroughly.


The worst place for a workout reminder: stuck on your post-it laden fridge
A
visual nudge can help — but only if you notice it, says Paddy
Ekkekakis, PhD, an exercise psychologist at Iowa State University. In
one study, a sign urging people to use the stairs rather than the
nearby escalator increased the number of people who climbed on foot by
nearly 200 percent. Put your prompt near a decision point, Ekkekakis
says — keep your pile of Pilates DVDs next to the TV; put a sticky note
on your steering wheel to make sure you get to your after-work
kickboxing class. Just remember: The boost you get from a reminder is
usually short-term, so change the visuals often.

The worst place to sit on an airplane: the rear
Avoid
this section if you're prone to airsickness, says retired United
Airlines pilot Meryl Getline, who operates the aviation Web site
( No Swearing ).com. "Think of a seesaw," Getline says. "The farther
from the center you are, the more up-and-down movement you experience."
Because the tail of the plane tends to be longer than the front,
"that's the bumpiest of all," she says. "The smoothest option is
sitting as close to the wing as you can."


The worst place to pick up a prescription: the pharmacy drive-thru
In
a survey of 429 pharmacists, respondents ranked drive-thru windows high
among distracting factors that can lead to prescription processing
delays and errors, says survey author Sheryl Szeinbach, PhD, professor
of pharmacy practice and administration at Ohio State University. If
you don't want to give up the convenience of a rolling pickup, be sure
to check that both drug and dose are what the doctor ordered.

The worst place to stand during your first few fitness classes: front and center
You
might think that you'd want to be near the mirrors so you can check
your form, but your sweat session will be more motivating if your view
is obstructed, suggests a 2003 study at McMasters University. In that
research, 58 sedentary women all exercised at similar intensity levels.
But those who did it in a mirrored room reported feeling more anxious
about their body's imperfections after their workout than women who
sweated without mirrors distracting them.

The worst place for a nighttime reading light: overhead
These
fixtures put out relatively bright light — enough to significantly
delay the body's secretion of melatonin, showed a 2000 study. That can
wreck your night, since rising melatonin levels are a major cue for
your body to prepare for sleep. A low-power light clipped to your novel
will let you read but leave the room dark enough for your brain to
transition into sleep mode. Try the LightWedge ($25 to $35;
lightwedge.com) or the "Itty Bitty" Slim Book Light ($40; zelco.com).

The worst place to keep medicine: the medicine cabinet
It's
not uncommon for the temp in a steamy bathroom to reach 100°F — well
above the recommended storage temperatures for many common drugs. The
cutoff for the popular cholesterol drug Lipitor, for instance, is
around 77°F. To stay out of the red zone, store your meds in a cool,
dry place, such as the pantry.


The worst place to set fruit before washing it: the kitchen sink
Of
all the household germ depots, the kitchen sink sees the most bacterial
traffic — even more than the toilet, says Kelly Reynolds, PhD, a
professor and environmental microbiologist at the University of
Arizona. If the perfect berry drops while you're washing it, pop it in
the trash — not your mouth.

The worst place to use earbuds or headphones: on an airplane, train, or subway
Sure,
music's a better traveling companion than your seatmate's cell phone
conversation. But studies show that if you listen through a headset in
a noisy environment, you probably crank the volume too high. Harvard
researchers found that in reasonably quiet surroundings, volunteers
tended to keep the volume at an ear-friendly level. But when the
researchers added background noise — the loud rumble of an airplane
cabin — 80 percent boosted the volume as high as 89 decibels, a level
that risks long-term hearing damage. If you must have music, consider
noise-canceling headphones — only 20 percent of listeners in the study
who used a set got close to the danger zone. Two good options: Sony
MDR-EX51LP ($40; sonystyle.com) and Etymotic Research ER-6i ($149;
etymotic.com).

The worst place for your coffee: the refrigerator or freezer
Think
that you're preserving freshness by stashing it in the fridge? Think
again. Every time you take it out of the fridge or freezer, you expose
it to fluctuating temperatures, which produces condensation. "The
moisture leeches out flavor — it's like brewing a cup of coffee each
time," says John McGregor, PhD, a professor in the department of food
science and human nutrition at Clemson University. The best spot to
store beans or grounds: in an opaque, airtight container kept on the
counter or in the pantry.


The worst place for your TV: wherever you dine
Studies
show that distraction is your waistline's enemy — it can keep you from
noticing how much you're eating. In a 2006 study, volunteers ate faster
when watching TV than while listening to music — consuming 71 percent
more macaroni and cheese when watching a show. If you have the tube on
while cooking, turn it off before dinner at the kitchen table, and
avoid being tempted into eating in front of the TV in the living room.
The best place for your television: up or down a flight of stairs, so
you have to "work" to get a snack — you'll be much less likely to munch.