Some Guilty Pleasures are Good for You

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4 Feel-Good, Not Guilty, Ideas

1. Wear cashmere. The smoothness of a special sweater against your skin provides a warm, fuzzy feeling that sends stress on its way.


2. Watch a brain-candy comedy on TV. Laughing out loud for a half hour with Lucy, Seinfeld, or Raymond soothes tensions built up during the day.


3. Escape into a good book. Reading is a calming activity that lowers stress hormones. Need inspiration? Try Nora Ephron's I Feel Bad About My Neck (Knopf, 2006), the Dalai Lama's Ancient Wisdom: Modern World (Abacus, 2001), or Malcolm Gladwell's Blink (Little, Brown and Co., 2005).


4. Sneak in an afternoon snooze. "With sleep onset, there is a slowing of the heart rate and a slight reduction of blood pressure," says Timothy Roehrs, Ph.D., director of research at the Sleep Disorders and Research Center at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Even a 30-minute nap boosts your energy and mental sharpness, he says.