There’s too much Internet—with wonders like peanut sauce stuffed crust pizza—and too little time. That’s why we curate a list of the best of the best (a.k.a. “the Greatist”) things we’ve come across on the Web this week. In other words, it’s the stuff we’d email/gchat/tweet/text you immediately if we were besties. While we’ll never stop striving to bring our readers amazing content on a daily basis, we know not all the best stuff comes from us.
1. Can You Exercise Too Much? (The Atlantic)
This is the question we ask whenever we find ourselves lounging on the couch with holiday cookies in hand. And we take comfort in knowing that there is such a thing as too much exercise. But it affects such a small percentage of the population—just a handful of recorded cases among serious endurance competitors (think: ultra-marathoners)—that there’s really no chance the average person will suffer from it. After all, most of us don’t make time for the 150 minutes of cardio the government recommends we do every week.
2. Early Birds vs. Night Owls (ASAP Science)
Sure, the early bird gets the worm. But we also need night owls to keep our world in balance. Just think how long the lines would be at Starbucks if everyone was an early riser! This quick video from our friends at ASAP Science answers all of our burning questions about sleeping habits. For starters, you didn’t have much choice in being an early bird or night owl—those genes were passed down from your parents.
3. Fringe No More: Ancient Grains Will Soon Be a Cheerios Variety (NPR)
There’s no longer a need to trek to speciality health food stores to get your fix of Kamut wheat and spelt. These so-called ancient grains—they’re actually no older than oats and regular wheat—are turning up in your cereal isle as the newest line of Cheerios. Move over Honey Nut and Multi-Grain, there’s a new, edgier cereal in town.
4. Wine Ice Cream Is Now a Thing You Can Eat and Get Drunk On (MTL Blog)
Well if this isn’t the perfect adult pick-me-up, we don’t know what is. And it’s not just wine flavored ice cream. This is wine infused ice cream. Each pint has 5 percent alcohol content, so you can get buzzed eating ice cream—we thought that only happened in our dreams! The flavors (like chocolate cabernet and cherry merlot) sound divine. The one problem? For now, the pints are only sold at a dairy store in upstate New York. Looks like we’ve got our next road trip planned.
5. Sugar Rehab: New Treatment for Not-So-Sweet Addiction (NBC News)
The cravings some people feel for sweets and treats may actually be similar to the pull addicts feel toward their illegal drug of choice. While research on food addiction is still in its infancy, sugar rehabs are popping up around the country to help out food addicts. Patients at these centers are learning to retrain their brains away from the lure of junk food in favor of healthier lifestyle options.
