The "sleepless executive" is a worshipped figure in America's workaholic culture, particularly the tech industry, but some executives are starting to try to dispel the idea.

For instance, Alphabet executive chairman Eric Schmidt just joined the ranks of highly successful people advocating for sleep as a tried-and-true method for increased productivity.

While Schmidt doesn't go so far as to confess that he himself sleeps 7-9 hours every night, the amount of sleep an adult typically needs according to the National Sleep Foundation, he does say that it's simply not true that top execs ignore sleep.

"I have read stories about how the most successful people sleep less. The real secret is the most successful people have awareness of what their body needs and sleep whenever necessary," he writes in a post for Arianna Huffington's Thrive site.

He says that most people probably aren't treating sleep with the respect it deserves. "Most likely, you are not sleeping enough," he writes.

The tech industry is filled with stories about execs who don't sleep much, or who sleep under their desks so they can prioritize working harder.

Huffington has been on a mission to end this myth, particularly in her latest publication, Thrive and its sleep-oriented products like the $100 "Phone Bed." She's clearly starting to enlist other big names in tech to help spread the word: sleep is good for your body and your career.

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Walmart stores in China may not look like anything out of the ordinary from the outside, but the interior of the stores couldn't be more different from its U.S. counterparts. 

Instead of neatly lined shelves and friendly smiley-faced price tags, Chinese Walmart stores have open vats of rice, pig head meat displays, and massive crowds. 

All of these differences were incorporated by Walmart managers to ensure that all aspects of Chinese culture were catered to — and it's become the key to the store's success. 

Here's a look at what it is like to shop at Walmart in China. 

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The first Walmart store opened in China in 1996.

Source: Walmart

The Chinese locations are easily recognized from the outside, but the interior of the stores are extremely different from American locations.

Chinese customers value freshness and prefer to inspect their meat before packaging and purchasing it.

Source: Business Insider

• Gretchen Rubin has found that people with different personality types may be drawn to one another initially.
• You may find the other person freeing or find that they give you something you don't have.
• Over time, your personality may start to clash with theirs.
• The scientific community is somewhat divided as to whether people with similar personality types are happier in their relationship.

There's a sentence toward the end of Gretchen Rubin's new book, "The Four Tendencies," that struck me as perhaps her greatest insight.

"When we first meet someone," Rubin writes, "we're often attracted to the very qualities that, over time, will drive us nuts."

Preach, Gretchen. How many of us have fallen for someone who's so fun that they stay out drinking and dancing until 4 a.m. on a work night, only to realize years later that they're also so fun that they never clean the bathroom or remember our birthday?

Rubin's observation is situated in her analysis of the four "tendencies," or personality types, that exist in the world, and how they pair up in relationships. (You can take Rubin's quiz to figure out which tendency you fall into.)

These are the four types:

• Obligers
• Upholders
• Questioners
• Rebels

Obligers meet outer expectations but don't always meet inner ones; they usually need some form of external accountability. Upholders generally meet both inner and outer expectations, meaning they don't let others or themselves down.

Questioners meet inner expectations; they'll only do something if they think it makes sense. Rebels resist both inner and outer expectations; if you ask a rebel to do something, they'll likely resist.

When she visited the Business Insider office in September, Rubin explained how the attractive-now-repellent-later phenomenon works, using a hypothetical upholder-rebel couple as an example.

"If you're an upholder, you live life according to a schedule. [For example] you never miss your daily run, and you always eat fewer than 30 grams of carbs a day, and you always go to bed by 11. It could be exciting be swept off your feet by somebody who feels very free and not confined."

So far, so romantic. Rubin went on:

"But over time, your upholder tendency is going to reassert itself, and you're going to want to return to what is most comfortable to you and your natural perspective on the world. So that can become a tension."

That's not to say an upholder and a rebel — or anyone else — can't stay happy together. It's just worth being aware of this potential source of tension when you're evaluating the sustainability of your relationship.

Rubin's conclusion, based on talking to a range of couples, made intuitive sense to me. But within the scientific community, the question of whether similarity breeds long-term romantic compatibility is a bit controversial.

One 2005 study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, found that married couples with similar personalities — in terms of the Big Five characteristics — were more satisfied with their relationships than couples with dissimilar personalities.

Other research tells a different story. Writing on Psychology Today, psychologist Noam Shpancer cites a number of studies suggesting that couples with similar personalities aren't necessarily happier in their marriages.

One study he mentions, published in 2007 in the journal Psychology and Aging, followed middle-aged and older couples over a 12-year period. The study found that, while personality similarity wasn't related to initial marital satisfaction, it predicted a downward trend in marital satisfaction over the next decade.

More research may be necessary to determine the situations in which personality similarity is helpful, and which personality profiles complement or clash with each other. For example, Rubin told us that rebel-obliger couples often make good matches because they share a resistance to inner expectations.

Ultimately, there may not be any definitive answers, except that what you want out of a relationship evolves over time, making long-term relationship satisfaction frustratingly difficult to achieve.

Rubin said: "This is just one of the mysteries of romance. Very often we're excited by things and attracted to aspects of a person's personality that maybe complement our own or provide something that we don't have. But then, over the long term, it proves to be incompatible or very difficult to manage."

Watch the full interview:

SEE ALSO: A habit expert says people come in 4 types — and two of them tend to make the best match

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Celebrities have a long history of endorsing their favorite booze, from high-end tequila to Campari.

Now it's an app for booze that's drawing the star power, and the celebrities are supporting the app with their own money. 

Hooch, a subscription-based app that gets you one "free" drink every day of the month with a $9.99 monthly subscription fee, is amassing a collection of celebrity backers, with Rosario Dawson becoming the latest investor.

Dawson was among the investors that pitched in on Hooch's $5 million funding round that closed last week, according to a company spokesperson. Other investors in the round FJ Labs, Blue Scorpion Investments, and Revelis Capital. 

Dawson,  who starred Men in Black II and Eagle Eye, joins a list of celebrity investors in Hooch that already includes Shaun White and Russel Simmons.

A drink a day

The Hooch app is basically MoviePass but for drinking. Members sign up and can redeem a drink every day of the month in ten different cities and 450 venues around the globe. 

Dawson was first introduced to the app at a charity event Hooch sponsored for CureBatten.org. Her and actor Scott Eastwood donned Hooch branded Santa hats, got behind the bar and started serving up free drinks on Hooch to everyone there. The next year, after a reintroduction from VC Blue Scorpion, the pair partnered up on the store launch of her fashion brand, Studio One Eighty Nine. Not long after, Blue Scorpion recommended she invest herself. 

If  you've ever bought a drink in a major city you know that the $9.99 membership fee is a steal. So how does Hooch makes money? It's unclear, but it looks like the app is basically acting as a free promo service for bars. Customers are motivated to come in to get their "free" drink and end up staying and raking up tabs. In 2016, CEO Lin Dai told TechCrunch that members spent an average of $30-$40 at Hooch partner venues after getting their first free-ish drink. They also are scoring a lot of valuable data on their members, like what times of day are most popular for drinking in different cities, and purchasing trends of certain beverages. 

Founded in 2014, Hooch has raised a total of $2.7 million so far. Cofounder Aleksey Kernes came up with the idea while working as a doorman for NYC's Hotel Chantelle and watching people react to their free welcome drink. Everyone loves feeling like they are the savviest consumer in the room, scoring "freebies" for their smarts.  

Bar hopping enthusiasts shouldn't get too excited however – after redeeming your one drink of the day you have to wait until the next day to get another drink on Hooch, and you can't just move to another partner bar for your second round. 

SEE ALSO: A new messaging app hopes to learn lessons from Yik-Yak and become the next big thing on college campuses

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• Scripps is rolling out Genius Kitchen, a social-centric media brand aimed at foodie millennials.
• The move comes on the heels of huge growth in food video from BuzzFeed and others.
• Scripps plan echoes recent moves by media companies like CNN and Time Inc. to create media entities that aren't tied to existing brands.

Food Network is coming for BuzzFeed.

The cable network's parent company Scripps Networks next month will launch a food-centric media brand that will live primarily on social media, not unlike BuzzFeed's wildly-popular Tasty brand.

Via Scripps Lifestyle Studios, the new property – Genius Kitchen–will debut with 150 hours of videos aimed at younger, food-obsessed consumers who may or may not have cable subscriptions. The videos will be distributed on Facebook, YouTube, Apple TV, Amazon and Pluto TV. 

Genius Kitchen, which won't carry any Food Network branding, will feature a mix of short-form entertaining food clips, original series, and 500,000 instructional recipe videos, the company said.

That's a realm where BuzzFeed's Tasty, along with the digital media company Tastemade have thrived. Over the past few years, short, recipe-centric videos, often featuring an overhead shot of a person's hands blazing through the making of outrageous desserts or over the top dishes (like cheeseburger onion rings) – have flooded many social media feeds, particularly on Facebook.

Launched in July of 2015, BuzzFeed's Tasty now has nearly 90 million followers on Facebook. 

Rich Lacy, senior vice president, Digital Brand Creative, Scripps Network Interactive, said Genius Kitchen is being birthed in part a recognition of the changing media landscape, particularly for cable giants. Scripps was recently acquired by Discovery Communications for $14.6 billion.

"More recently we've been creating content in a different style on the web and we've found a whole different audience," he told Business Insider. For example, a Food Network-produced video for Fancy Philly Cheesesteak generated over 3.6 million views on Facebook in less than 24 hours.

"We've been having this much success through this other lens, we thought, 'what would happen if we created a brand ground up, and aim it at that millennial mindset?' They grew up in on-demand world, they are really into food, and they like [celebrating good] with other people."

On that note, Genius Kitchen is rolling out "GK Now,' a weekly show hosted by YouTube creators Akilah Hughes and Mike Lockyer, which will celebrate off-the-wall food trends and pop culture.

Scripps is planning to take a cautious approach with advertising, as the shows – some of which will run north of 20 minutes – will carry fewer ads than traditional TV. The company is also exploring ways to weave paying sponsors into content. "Knowing that this audience grown up with no rules," said Lacy. "You have to look at the ad model differently. 

Scripps isn't the only traditional media company trying to nurture distinctive, non-branded content companies. For example, CNN has poured money and resources into Great Big Story, a non-CNN entity focused on adventure and feel good stories.

Similarly, Time Inc. has launched its own social-anchored food property, Well Done, as well as the finance-oriented Coinage, among others.

Join the conversation about this story »

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One in 10 of the world's 7.5 billion inhabitants is obese. At the same time, the number of people who are starving or malnourished is on the rise.

That finding comes from a comprehensive new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. And it begs the question: How can these two seemingly contradictory outcomes be happening at the same time?

Nutritionists and public health experts say both issues can be traced to our diet.

Globally, more processed, caloric foods are available to more people than at any other point in history. Nowhere is the problem of cheap, unhealthy, omnipresent food more apparent than in the US, which in recent years has seen the largest percentage increase in its obesity rate than any other country, according to a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

"We live in a society where making healthy choices and being at a healthy weight, it’s not defaulted toward that," Andy Bellatti, a registered dietitian and the cofounder of Dietitians for Professional Integrity, told Business Insider. "Unhealthy foods are cheaper and they're everywhere; if you go to any store, you can buy a candy bar at the checkout but not a piece of fruit."

This chronic lack of healthy food is creating what the New York Times recently called "a new type of malnutrition ... in which a growing number of people are both overweight and undernourished."

It can sound counterintuitive, but the authors of the FAO report say it isn't.

"Particularly in high- and upper-middle income countries, food insecurity and obesity often co-exist — even in the same household. When resources for food become scarce, and people’s means to access nutritious food diminish, they often rely on less-healthy, more energy-dense food choices that can lead to overweight and obesity."

For the thousands of people worldwide struggling with their weight, this can make losing weight and keeping it off nearly impossible. Still, there are solutions, Bellatti said.

The first step to sustainable weight loss is being emotionally ready, he said. "You need to be in a mental state where you want to do it. Anytime you force somebody, if they don’t care and they’re not motivated it’s not going to happen."

Once that component is addressed, Bellatti advised setting up a long-term weight loss plan that allows you to make slow and steady progress toward your goals.

"You've got to give yourself two, three, even four years of consistent behavioral changes," to lose weight and keep it off, Bellatti said. "That is hard work. You’re building new habits. And that takes time."

That means instead of aiming to drop three sizes in a few weeks by doing a trendy cleanse, you should start incorporating small tweaks into your daily routine, such as eating more leafy vegetables, avoiding refined carbohydrates like white bread, and ensuring you're getting enough sleep and drinking enough water.

It's important to keep in mind too that obesity is a complex issue that is influenced by things outside of our control, like genetics. But if you're looking to lose weight via behavioral change, experts recommend focusing on long-term, sustainable new habits.

"I'd say nine times out of 10 the people who change slowly and do manageable goals are the people who three years out still have success," Bellatti said.

SEE ALSO: A new show features ‘Biggest Loser’ winners who regained weight — and reveals a deeper truth about weight loss

DON'T MISS: There's even more evidence that one type of diet is the best for your body and brain

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Ample Hills Creamery has become a favorite among New York City-based ice cream aficionados thanks in part to its rich tastes and zany flavors.

The local chain was born in Brooklyn in the spring of 2011 to budding entrepreneurs Brian Smith and Jackie Cuscana. The couple began creating ice cream and baked goods from scratch, spending hours a day churning out their original flavors. Ample Hills has grown rapidly, expanding to nine locations in New York City, one in Disney World and now, a new store coming to New Jersey. 

Smith said he has big plans for the future, including growing the business to be on the level of Starbucks or Ben & Jerry's. He told Bloomberg that he hopes to raise $8 million in a Series A funding round this fall. Plans for a massive ice cream factory are also in the works.

"We want our brick-and-mortar shops to be community hubs in the way that [Starbucks executive chairman] Howard Schultz transformed the idea of coffee shops into a destination. Where people go to pass the time ... we want to do that with ice cream," he told Business Insider. 

I was curious to see if Ample Hills Creamery would live up to the hype, so I visited two locations within New York City.

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Named after a lilting Walt Whitman poem, "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry," the original Vanderbilt Street location aimed to capture the welcoming attitude of Brooklyn's Prospect Heights neighborhood.

Inside the store, I found bright colors, friendly employees, and more ice cream flavors than I could have imagined. A few days after the store opened in 2011, Ample Hills had to temporarily close its doors due to an ice cream shortage. Demand was much higher than they had anticipated.

When asked about the comparison to Ben & Jerry's, Smith says he is "honored and thrilled by the comparison." He added: "Ben & Jerry's is my favorite ice cream (outside of ours of course!) and they were truly an inspiration to us. We feel we are different because of our focus on building dynamic and experiential scoop shops."

The cones and cups range from $2.75 to $8.25, depending on the size.

Wingtip Club is an unusual store for an elite clientele.

Founded in 2002, the menswear store based in San Francisco comes with its own clubhouse, complete with a wine cave, barber shop, cocktail bar, and bespoke tailoring shop. It attracts mostly middle-aged men working in finance and technology, according to founder Ami Arad.

Wingtip Club charges monthly dues and a one-time admission fee between $1,000 and $3,000, depending on the number of visits a member wants to make annually. It's a pioneer among the handful of brands that pamper and offer places to socialize inside brick-and-mortar shops — a tactic to help them compete with popular online retail companies like Bonobos, Everlane, and Amazon. Even retail giant Nordstrom is testing a tiny new store that doesn't sell clothes.

Take a look inside Wingtip Club to see if it's worth the price.

SEE ALSO: WeWork raised $4.4 billion in 3 months — here's how the co-working giant became the most valuable startup in New York City

In a city where the workplace uniform is mainly hoodies and startup tees, Wingtip Club offers a touch of class to the tech and finance worlds. No sandals, no shorts, no service.

It's not the only private club in San Francisco, with the Bohemian Club, Pacific-Union Club, Olympic Club, and San Francisco Golf Club blazing that trail more than a century ago.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle

Wingtip Club opened its first San Francisco store in 2008 and piloted the clubhouse at a barbershop nearby in 2010. The two concepts combined at the current address in 2012.

The nascent Wingtip Club isn't considered among the ranks of those super-elite men's clubs. What it lacks in old-school prestige, it makes up for in amenities and broad appeal.

Wingtip Club attracts a different crowd than most private men's clubs in San Francisco. For starters, it has welcomed women since the beginning. It also draws a younger membership.

The century-old men's clubs in the city have struggled for years to bring in young blood, largely because it takes years for younger men to work their way up the waiting list.

Wingtip Club currently has about 900 members, with an average age of 45. Women make up about 11% of membership.

Victoria's Secret is struggling.

The brand's parent company, L Brands, has posted weak sales for four straight quarters, and the stock has plunged 45% over the last year.

Customers say they're shopping at Victoria's Secret less and less, and many don't plan to go back anytime soon.

In a consumer survey that Wells Fargo Securities outlined in a recent note to clients, 48% of Victoria's Secret shoppers said they had shopped there less in the past year.

The biggest reason they cited was high prices, with 58% of those who had shopped less naming it as their reason for staying away. A Wells Fargo price study found that Victoria's Secret bras typically sell for a 50% premium over competitors'.

A whopping 68% of consumers who had shopped less said they like the brand less than they used to, and 60% said they think the brand feels "forced" or "fake."

The Wells Fargo analysts noted that popular culture now focuses more on authenticity and body positivity, a trend that competitors like Aerie have capitalized on.

"That the VS brand feels 'forced/fake' to some may be a reaction to this shift in cultural sentiment, and while other brands have been able to use this to their advantage, it appears that VS may be lagging the trend," they wrote.

Victoria's Secret has exited the clothing and swimwear space over the last year and a half, putting more energy into sports bras and beauty products. The analysts warn this could be "alienating" their core customers, and don't expect Victoria's Secret to make a turnaround for awhile.

SEE ALSO: We went to a Victoria's Secret store in NYC and saw why the brand is struggling

DON'T MISS: Victoria's Secret is abandoning the hottest lingerie trend — and it's a brilliant maneuver

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The cost to attend some private K-12 schools in New York City has crept above $50,000 annually, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The rising cost in just the last five years is steep. Median tuition and fees at Manhattan private schools are $44,050 compared to $35,867 five years before, The Journal reported, citing figures from the National Association of Independent Schools.

While private school tuition regularly outpaces the rate of inflation, a 23% jump in five years is still significant, especially when noting that $50,000 tuition is higher than the average cost to attend private college in the US.

For the 2017-18 school year, the average cost of tuition and fees at private colleges is $34,699, according to U.S. News & World Report. 

Further, there are nearly 40 American colleges that cost more than $65,000 a year, a shocking figure which calls into question whether the current model of higher education is sustainable. Four years of college at $65,000 a year results in a family paying more than a quarter million dollars for four years of higher education.

Yet, if the cost of private school tuition were to hold flat at $50,000, a family who paid for one child to attend school for their primary and secondary education would pay $900,000 over the course of their pre-college schooling.

About 20% of students in Manhattan private schools received financial aid, according to the National Association of Independent Schools, compared to 90% who receive some type of financial aid at private four-year colleges.

The rising cost of private schools in Manhattan has led some to question the sustainability of their pricing model.

"It's just a bad problem getting worse," John Allman, head of private Trinity School, told The Journal. "The funding model for independent schools like ours is broken."

SEE ALSO: There are now nearly 40 colleges in the US where a 4-year degree costs more than $250,000

Join the conversation about this story »

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In late August, United Airlines opened Classified, the hottest restaurant to hit the airport dining scene in recent memory.

But apart from those dedicated to restaurants and airport dining, few know of its existence and even fewer will have the privilege to dine at the establishment.

And don't bother exploring the confines of Newark Liberty International Airport's Terminal C looking for Classified. Your journey will end in futility. 

That's because Classified is invitation only and just a select group of United's most elite passengers will find their names on the vaunted list. 

United and their partner in this endeavor, OTG, have been pretty tight-lipped about who is worthy of an invite. However, being a member of the airline's elite 1k club  — those who fly 100,000 miles a year on United — certainly wouldn't hurt your chances.

To be able to dine at Classified, United passengers must first receive an email from the airline inviting them to make a reservation. Then, the passenger is made aware of the restaurant's location along with instructions for how to properly approach the host to gain access to Classified. 

A few days ago, Business Insider got an exclusive behind the scenes tour and a chance to experience Classified. 

Here's a closer look at our experience.

Join the conversation about this story »

This past weekend, Karen Karapetyan — son of Russian real estate mogul and billionaire Samvel Karapetyan — married social media star Lilit in a glamorous wedding at the Armenian Apostolic Church in Moscow. 

There were reportedly thousands of flowers, a four-tier cake, and a guest list that included Vladimir Putin's PR representative, Dmitry Peskov.

See all the details, below.  

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The couple invited 200 guests to the event. Lilit is a social media star who documents much of her travels and glamorous lifestyle on Instagram, where she has more than 11,000 followers.

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Karen Karapetyan is the son of Samvel Karapetyan, who heads the Tashir Group real estate firm. According to Forbes, Samvel's net worth is estimated at $4.6 billion.

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 Source: Forbes

Fashion designer Zuhair Murad — whose couture line has been worn by celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce — posted photos of Lilit in her wedding gown.

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Apple has said it's going all-in on augmented reality, a new technology that uses advanced cameras and sensors to understand the world around our devices.

Occipital is a startup that's been creating augmented reality hardware and software for years. It's now taken parts of Apple's new AR software, ARKit, and made software that's less games or fun novelty and more serious home improvement tool.

TapMeasure, which is now available for download, is an iOS app that can automatically make measurements and draft floor plans with an iPhone. It can create both simple 2D floorplans and 3D room models. 

One target audience for the app is interior designers, who can now make to-scale CAD files from an app. But normal homeowners might want to check the app out to do things like simple measurements or level framed items or artwork.

Occipital was founded in 2008 and has raised $23 million dollars in venture capital, according to PitchBook data. It not only makes AR software and apps, it also makes a device called Structure Sensor for iPads and iPhones that's an advanced 3D sensor that can take accurate measurements from farther away than Apple's new front-facing 3D sensor on the iPhone X. 

Occipital uses the Structure Sensor in a device it calls Bridge, a headset that runs AR software. Occipital also previously released an app called Canvas that used the $379 sensor to create detailed CAD models of rooms.

But now some of those features are available in an app for iPhones launched in the past two years that you can download without needing any specialized hardware. Take a look: 

SEE ALSO: This iPad attachment will make remodeling your house way easier

TapMeasure can accurately measure parts of your home or office.

It works horizontally, too. Tap spots in the camera to outline important features in your room.

And generate a to-scale birds-eye view floor plan which you can use for interior design purposes.

From the outside, Costco locations in South Korea look pretty similar to those in the US. They're towering buildings, stuffed with products sold in bulk. Even the food courts are almost identical, serving hot dogs, pizza, and soft-serve ice cream. 

However, scrolling through photos taken in Korean Costcos reveal a key difference: Customers are eating an incredible amount of the free onions that are provided in American stores as a hot dog topping. 

Costco customers in South Korea eat 20 times as many onions as American Costco cafe customers, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing company data. The 13 Costco locations in South Korea go through more than 200 tons of onions a year. 

While the figure seems impossibly high at first, scrolling through photos taken at Costcos across South Korea reveals the dominance of onions in the store's cafes.

SEE ALSO: These photos reveal what it's like to shop at Walmart in China

From bulk goods to the Kirkland brand, Costco locations in South Korea are almost indistinguishable from their American counterparts.

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In the cafe, the menu seems pretty similar as well — and yes, Costco does sell sushi in the US.

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But, then there's the onion.

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Within minutes after this snapshot of Hillary Clinton and a stranger hiking in the woods was circulated on social media, it became a meme.

People flocked to Twitter and Facebook to share the photo, which featured a young mom and her infant posing with Clinton and her dog on a trail in the woods of Chappaqua, New York. The image was taken just two days after Clinton lost the 2017 presidential election.

After Clinton was spotted in the forest again a few weeks later, people joked that perhaps the former candidate had permanently relocated. Saturday Night Live even came out with a skit called "The Hunt for Hil," parodying early news coverage of "Big Foot."

But in her new book, "What Happened," Clinton says these nature walks — which were often supplemented by yoga and a special form of meditative breathing— weren't a form of escapism. Instead, they were a source of healing and comfort in the days after the election.

As it turns out, long walks in nature can be strong medicine — unsurprisingly, the whisper of trees and chirping birds appear to quiet our nerves. Plenty of scientific evidence supports the practice of spending time in to your local park or wilderness area when experiencing grief or loss.

A study comparing two groups of students who were assigned to either spend two nights in a forest or a city found that those who hunkered down in the wilderness had lower levels of cortisol— a hormone often used as a marker for stress — than those in the city.

These benefits may be especially strong for people dealing with depression, anxiety, or grief. A large review of 10 studies involving more than 1,200 people found that a walk in the forest was linked with reduced levels of anxiety and a lift in mood. Those benefits were the greatest in people who also said they were anxious or depressed.

"Every green environment improved both self-esteem and mood," the researchers wrote in their paper, a benefit that led them to conclude that "the environment provides an important health service."

Yet another study — this one involving people with major depressive disorder (MDD) — also showed that a 50-minute outdoor walk was tied to improvements in mood and short-term memory. These effects held constant even when participants were told to think about a painful negative experience before their walks.

"These findings suggest that interacting with nature, even in the context of thinking about a painful memory, is beneficial for people suffering from MDD," the authors wrote.

The positive effects of nature are so strong that even looking at it appears to have beneficial effects. In one study, office workers who could see a forest from their window tended to report lower levels of stress and higher levels of job satisfaction.

It's still unclear why nature appears to have such a healing effect on our brains and bodies, but some studies suggest it's powerful enough to influence our behavior in addition to our mood.

For one study, researchers at the University of California Berkeley had two groups of volunteers either stare at something natural or unnatural for a minute and then see if this had any measurable impact on their generosity. The first group stared at a grove of tall trees; the second group stared at a building. Then the researchers arranged for the volunteers to come across someone who appeared to stumble and accidentally drop a handful of pens. Interestingly, the volunteers who had spent their minute contemplating nature picked up more pens than the ones who looked at the building— suggesting that a stint in the woods could have some effect on how generous we are.

In an interview with National Public Radio after the election, Clinton said her forest walks gave her the time and space to clear her head and lift her spirits.

"I had a lot to think about," she said. "And I think well when I'm walking. I sort of clear my mind."

It appears she's not the only one.

SEE ALSO: Hillary Clinton swears by a technique called ‘alternate nostril breathing’ — here’s what it is and how to do it

DON'T MISS: There's even more evidence that one type of exercise is the closest thing to a miracle drug that we have

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On the first day of a recent vacation, I found myself feeling, of all things, irritable.

I hadn't yet unpacked and couldn't find my hat. I was tired from the flight over, but couldn't get comfortable in the bed or on the couch. And worst of all, I was angry with myself for not having fun — this was a vacation, not a torture session, after all.

Over the next few days, I gradually slid into a "vacation routine," unpacked and unearthed the hat, and found the perfect napping position. Unfortunately, by the time I'd fully relaxed, our seven-day vacation was almost up. Time to readjust to reality!

A 2012 paper, published in the Journal of Happiness Studies, suggests I'm hardly the only person who needs a vacation adjustment period, even if they'd prefer not to.

According to the researchers, it takes eight days to completely let go. (The research was cited in a New York Times article by psychiatrist Richard Friedman.)

The researchers looked at 58 people — so the study was small — who were taking a vacation that lasted at least two weeks. They pinged people before and after the vacation, as well as several times during the vacation, and asked them to answer questions like, "How was your mood today?" and "How tense did you feel today?"

Results showed that health and well-being increased during the first four vacation days, and increased a lot between the fourth vacation day and the eighth, when it peaked.

The researchers cite other papers that suggest "it takes some time to wind down after a stressful work period and acclimatize to vacation."

It's probably similar to what happens when you get home after a long and stressful workday and can't fall asleep because your mind's still racing. As much as we'd like it to be, "on-cue relaxation" isn't a thing.

The greater takeaway here is that, if you can, plan a vacation that's at least eight days long. Otherwise you'll wind up in a situation where, by the time you get adjusted, it'll be time to leave.

That said, you don't need to plan a month-long getaway. As Business Insider's Chris Weller reported, a two-week vacation generally isn't more memorable than a one-week vacation. If you're planning a longer break, consider switching things up halfway through to maximize your happy memories.

SEE ALSO: There's a scientific reason why 2-week vacations are actually a waste

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Apple's new software update for iPhones and iPads is here.

The update, iOS 11, is currently available in your iOS device's settings menu.

Apple announced the update back in June, and beta testers have been putting it through its paces since then.

It's a pretty big update, especially for iPads. iPads get a new desktop-style dock, multi-tasking features, and Apple Pencil features.

iPhones will get a new file system, notifications window, and the ability to download a new kind of so-called "augmented reality" app that integrates computer graphics and the real world. 

There's a ton to explore in iOS 11. Before you get started, you'll need 1.9GB storage space to update, and you might want to hold off until others have updated without issues. 

To update to iOS 11, follow these steps:

• Back up your iPhone. The easiest way to do that is in Settings >iCloud > Backup> Backup Now. You can also plug your iPhone into your computer and boot up iTunes if your iCloud account doesn't have enough storage space.
• Download the update. You can find the update in General > Software Update. Tap on Download and Install, plug in your passcode, agree to the terms and conditions, and your update should start downloading.
• Don't panic. Whenever Apple releases a new software update, its servers can get overloaded by millions of people trying to download it at the same time, so try again if it doesn't show up immediately. And sometimes there are bugs in the new OS that get discovered as soon as people start updating. If you don't need iOS 11 this second, you can ask it to update at night while you're asleep, if your phone is plugged in. 

Here's the full changelog: 

App Store
• All-new App Store designed for discovering great apps and games everyday
• New Today tab helps you discover new apps and games with stories, how-to guides, and more
• New Games tab to find new games and see what’s most popular with top game charts
• Dedicated Apps tab with top picks, dedicated app charts, and app categories
• App pages include more video previews, Editors’ Choice badges, easier access to user ratings, and information about in-app purchases

Siri
• New Siri voice is more natural and expressive
• Translate English words and phrases into Chinese, French, German, Italian or Spanish (beta)
• Siri suggestions based on your usage of Safari, News, Mail, and Messages
• Works with notes apps to create to-do lists, notes and reminders
• Works with banking apps for account transfer and balances
• Works with apps that display QR codes
• Hindi and Shanghainese dictation

Camera
• Portrait mode now supports optical image stabilization, HDR and True Tone flash
• Photos and videos will take up half the space with the new HEIF and HEVC image and video formats
• Redesigned set of nine filters optimized for natural skin tones
• Automatically identify and scan QR codes

Photos
• Loop, Bounce, and Long Exposure Live Photo effects
• Mute, trim, or choose a new key photo for Live Photos
• Memory Movies automatically adapt content for portrait and landscape orientation
• More than a dozen new memory types including pets, babies, weddings, and sporting events
• People album is more accurate and stays up to date across devices with iCloud Photo Library
• Animated GIF support

Maps
• Indoor maps for major airports and shopping centers
• Lane guidance and speed limit information with Turn-by-turn directions
• One-handed zoom with double tap and swipe
• Interact with Flyover by moving your device

Do Not Disturb while Driving
• Automatically silences notifications while driving and keeps iPhone silent and display off
• Optional iMessage auto reply to alert selected contacts that you’re driving

New features designed for iPad
• An all new Dock provides quick access to your favorite and recently used apps and can even be shown on top of active apps
• Dock resizes so you can add all of your favorite apps
• Recently used and Continuity apps are available on the right
• Enhanced Slide Over and Split View
• Apps can be easily started in Slide Over and Split View from the Dock
• Slide Over and background apps now run simultaneously
• Apps in Slide Over and Split View can now be placed on the left side of the screen
• Drag and drop
• Move text, images, and files between apps on iPad
• Multi-Touch to move multiple items at the same time
• Spring-loading to move content between apps
• Markup
• Markup works across documents, PDFs, webpages, photos and more
• Instant markup anything in iOS - just place Apple Pencil on what you want to mark
• Create a PDF and markup anything that can be printed
• Notes
• Instantly create a new note by tapping on Lock Screen with Apple Pencil
• Inline drawing available by simply placing Apple Pencil in body of a note
• Search handwritten text
• Document scanner autocorrects for skewing and uses image filters to remove shadows
• Table support to organize and display information
• Pin important notes to the top of the list
• Files
• All-new Files app to browse, search and organize files
• Works with iCloud Drive and 3rd party cloud file providers
• Recents view for quick access to recently used files across all apps and cloud services
• Create folders and sort files by name, date, size and tags

QuickType
• Flick down on letter keys to enter numbers, symbols and punctuation marks on iPad
• One-handed keyboard support on iPhone
• New keyboards for Armenian, Azerbaijani, Belarusian, Georgian, Irish, Kannada, Malayalam, Maori, Odia, Swahili, and Welsh
• English input on the 10-key Pinyin keyboard
• English input on the Japanese Romaji keyboard

HomeKit
• New accessory types including AirPlay 2 speakers, sprinklers and faucets
• Expanded occupancy, time and accessory based triggers
• QR code and tap to pair accessory setup support

Augmented Reality
• Augmented reality technologies that apps from the App Store can use to deliver content on top of real-world scenes for interactive gaming, immersive shopping experiences, industrial design and more

Machine Learning
• Core machine learning technologies that apps from the App Store can use to deliver intelligent features with machine learning data processed on device for high performance and user privacy

Other features and improvements
• Control Center redesign brings all controls on one page
• Control Center custom controls including accessibility, guided access, magnifier, text size, screen recording and Wallet
• Apple Music now helps you discover music with friends. Create a profile so friends can listen to playlists you’ve shared and see the music you listen to most
• Apple News now includes Top Stories picked just for you, recommendations from Siri, the best videos of the day in Today View, and great stories selected by our editors in the new Spotlight tab
• Automatic Setup signs you in to iCloud, Keychain, iTunes, App Store, iMessage, and FaceTime with your Apple ID
• Automatic Setup restores device settings including language, region, network, keyboard preferences, places you frequently visit, how you talk to Siri, home and health data
• Easily share access to your Wi-Fi networks
• Storage optimization notifications and free up space in Settings for apps like Photos, Messages, and more
• Emergency SOS calls emergency services based on your current location and automatically notifies emergency contacts, shares your location, and displays your Medical ID
• FaceTime lets you capture Live Photos from the other person’s Mac or iPhone camera
• Easily check Flight status in Spotlight and Safari
• Definitions, conversions and math support in Safari
• Russian and English bilingual dictionary
• Portuguese and English bilingual dictionary
• Arabic system font support

Accessibility
• VoiceOver descriptions support for images
• VoiceOver tables and lists support in PDFs
• Type to Siri support for basic search queries
• Spoken and braille caption support for videos
• Dynamic Type increases text and app UI to larger sizes
• Redesigned Invert Colors make media content easier to view
• Highlight Colors improvements in Speak Selection and Speak Screen
• Switch Control typing can scan and type whole words at a time

For more tech news, cool gadgets and innovations, follow us on Instagram.

SEE ALSO: Big changes in iOS 10

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Jada Pinkett Smith took to Facebook on Tuesday to shut down ex-Scientologist Leah Remini's claim that Pinkett Smith has "been in Scientology a long time."

"I have studied Dianetics, and appreciate the merits of Study Tech… but I am not a Scientologist," Pinkett Smith wrote in the post, which addressed the multiple religions she says she has participated in but does not devoutly follow:

"I recently lit Shabbat candles with Rabbi Bentley at Temple Sinai... but I am not Jewish;

I have prayed in mosques all over the world... but I am not a Muslim;

I have read the Bhagavad Gita... but I am not a Hindu;

I have chanted and meditated in some of the most magnificent temples on earth… but I am not a Buddhist; and

I have studied Dianetics, and appreciate the merits of Study Tech… but I am not a Scientologist.

I practice human kindness, and I believe that we each have the right to determine what we are and what we are not.

NO ONE ELSE can hold that power."

Remini, who recently won an Emmy for her Scientology-exposing A&E docu-series "Scientology and the Aftermath," told The Daily Beast on Saturday that she had frequently seen Pinkett Smith at Scientology-related events and locations.

"I know Jada’s in. I know Jada’s in. She’s been in Scientology a long time," Remini said. "I never saw Will [Smith] there, but I saw Jada at the Celebrity Centre. They opened up a Scientology school, and have since closed it. But Jada, I had seen her at the Scientology Celebrity Centre all the time."

In 2008, the Smiths opened a private school that raised concerns because some of its teachers were members of the Church of Scientology. Both Smiths have repeatedly insisted that they aren't Scientologists themselves. 

SEE ALSO: Leah Remini hopes her Scientology show will prompt an FBI 'raid' investigating the religion's 'abusive practices'

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Rob Gronkowski, in an effort to extend his NFL career, spent this past offseason working on a new training program. To do that, he turned to two people who know a thing or two about a long NFL career — Tom Brady and his fitness guru, Alex Guerrero.

In addition to resistance bands to strengthen Gronk's core and deep-tissue massages to help with blood flow, Gronk has also incorporated elements of Brady's strict diet, according to Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald. 

One of the key elements for the famous party boy was an alcohol diet that lets you keep drinking, but with a big catch.

We tried the plan, and it worked. But it was also a lot harder than we ever imagined.

Here's how it works:

Guerrero runs Brady's "TB12 Sports Therapy Center at Patriot Place" and the pair are behind Brady's new book, "The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance," a book that is being described "The athletes' bible."

READ MORE: Tom Brady's first book is being described as 'The athletes' Bible' and is expected to outline Brady's formula for success

While Gronk incorporated elements of Brady's strict diet, he was not quite to Brady's level. So no avocado ice cream yet.

Source: Boston Herald

One twist to the regimen was that Brady does not drink alcohol, so they had to come up with a plan that would allow Gronk to keep drinking.

It felt like a scene from the HBO parody "Silicon Valley," but the speaker on stage at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco on Tuesday morning was real, as was the dog harnessed to his chest. 

It's not entirely clear why Sebastian Thrun, a legendary tech entrepreneur and inventor, chose to appear wearing a dog. Thrun said only that the pup's name was Charley and that it was a "company dog." 

Thrun, who started Google's self-driving car efforts years ago, was at the conference to talk about various new projects he's working on, from flying cars to online education. Kitty Hawk, his startup focused on flying cars, is already testing prototypes. 

The pup looked to be a cross between a husky and a pure wolf, and provided an interesting contrast to Thrun's grey suit. Charley seemed to have a bit of stage fright himself: as Thrun talked about the future of flying cars, Charley became very excited, squirming and pawing at Thrun. After a couple of minutes, it was time for Charley to say goodbye, and a handler came on stage and took the dog off of his hands.  

Thrun carried on without his furry friend, sounding optimistic notes about the power of technology to transform society. Whether his dress code innovations have as much influence remains to be seen.

SEE ALSO: The Kitty Hawk flying car gave a jaw dropping demo in San Francisco

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