The hour of sleep you'll lose Sunday morning when your clock springs forward might do more than just make you cranky. Some research suggests it translates into more car crashes and even heart attacks on Monday morning, thanks to worsened sleep deprivation. But a few simple steps might help smooth the transition.

Sleep problems keeping you up at night? Exercise, no matter the level or time of day, might help, according to a poll by the National Sleep Foundation released this week. It found that people who exercise, whether light or vigorous, early in the day or right before bed, sleep better than people who don't exercise at all.

Where you deliver your baby is a big factor in determining whether you'll have a Cesarean section. Researchers who looked at nearly 600 hospitals nationwide found that C-section rates varied widely, from a low of 7 percent of all deliveries to 70 percent.

Switching to a diet rich in olive oil, nuts, beans, fish, fruit, vegetables, and even some wine and chocolate can slash your risk of heart attack, stroke, and death from heart disease. That's the conclusion of a landmark study out this week in the New England of Medicine.

Don't rush things. That's the bottom-line advice to expectant mothers from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Family Practitioners. Asked to identify five tests or procedures that were overdone, both organizations agreed on the same top two: a planned early delivery and inducing labor without a strong medical reason.

Think your kid really needs antibiotics for that sore throat? That a Pap smear every year is a good idea? That testosterone will restore your love live? The answers for most people: nope, nope, and nope.

Let's hope that the pounding you feel in your chest today is love. But let's face it, while it may not seem romantic, the best gift you can give a loved one is a healthy heart. So here are five simple things you can do to keep your heart ticking for many more Valentine's Days to come.

Just in time for Valentine's Day comes this, ahem, uplifting tidbit from our director of health research, who stumbled upon it while looking into the erectile-dysfunction drug sildenafil (Viagra) for entirely work-related purposes. It seems that in addition to its well-known human effects, the popular drug might also give a boost to wilting plant life.

With cold and flu season peaking, the recall Thursday of 24 varieties of Triaminic and Theraflu Warming Relief syrups due to faulty child-resistant safety caps serves as a reminder to parents that cough and cold medications can be dangerous for kids. They haven't been proven to provide a benefit either, so parents (and their children) are better off first trying non-drug treatments that are safer and can make your child feel better.

Novartis Consumer Health has recalled 2.3 million containers of Triaminic and Theraflu Warming Relief syrups because the child-resistant caps can be removed by children with the tamper-evident seal still in place, posing a poisoning risk.

Screenings for several forms of cancer, such as of the prostate and ovaries, get low marks in our new Ratings of cancer screening tests, because their risks clearly outweigh the benefits for most people. But the decision whether to get a mammogram to check for breast cancer is especially complex, as illustrated in three recent reports in the British Medical Journal.

Vaccines aren't just for kids. There are nearly a dozen recommended vaccines besides flu shots for grownups age 19 and older to protect against preventable diseases, such as pneumococcal disease, whooping cough, and shingles. But most adults aren't getting their recommended vaccinations, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

If you suffer from overactive bladder you now have two new options: Botox injections (yes, the wrinkle-shrinking drug), and an over-the-counter version of the Oxytrol patch, which used to require a prescription. The Food and Drug Administration approved both recently. But our medical advisors recommend caution before trying either medication.

Manufacturers who want to keep selling all-metal hips will have to prove that they're safe and effective, according to proposed new rules from the Food and Drug Administration. Incredibly, for the past decade manufacturers have been aggressively marketing the devices as being better than conventional varieties without that evidence, to the great harm of patients.

Yes, for several reasons. First, unless you were tested for the flu virus it's possible that your symptoms actually stemmed from the common cold, sinusitis, or some other respiratory illness. And even if you're certain you had the flu, this season's vaccine protects against three strains of the virus. So getting vaccinated lowers your risk of getting sick from the other two strains.