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The temperature in your bedroom is perfect. Your blackout curtains have been drawn shut. And you’ve just finished a cup of chamomile tea and novel that made you laugh out loud and forget about whatever was bothering you earlier in the day.

You’re just about ready to drift off, and suddenly the air conditioner kicks on. Or a car alarm screeches through the night air. Or your partner sneezes. Suddenly, you’re wide-awake again. Your brain responds to noises when you’re awake and asleep. But if the interruptions wake you up, that can keep you from getting the restful shuteye that you need.

When ambient noise is disrupting your sleep, white (or pink) noise can help to smooth out the rough edges. Imagine sitting next to a person who is loudly chewing gum in a library. Then imagine sitting next to that same person in a crowded bar. It’s the same chomping gum, but underneath the drone of a crowded place, you can’t even hear it anymore. White noise, whether it’s from a sound machine, a simple fan, or crowd noise helps to mask noise-related disruptions by creating a constant ambient sound that makes a “peak” noise, like a door slamming, less of a contrast. And that makes you less likely to be startled awake.

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Things you probably don’t know about avocados

Avocados are having a serious moment. Just think about it, if you eat avocados, chances are you eat many more now than you used to. With the prevalence of avocado on the rise, you might think you know an awful lot about them, but there are probably an awful lot of things you don’t know about avocados, that you probably should.

From environmental impacts to human impacts, health effects and more, avocados are more than just the base for guacamole. If you love avocados or, at least, can appreciate them added to a sandwich, mashed into a dip, or blended into a smoothie, here’s what you need to know.

Americans insist on avocado on everything now. The demand is so great, farmers are doing whatever they can to grow more to meet the supply. As a result, some of Mexico’s pine forests are being illegally cut down to make way for avocado trees

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