“Research studies have examined the effects of short-term bouts of overeating on subsequent food intake, hunger, weight, and metabolism in the days following. These studies suggest that it may take 2-4 days for us to return to baseline, and that many people don’t ever fully compensate for the excess calories, even after short bouts of overeating (such as may occur over a holiday weekend),” says Lisa Neff, MD, an endocrinologist at Northwestern Medicine. “Over time, this may contribute to weight gain and increase the risk for weight-related medical issues, such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes.”

Federal law allows states to remain on standard time year-round but only Hawaii and most of Arizona have chosen to. Proposed legislation in several states would have them join suit – or switch to year-round daylight saving time, which would require congressional approval. Roenneberg and Northwestern’s Zee are co-authors of a recent position statement advocating returning to standard time for good, written for the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms.

You don’t have to be overweight or obese to get type 2 diabetes. In fact, you can have high blood sugar even if you look thin. Around 10% to 15% of people with type 2 diabetes are at a healthy weight. It’s called lean diabetes. It may be a kind of “hybrid” of type 1 and type 2, says Mercedes Carnethon, a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University. That means you may not make enough insulin or respond to it very well.

To explain that, let’s first define what your metabolism actually is. When we say “metabolism,” we’re actually referring to metabolic rate, which is the way your body turns what you eat and drink into usable energy, and how it stores that energy so you can use it later on. Your metabolic rate is tied to your body composition and muscle mass, said Elizabeth Lowden, MD, bariatric endocrinologist at the Northwestern Medicine Metabolic Health and Surgical Weight Loss Center at Delnor Hospital. Specifically, you can boost your metabolism by increasing your muscle mass and lowering your body fat.

“Caffeine is one of the most widely consumed psychostimulants in the world … and it does have an addictive property,” said Dr. Marilyn Cornelis, an assistant professor of preventative medicine at Northwestern University. “[With soda], we’re getting the sugar high combined with caffeine, and that is quite a good feeling that might cause you to consume more the next day or another time.” When consumed regularly, people often start to rely on caffeine to increase attentiveness, alertness and energy, according to Msora-Kasago. “They may feel dependent upon it and even experience signs of withdrawal, such as headaches and poor concentration, when they do not have it,” she said.

Fall is apple-picking season, and it’s also a great time to incorporate the fruit into a salad, says Patricia P. Araujo, a clinical dietitian with Northwestern Medicine Digestive Health Center in Chicago. Apple slices can complement a salad that’s built on a bed of spinach with gouda, walnuts, cranberries and brie cheese, for example. The crispness of an apple provides a pleasant texture to a fall salad, without adding many calories. One medium-size apple has about 95 calories, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Apples also provide vitamin C, some B vitamins, minerals and fiber.

But once the creepy decorations are put away, some frightening health facts can haunt us year-round – and should prompt us to take action. “There’s been a lot of thought about how you motivate people to change,” said Mercedes Carnethon, a professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “Sometimes scare tactics do work, like the anti-tobacco ads that showed the person smoking through a hole in her neck.”