Opposites may attract, but when it comes to choosing your spouse, you're more likely to pick someone who has similar personality traits. That's according to a team of researchers who've determined that old married couples who seem eerily similar in their mannerisms started out that way, rather than adopting parts of their partner's personality over time.

"Existing research shows that spouses are more similar than random people," lead author Mikhila Humbad of Michigan State University said in a statement. "This could reflect spouses' influence on each other over time, or this could be what attracted them to each other in the first place." Her investigation, which analyzed data from over 1,200 couples who had been married for an average of 19.5 years, showed one clear message: amazingly, even two decades of marriage can't cause individual personality traits to shift. Rather, any similarities were there to begin with.

Each morning, we dish out a few links we love.

Feeling a bit un-challenged by your same old running routine? Here are some affordable gadgets that will help take your jogs to the next level.

Get awesome glutes -- Shape your backside with these creative variations on the traditional lunge.

How much you weigh matters, but where you carry that weight also matters -- research suggests that people who carry a certain kind of fat will have a harder time losing it than anyone else.

Don't let achy joints keep you from working out -- As Health.com points out, a bit of sweat can really help you manage the pain.

Looking on the bright side isn't so easy -- or is it? Here are some easy tips on how to become a "glass half-full" kind of person.

Dear Sarah,

Sometimes I have trouble getting myself to the gym after work (which truly is my only time to exercise). I spend 20-30 minutes on cardio and then do a circuit of weights. I make myself go because I think it will make me feel better, but sometimes it makes me feel worse -- grouchy and wishing I hadn't bothered. Why does this happen? I thought exercise was supposed to release endorphins or something?

Becky

Dear Becky,

Chances are at the end of a long day at the office you are tired more mentally than physically. The good news is that doing something physical can help you combat your mental fatigue. Keep in mind, you're not necessarily going to reach a runner's high (an extreme rush of endorphins, the feel-good hormones) every time you step into the gym. However, you can elevate your mood at least a couple of notches.

When endorphins are released, they increase your body's threshold for pain and improve how you feel emotionally. While it's perfectly natural to feel tired and perhaps a little grouchy due to the hunger you built up exercising just before dinner, if you truly feel worse for wear, then you most likely have not achieved your endorphin rush.

Find out how to ensure your workout rush after the jump.

It's decision time, and there's that niggling "little voice" inside that's telling you to go one way, but then you brush it off in favour of the more "rational" choice. Are you using your intuition to its full capacity or do you often ignore that feeling deep in your gut?

Trish Ottone, a certified hypnotherapist, holistic nutritionist, homeopath, and yoga and reiki instructor, offers her take on intuition and explains how she helps clients through intuitive consultations.

Q: What is intuition?

A: Intuition is an inherent language that we all have that utilizes all of our sensory elements (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual) to speak to us. For example, when you get a situation that you may need to be cautious in and you have a physical experience -- like the hairs on you arm standing up or tingles or shivers -- this lets you know mentally that something is up, which emotionally signals you to be on guard. This information came from an "energy" that seemed outside yourself, yet connected to you on a deep level. You did not have any prior rational or logical details about the situation, but intuitively you knew.

Intuition is the name for that process; sometimes we just "know" things. I would go as far as saying most of the time we actually "know lots," but we have not been taught to make the most of this wonderful tool that we all have.

Q: What do we need intuition for?

Tossing, turning, staring at the clock -- sleepless nights are not only frustrating, but hazardous to our mental and physical health.

When, how and what you eat has the potential to either help or hinder the quality of your sleep. If you have problems falling asleep, staying asleep or wake feeling un-refreshed in the morning, check if one or more of your current nutrition habits could be disrupting your sleep:

1. Drinking coffee after lunch: Never consume coffee past lunchtime because different people metabolize caffeine at different rates. Enjoying your coffee early in the day will reduce the impact it may have on your sleep. (And don't forget, soft drinks, teas and chocolate are also caffeine sources.) When you do enjoy your caffeine dose of the day, choose a soy latte with one shot of organic espresso rather than coffee and top it off with cinnamon. One shot of espresso contains less caffeine than a cup of coffee and your bones will benefit from the soy milk.

Our ability to excrete caffeine decreases with age, so while you might have tolerated four cups of coffee a day when you were 20, you'll probably need to cut down as you get older. Always avoid caffeine if you endure anxiety, stress or depression. And if insomnia persists, consider going cold turkey.

2. Taking a pass on carbs at dinnertime: Who says you have to eat your carbs earlier in the day? Consume the right carbs in the right amount at dinner to improve your sleep. Consuming a moderate amount (about ½ cup or one fist serving size) of low GI carbohydrate such as sweet potato, brown rice, kamut pasta, legumes or quinoa with your evening meal can help to improve your sleep. Healthy carbs raise serotonin, our happy hormone, which also has beneficial effects on our sleep. Those of us with higher amounts of serotonin sleep better and longer.

More sleep-sabotaging habits after the jump.

Each morning, we dish out a few links we love.

What's good for the earth is good for you -- seriously! Divine lists a few ways that going green can help your health.

Got goosebumps? It might not be a sign of chills -- As it turns out, these tiny bumps can actually be a surprising indicator of stress.

Addicted to your job? Here are some reasons it's crucial to unplug every now and then.

Weight gain isn't just a symptom of middle age -- sometimes it happens to people in their 20s too! If this is happening to you, here are some things you can do about it.

Feeling uninspired? Take a healthy hint from Jill Hennessy -- she turns to long runs when she needs a mood, energy and creativity boost.

Find out how to get more vitamin D after the jump.

Do you often find yourself feeling lonely? It's a feeling shared by many, but it's rarely openly discussed. Emily White, a Newfoundland-based lawyer-turned-writer, struggled for years with feelings of isolation. She wrote Lonely: Learning to Live with Solitude in order to share her experiences with chronic loneliness.

Q: Why did you write this book?

A: I wrote the book because it was the book I wanted to read. There was a fair bit written about loneliness in the third person, but there wasn't anything written by a lonely person using the words "me" and "I". And I wanted a first-person voice. I wanted to read someone talking about their own loneliness, just so that I wouldn't feel so alone with mine. When I realized that the book I wanted didn't exist, I decided to write it myself.

Q: What did you learn by talking to other people who have experienced loneliness?

A: I learned that the vast majority of experiences I had when lonely -- the endless daydreams, the fantasies, the paradoxical retreat from social interaction -- were in fact widely shared. Behaviours I thought were mine alone, such as unplugging the phone when feeling intensely lonely, were in fact fairly common. Talking to other lonely people really normalized what I was going through, and that was wonderful. It also felt good just to hear my experiences repeated back to me -- every story I heard made me realize I wasn't alone.

Dear Sarah,

When I do my cardio at the gym I sweat a lot under my armpits, and sometimes it's really stinky. I like to pretend that it is not me that stinks, but it is. I wear deodorant but it doesn't seem to mask the smell. Would an antiperspirant do a better job?

Jeanette

Dear Jeanette,

First let me say, sweat is good! Sweat itself has no odor. It's what happens when the sweat reaches the skin surface that creates 'the stink'.

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