The Best Time of Day to Do Almost Anything

Get the most from meditation by doing your main practice in the morning (even just a few minutes), with a minute or more before sleep, says Rick Hanson, neuropsychologist and author of Buddha's Brain, a handbook on the science of meditation. Right after you wake up in the morning your mind is quieter, which helps you ease into meditation—and the practice lays the foundation for your outlook and mood for the entire day ahead. At night, just before sleep, the mind is very receptive, Hanson says. The influence of meditation is going to be high with results that could ripple through the night. "But no matter what the scientists say, the best time to meditate...is whatever time you actually [sit down to] do it." Even right now.