Lawrence Ballard, 43, has been working at PriceWaterhouse Coopers for 21 years.

As a partner for the 'Big four' accounting firm, his core responsibilities are managing his clients and staff members. Currently, he has 19 personal clients and supervises about 80 staff members. 

Ballard also takes on recruitment efforts for the company, typically spending two to three hours a month working with the lead recruiting manager to coordinate events at his alma mater, Howard University. He helps with fundraising, community events, and faculty events. In the spring and fall, he even goes on campus to conduct interviews.

However, in a typical day during "busy season"— tax season — Ballard spends over 50 hours a week at the office.

"On any given day I may interact with up to five clients and 20 staff just through the normal day-to-day email, calls, and meetings," Ballard told Business Insider.

This is what his typical day looks like:

SEE ALSO: A 23-year-old is getting help paying $57,000 in student loans from an unusual source: her employer

4:30 a.m. Wake up and work out

"[My wife] is up at 4:50 a.m. to work out and drags me out of the bed," Ballard said.

He tries to squeeze in at least 45 minutes of exercise every morning before going on to wake his kids, Alexis, 12, and Ava, 8, up for school. By 6 a.m., Ballard is on his way from his home in central New Jersey to the office in Manhattan. Depending on meetings and location of clients, he either drives or takes the train.

"My day starts early so that I can beat the commute," Ballard told Business Insider.

He takes advantage of this time to get organized. "I use my commute in the morning as my opportunity to get my day organized – check email, organize my priority list for the day, catch up on reading client files, memos, etc.," Ballard said.

7:30 a.m. Arrive at the office

Before anything else, Ballard likes to get his morning fix of coffee and oatmeal.

At around 7:45 a.m., he's at his desk. He tries to FaceTime his kids before they go to school and before he gets swept away by the workday.

8 a.m. Address urgent issues and make a to-do list for the day

"The first couple hours of my day I spend reviewing any client files I need to review or taking care of staff matters," Ballard said.

After scanning some emails, Ballard makes a to-do list for his executive assistant to help him with filing papers, scheduling meetings, and travel arrangements if needed. He also tries to make his own to-do list, but this proves harder since he needs to be flexible in dealing with clients and their schedules.

"Adjusting my day for situations I did not anticipate in order to stay on track is unavoidable, as unexpected situations always surface," he says.

9 a.m. A rush of meetings, calls, and tackling the inbox

The staff usually arrives by 9:30 a.m., so from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. there is a "big rush" full of calls and meetings with his teams. Since Ballard has 19 clients and three to four staff members per client, he is essentially working with over 60 staff members everyday (they are shared among other partners as well).

The rest of the morning is spent sorting through over 50 emails, attending around six meetings, and making about 15 calls.

"From about 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. I typically spend in meetings, on calls or with my clients but I try not to schedule anything too heavy after 4 p.m. to give me time to catch up on anything that I did not get to earlier in the day," Ballard said.

12:30 p.m. Working lunch

"I eat in [pWc's] café maybe two days of the week," Ballard told Business Insider. "The other days I go out to lunch with clients, my engagement teams, or the other partners."

5 p.m. FaceTime with his family

Ballard tries his best to stay involved with his kids' lives on a daily basis and even helps them with homework. He uses FaceTime to catch up when he's not physically there.

"5 p.m. is FaceTime with my kids to see how their day was and to answer any math homework questions. My wife covers homework when she gets home, but hates math!" he said.

Ballard makes a great effort to guide younger associates, teaching them to balance work and family, which is something practices regularly. "I believe it's important to balance family life and work, and I tell all my associates that."

7 p.m. Leave work to pick up his daughter

On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays he tries to leave the office by 7 p.m. so he can pick his daughter Ava from gymnastics practice, and maybe even watch the last 45 minutes.

During "busy season," however, Ballard might find himself staying in the office, working late until 8 p.m., and might not get home until 9:30 p.m.

"My wife and I agreed that if I have work, she would much rather I stay at work than bring it home, because even if I'm physically there, I'm not actually there," Ballard explained.

Chefchaouen is a city in Morocco that's famous for its blue hue. While it was founded in 1471, it didn't get its distinctive color until 1492, when it received an influx of Jews escaping the Spanish inquisition, who brought a tradition of painting buildings blue.

Half a millennium later, the tradition persists in Chefchaouen's Old City, which is now a popular tourism and shopping destination.

The city's grown since the 1400s, but it's Chefchaouen's Old City that maintains the blue tradition.

The city itself is near the northern tip of Morocco.

The tradition of painting everything blue dates back to the Jewish community that settled there in the 15th century.

Brewing hard cider at home can feel daunting — there are lots of ingredients, and the process can be hard to get just right.

A new app-connected appliance, called the Alchema, makes it easy. All you need to do is fill it with fruit, yeast, sugar, water, and wait about a week, co-founder Oscar Chang tells Business Insider. 

On July 26, the team behind the device launched a Kickstarter campaign, hoping to raise $80,000. In under a month, it has blown past that goal, raising over $243,000.

Backers can pre-order an Alchema for $299 (though it will later retail for $499), with an expected delivery date in August 2017.

Here's how it works.

SEE ALSO: 7 recipe apps that will help you become a master cook

First, you choose a recipe from the app, which tells you the amount of each ingredient to use. Next, measure and chop the fruit, and then add it with the yeast, sugar, and water (which you buy separately) to the Alchema's plastic vase.

Alchema's app, which uses Bluetooth and WiFi, walks you through the entire process.

The machine ferments the beverage for you. Sensors inside the Alchema monitor the brew during the fermentation process, and adjust conditions based on temperature, alcohol content, and air pressure (since the yeast produces gas that can build up).

Piercings and tattoos are so last century.

The people who are paving the way to the future embrace a completely different kind of body modification. They put sensors under their skin, antennae in their scalps, and can control artificial limbs with their mind.

There's a name for these kind of radical human-robot hybrids: cyborgs.

Here are seven cyborgs that give us some clues about where humanity could be headed.

SEE ALSO: The real-life cyborg convinced we’ll all be half robot someday

Neil Harbisson

Harbisson, a British-born artist and musician who is colorblind, had an antenna surgically implanted in the base of his skull in 2004. In front of his forehead, a sensor on the tip of the antenna picks up incoming light and turns it into audio tones based on the frequency. 

As a result, Harbisson says he can hear color. And thanks to Bluetooth, he can connect the antenna to his phone to "hear" sunrises halfway around the world — or farther.

"With my mobile phone I can connect to NASA's International Space Station and perceive the colors live from space," he told Tech Insider last year.

Moon Ribas

A Spanish artist and good friend of Harbisson's, Ribas had a tiny magnetic sensor implanted near her left elbow in 2013. The sensor connects to an online seismograph that picks up earthquakes around the world. When they happen, Ribas' arm vibrates too.

Stronger earthquakes produce stronger vibrations, which she often turns into avant-garde performance art, dancing and swaying at an intensity that matches the strength of the tremor. She calls the added ability her "seismic sense."

"Now I feel like I have two heartbeats,"she told Quartz recently. "It's like my own, and an 'Earthbeat.'"

Amal Graafstra

As the CEO of Dangerous Minds, a company that sells kits to help people become cyborgs at home, Graafstra practices what he preaches. He has two radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips embedded in his hands, which he uses to lock and unlock the doors on his house and log into his computer just by scanning his hand.

"We have been picking up things like rocks and sticks forever and used them as tools," Graafstra told Tech Insider last July. "That is nothing new and this is just a natural progression of that. We are just now putting our tools inside of our bodies."

Eventually he hopes to connect the chips to his bank account so he can make transactions without needing his phone or checkbook.

Amazon's Add-on program is incredibly useful, but it can also be a pain.

Add-on Items are cheap products that the company deems "cost-prohibitive to ship on their own."Many of them are everyday household items — like toothpaste or pens — that could save you a trip to your local convenience store.

But there's a catch: Amazon has a $25 minimum-order requirement, and that's not including the Add-ons.

Luckily, there's a loophole that lets you get around the $25 restriction. Here's how it works:

Disclosure: Jeff Bezos is an investor in Business Insider through his personal investment company, Bezos Expeditions.

Choose your Add-on Items and add them to your cart. I needed some toothpaste.

Then add a preorder item to your cart. Here I am ordering "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child."

If your total order is over $25, then Amazon will let you make the purchase!

The trick is to buy a preorder item along with the Add-on Items you want. Amazon will let you complete the purchase, and Add-on Items will ship normally, while the preorder item will be shipped whenever it's released.

If you don't want the preorder item, then you can just cancel the order at any time before it ships.

Facebook's messaging app let's you do more than just chat with your friends. You can trade GIFs, stickers, and photos. But most people don't know that you can also play chess.

Messenger has a built-in chess feature that lets you play with your friends without having to install a third-party app. It's a secret feature, and it's still a little clunky, but it works.

I've played my friend Daniel on Chess.com before (he's won every time), so I figured he'd be down for a game on Messenger. 

Here's how to play:

You just need to enter "@fbchess play" to start a game.

The board doesn't support drag-and-drop, so you need to type in specific commands to make the pieces move. Tell the game where you want to go, and it'll move the piece there.

But what if I want to make a more complicated move than moving a pawn? You can ask messenger for instructions by typing "@fbchess help."

Not all headaches hurt the same.

Some, like migraines, make the sides of your head throb for days on end. Others, like tension headaches, may be felt as pressure in the neck and forehead and disappear in a few hours.

Here's how to know what type of pain you're experiencing and how to treat it best:

SEE ALSO: The main differences between Advil, Tylenol, Aleve, and Aspirin summed up in one chart

DON'T MISS: There's a huge misconception about how Olympic gymnasts like Simone Biles get their bodies

There’s no shortage of things to do in L.A., but if you’ve been sticking to the same old routine, allow us to help you get out of your rut.

Might we suggest drawing nude models, locking yourself in a room until you solve can solve mathematical riddles to get out, or strolling through an urban labyrinth?

Here are 22 of the absolute best things to do in this city, including new ways to experience the L.A. institutions you’ve been to again and again. When you get bored of what the city has to offer, all it takes is a short drive to relax in wine country, gamble at a casino that’s much closer than Vegas, or take a horseback ride up the California coast.

Still need more options? Check out the rest of our Best of L.A. picks for 2016 here.

Nude Drawing Class – Gallery Girls

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Brush up on your anatomy with Gallery Girls, which hosts drawing workshops with some of the city’s most respected male and female art models. Sometimes the posers are in costume—the monthly “Drink & Draw” event ($15) has rotating themes like “Steampunk Cowgirl” and “Arabian Nights”—but the twice-monthly “Sunday Art Brunch” ($25-$30) features sitters who pose nude for four hours at a time. Venues vary, and sketchers should bring their own pens, pencils, paper, and easels.

» 818-535-5761 or gallerygirls.com

Hipster Barbershop – Sweeney Todd’s Barber Shop

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It’s all retro at Sweeney Todd’s Barber Shop, down to the chairs and cranberry gloss floors that date to 1947. (The three barbers in crisp white smocks Sweeney Todd’s Barber Shop could have stepped out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon.)
If it’s a meta meditation on barbershop culture, owner Todd “Sween” Lahman isn’t copping to it. He’s straight-faced with the straight edge and
acts as though he’s never heard of Twitter (talk on your phone and you’ll be asked politely to scram). Every day is Throwback Thursday here, three-towel hot shave and all.

» 4639 Hollywood Blvd., Los Feliz, 323-667-9690 or sweeneytoddsbarbershopla.com

Mixed-Use Space In DTLA — Project Space

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 A massive complex housing a handful of businesses seems
 to materialize downtown every other week, but the most enticing is Project Space in the Arts District. Part art gallery, part retail hub, part bar, the 4,000-square-foot building has hosted everything from a book launch to artist Aaron Rose’s pop-up watering hole, La Rosa Social Club. And here’s the best part: You need to park only once.

» 2028 E. 7th St., downtown, alldayeveryday.com/dtla-project-space

Taylor Swift dominated this year's Forbes Celebrity 100 list, making $60 million more than runner-up One Direction.

But when it comes to what Americans think, Swift isn't always the top dog across the board. Ellen DeGeneres, who only placed No. 13 on Forbes' list of the highest-earning entertainers, actually comes out on top in certain categories more often than not.

SurveyMonkeysampled 2,500 adults in the US across five surveys to examine how Americans rank the top 20 celebrities from Forbes' Celebrity 100 list based on business savvy, respect, talent, contribution to society, and more.

See how LeBron James, DeGeneres, Swift, Rush Limbaugh, The Rolling Stones, and more ranked:

SEE ALSO: Here are the highest-earning celebrities of '16, and how Taylor Swift took No. 1

Most valued: Ellen DeGeneres

Most attractive: Taylor Swift

Highest IQ: Dr. Phil

With its stunning coves, fine dining restaurants and luxurious hotels, Capri is one of Europe’s most desirable vacation destinations -- the only problem is the exorbitant price tag that often comes along with it.

Fortunately, Europe is dotted with alluring destinations that are more budget-friendly than high-profile Capri. From Italian islands to vacations in Spain, Croatia, and beyond, here are six budget alternatives that are so wonderful, they won't leave you pining for the famous island of Capri.

SEE ALSO: 7 affordable hostels so beautiful they could be hotels

1. Panarea, Italy

While it’s hardly undiscovered, the island of Panarea is a rustic yet refined alternative to the glamour of Capri. One of the eight Aeolian Islands near Sicily, Panarea is filled with the type of mountainous volcanic beauty that gets an island rewarded with Unesco-protection. Home to a mixture of affordable and luxurious hotels, Panarea isn’t too dissimilar to Capri in terms of accommodation options -- but its small size and relatively low profile seem to discourage huge tourist numbers, keeping prices in restaurants and stores lower than its Tyrrhenian cousin.  

Hotel Pick:

2. Ischia, Italy

While Capri basks in its reputation for fame, glamour, and style (earned during the 1950s era of La Dolce Vita), the neighboring island of Ischia has been happy to allow itself to slowly develop into a destination of its own. Often overlooked for the more famous Capri, the largest island in the Bay ofNaples has great beaches, excellent restaurants -- seafood and rabbit are particular specialties -- and towns that ooze that quintessential Italian style; we really love the car-free harbor of Sant’Angelo. 

Hotel Pick:

3. Cudillero, Spain

Close to Gijon (the largest city in Spain’s northern region of Asturias), the small fishing village of Cudillero will rival any depiction of Capri you might see on a postcard. One of Spain’s prettiest villages, here houses are painted an almost uniform white and matched with a variety of colored shutters, which gives the place the feel of a Spanish version of Cinque Terre. During the summer peak season it attracts high numbers of visitors but while the streets are busier than usual, the village continues to remain a living, working community -- albeit with a sleepy, picturesque appeal to it all. Spreading upwards onto the hillside from its small port, the narrow streets are rife for exploring. Accommodation options aren't particularly extensive, but nearby Gijon is an attractive prospect in its own right if you reserve Cudillero for a day trip.  

Nearby Gijon Hotel Pick:

In the huge new PlayStation 4 game "No Man's Sky," you're a lone traveler exploring an endless universe full of planets, aliens, and billions of stars. Of course, if you want to explore that universe, then you're going to need a ship.

Good thing for you that "No Man's Sky" is absolutely rife with spaceships of all types. Here are some of the craziest ones we've found in our travels — in the game and on the internet:

SEE ALSO: The biggest PlayStation 4 game of the year is basically 'Minecraft' in space with 18 quintillion planets

DON'T MISS: The 10 weirdest things people have encountered in 'No Man's Sky'

The ships range in size from smaller ships — like the one in the background — to gigantic space trucks. That red ship in the foreground is huge!

There are some pretty amazing midsize ships as well. This guy looks straight out of "The Last Starfighter." Look it up, kiddos!

One player on Reddit found this glorious beast in matte black. Gorgeous!

Americans increasingly are turning to overseas destinations in their search for affordable places to live in retirement.

The prospect of living comfortably for less and seeing more of the world pushes many to consider becoming expats, yielding some unexpected (and welcome) benefits.

There are, of course, several key factors to consider before making the move abroad, including language, safety, and contact with loved ones back in the U.S.

For many nearing or in retirement, cost of living is often a top concern. With that in mind, here are some of the cheapest and most appealing international retirement locales, spanning the globe.

To compile this list, Cheapism consulted the top destinations in the 2016 Global Retirement Index from International Living. We looked especially at cost of living and housing in the highest-scoring locales. The other categories included in the index, with 100 as the top score, are benefits and discounts, visas and residence, "fitting in," entertainment and amenities, health care, healthy lifestyle, infrastructure, and climate. 

SEE ALSO: 5 things I did to save money on a month-long trip through Asia before I even left the US

Panama

Panama certainly presents an excellent choice for budget-friendly retirement. Health care, perfectly mild weather, and affordable lifestyle — all are noteworthy, but according to International Living, it's stress-free living that makes Panama so appealing. The site's Panama editor mentions the quaint city of Santa Fe as a particular gem, with a low cost of living and lovely surroundings of waterfalls, mountainscapes, and wildflowers.

The Global Retirement Index ranks Panama first overall, with a final score of 93.5. Cost of living is ranked 89, while buying and renting (housing) rates 86. Panama earns 100 in benefits and discounts, visas and residence, and entertainment and amenities.

Colombia

Colombia is a modern country that's becoming increasingly popular as a prime retiree destination, according to International Living. An inviting cultural scene, warm weather (not much seasonal change), and a diverse natural landscape, with more than 50 national parks, along with beaches, jungles, deserts, and fruit-bearing trees, make for an ideal retirement venue.

With inexpensive properties and a low cost of living, many Americans can live an upscale lifestyle without being "USA-rich." Colombia scores high 80s and 90s in almost every category, achieving a total score of 87.7 -- good enough for sixth place. ¡Vaya a Colombia!

Thailand

If cheap housing and food prices and a tropical climate are priorities, Thailand is the place. Americans of average means can really live it up in this inviting country. The city of Chiang Mai is considered particularly appealing for retirement, due to its variety of cuisine, top-notch hospitals, cheap medical care, and vibrant Thai architecture and culture.

On International Living's retirement index, Thailand earns a score of 90 in cost of living and housing, while entertainment and amenities rank 96, for an overall score of 84.8 (seventh place).

It's back to school season, which means you may be wondering how on earth you're going to stay on top of your busy class schedule and assignments.

Fortunately, there are apps that can help. 

Here are the 12 best apps for your schedule, studying, money, and social life needs:

SEE ALSO: 15 secret features hidden in your iPhone

iStudiez Pro is the ultimate class and homework planner.

If you're the planning type, you won't be able to live without iStudiez Pro.

The app manages your class schedule, teacher contacts, and upcoming assignments/tests. It's a school-specific calendar app and todo list beautifully rolled into one.

Price: $2.99 on iOS, $9.99 on Mac

Available on: iOS, Mac

Documents is the ultimate app for accessing all of your files and annotating PDFs.

It can be confusing to keep track of where certain files are, especially if you use multiple services like Dropbox and Google Drive.

Documents works with all of them (including Apple's iCloud, Microsoft's OneDrive, and Box) to show you all of your stuff in one place. You can edit Microsoft documents, annotate PDFs, browse photos, and read e-books in one app.

Price: Free

Available on: iOS

Wunderlist will help you stay on top of what you need to get done.

There are plenty of to-do apps out there, but Wunderlist is the best for most people. It has a good mix of features for everyone, including the ability to make multiple lists, collaborate with other Wunderlist users on different projects, and create reminders.

Price: Free

Available on: iOS, Android, OS X, Windows

There is one unimpeachable truth about being a parent: You never get enough sleep. Of course, your level of fatigue might not match that of a professional athlete during a championship run or astronaut hurtling at 5 miles per second — but close enough.

Dr. Charles A. Czeisler, Director Of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School is the go-to guywhen NBA and NHL teams, NASA and the Secret Service need to get their Zs. Hell, Shaquille O’Neal wouldn’t be able to sleep in his 2 California King beds if not for “Dr. C.” who diagnosed him with sleep apnea. And while being alert may not always be a life and death (or sudden death) situation for the average person, Dr. Czeisler’s advice can at least help you feel a little more like a woke dad.

Keep A Consistent Bed And Wake Time

Dr. Czeisler says that the best thing you can do to achieve the 7 to 9 hours of sleep you need each night is go to sleep and wake up at the same times everyday. Go ahead and tell your baby a Harvard-educated specialist says no more 3 AM feedings.

Realistically, you won’t be able to control your new human alarm clock in the next room, and the younger the kid, the earlier you’re rising. So he says you should start by impose an earlier bedtime for yourself. Yes, Dr. C just killed all your joy of catching up on Mr. Robot. “Parents are kidding themselves if they think they can get by on 4 to 5 hours of sleep. It will catch up with them,” says Czeisler. Don’t worry, you’ll soon have to stay up really late just to catch your curfew-breaking teen coming through the door.

Recognize Your Kid’s Sleep Patterns

Like previously mentioned, your toddler’s sleep schedule is an unstoppable force, but you’re not an immovable object. Instead of trying to force their naps, bedtime, and when they get up to accommodate you, you may be the one that has to do some accommodating. The arrangement is temporary, because a 2-year-old’s sleeping habits are different from a 10-year-old’s. And you have to admit — you’re super flexible.

Nobody Gets Screens Before Bedtime

After dusk, minimize exposure to electronic screens as much as possible, Czeisler says, because they interfere with sleep. You’ve probably heard the reports on how “blue light” is no longer just for K-Mart specials, but the wavelength emitted from your phone, tablet, and computers. Cut that out.

If you are going to stare at your iPhone or laptop in bed, download an app like F.lux or turn on the Night Shift setting that reduces blue light. You can also invert the black text on a white screen to white on black to reduce eye strain.

When you think of Olympic athletes training to compete, you probably don't imagine them in front of a chalkboard trying to understand things like angular momentum (that's how objects — or people — spin).

But believe it or not, understanding some basic physics can provide a new level of appreciation for how exactly Olympic athletes are able to do what they do. Harnessing the power of physics has also helped Olympians (and their coaches) figure out how to maximize their strength, speed, and motion.

Check out the physics behind these 16 Olympic sports, including some of the ways athletes apply what we know about physics to help them on their quest for gold.

SEE ALSO: Every sport that's ever been in the Summer Olympics and the year it joined

DON'T MISS: These are the body types that get you to the Olympics

In archery, the feathers on the arrow cause something called fletching — air resistance, or drag, that prevents air turbulence from pushing the arrow off course.

Source: Perimeter Institute, LiveScience

The feathered cone on a badminton shuttlecock also produces a drag which keeps it stable and on course. The drag is so strong that badminton players have to swing a little harder to hit the shuttlecock across the court.

Source: LiveScience

You may have noticed that when basketball players jump, they seem to be floating for a moment. That's because whenever you jump, you spend more than twice as much time in the top half of the jump than in the bottom half.

Source: Wired

The Olympics, particularly the summer Olympics, are a kind of festival for elite sports photography.

There's no two weeks in the year that produce a heftier haul of world-class images of athletic competition.

All the major agencies covering the games fight for an edge in the photographic shoot-out. And this year, Getty added a new weapon to its arsenal: a small army of underwater robots.

Here's what you need to know about them, along with some of the amazing images they've created.

SEE ALSO: We talked to a pool expert about what's going on with the stinky green Olympic pool, and he gave us some gross insight

AND: Officials fear some Olympic athletes might be altering their genes to cheat in Rio

The Olympics are a bonanza for beautiful photography of the human body in motion.

All the major sports photographers compete to take the most creative and mind-boggling photos possible.

I've always been partial to shots of Olympians suspended in the air.

The Rio Olympics are into their second week and thus far, we've seen new world records, stunning upsets, heartbreaking crashes and injuries, and plenty more excitement. 

One of the best parts of the Olympics, though, is the photography.

The photos from every sport are terrific, and they capture the emotion, energy, and athleticism of the Games. That Rio is one of the most photogenic cities in the world helps too. 

Below are some of our favorite photos from the opening weekend. This is by no means an exhaustive list — there are simply too many terrific shots to choose from. We picked 55, but we'll be updating this post throughout the games as more great photos come in. 

Enjoy!

An Australian archer takes aim with a Rio favela in the background.

Diving in!

Nice dig by China's Fan Wang.

This past year, the Zika virus has emerged as global problem.

The virus, which is primarily transmitted via mosquitoes, has been spreading around the Americas since May 2015. One of the reasons it's been so troubling is that it's a cause of a serious birth defect called microcephaly, in which the head of babies whose mothers have been infected with Zika during pregnancy are abnormally small. That's tied to a number of developmental problems.

As with many emerging diseases, the misinformation about Zika started circulating almost as quickly as the disease itself.

We're still learning more and more about the virus and how it affects people, but for now here are some of the biggest myths and misconceptions we've heard about Zika.

SEE ALSO: The Cayman Islands has been added to the list of places with Zika — here's a map of all the places it has spread so far

DON'T MISS: The new leading cause of death in some European countries is actually an encouraging sign

MYTH: GMOs are to blame for the recent Zika outbreak across the Americas.

Diseases like Zika, dengue, and yellow fever are spread by a mosquito called Aedes aegypti. To try and stop the spread of disease, scientists have started looking into how to quell mosquito populations.

One interesting idea to fend off the disease-carrying bugs comes from a company called Oxitec, which genetically modifies male mosquitoes to carry a lethal gene. Those bugs mate with female mosquitoes and pass on the gene, which kills little baby mosquitoes before they ever mature into adults. As the modified bugs breed more and more, the mosquito population shrinks overall.

But, because the mosquitoes were put into action in 2015, right around the time Zika started hitting the Americas, some folks jumped to the conclusion that the two events were linked. That's in spite of the fact that there has been no evidence of this whatsoever. Snopes pointed to a single comment on a sub-reddit appropriately called "conspiracy" as the origin of this pernicious rumor. (Zika itself was first identified in 1947.)

If anything, genetically modified mosquitoes will actually help us prevent Zika from spreading by reducing the number of mosquitoes flying around.

MYTH: Zika can spread by kissing.

While there have been cases of sexually transmitted Zika, both from male to female, male to male, and female to male, for the most part it is still spread by mosquitoes, who pick it up from the blood of one individual and transmit it to another. 

"It's a disease transmitted through sex, but certainly at this point we wouldn't carry it to say it's a sexually transmitted disease," Dr. Robert Segal told Business Insider during a Facebook Live session.

So far, public health officials believe the main ways it could be transmitted are through blood (either mosquito or possibly blood transfusion), semen or vaginal fluid, or while a mother is pregnant.

The virus has been detected in urine and saliva, but the CDC saysthere is "no evidence" it can be passed along via kissing. Mothers have also been encouraged to keep breastfeeding, as there haven't been any reported cases of breast milk transmitting Zika.

MYTH: Pesticides are responsible for Zika.

Another conspiracy theory about the most recent Zika outbreak hit the internet in February. It claimed that a pesticide being used to kill mosquitoes was linked to the cases of microcephaly, not the Zika virus itself. 

The chemical, Pyriproxyfen, messes with the hormones that help mosquito larvae hatch (an exchange that doesn't happen in human births). Plus, it doesn't absorb into our bodies that well.  "A person would have to drink well over 1,000 liters of water a day, every day, to achieve the threshold toxicity levels seen in animals," Ian Musgrave, a senior lecturer in the medical school at the University of Adelaide in Australia, said in February.

The CDC said in April that Zika is officially a cause of microcephaly.

It's a Tuesday night and you're in bed with your laptop, your iPhone buzzing from the nightstand.

You have to be up for work in six hours, but this fact is quickly lost among the thousand other thoughts running through your mind.

If this scenario seems familiar, you're not alone. More than a third of Americans don't get enough sleep, according to a study released by the CDC's Division of Population Health in February.

The survey found that almost 35% of adults get less than seven hours of sleep per night, the recommended minimum amount to reduce the risk of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, and cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Ana Krieger, medical director of the Weill Cornell Center for Sleep Medicine, says carving out the time for adequate sleep during the workweek is one of the greatest obstacles many people face.

"The biggest issue is time constraints that we have. A lot of the time, people just can't afford to spend eight hours in bed," she says. "But beyond that, people need to be aware of how important creating routine is to your sleep, and how beneficial this can be to optimizing the quality of the sleep time you do have."

So, how do you get better sleep on a work night? Here are five tips from Dr. Krieger:

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1. Create a routine to help yourself wind down

Having a pre-bedtime routine is key to getting a good night's sleep. "Insert a 10-minute period before going to sleep where you do quiet activities, decrease the light in the apartment, and maybe play some soothing music," Krieger says. 

"It's about just getting the time to unwind a little bit in your mind, to slow down from that racing pace that we mostly live during the daytime," she says.

Avoid working until you crash, and try to set aside this small window of time for decompressing instead. 

2. Banish electronics before bed

Particularly on weeknights, when you have emails to catch up on and texts and missed calls to return, it seems impossible to be further than arm's length from your smartphone and laptop.

We may not think about it, but using our gadgets at night can really affect sleep, Krieger says. "The screens all emit light, and that becomes quite stimulating for the brain, affecting the production of neurotransmitters, and therefore impacting our ability to sleep well."

As much as you want to reach for your phone, try to keep the 20 minutes before bed completely electronics-free.

3. Write down your thoughts

If you have a hard time clearing your mind of the day's thoughts, Krieger advises keeping a blank piece of paper on your nightstand and making what she calls a "worry list."

"This is one of the most important things for people who have a lot of content coming into their heads as they're trying to fall asleep, like to-do lists and worries," she says.

She says it can be beneficial to write down bullet points of your thoughts and the things you need to do in order to put them out of your mind.

On Sunday, the US women's gymnastics team will begin their quest to repeat as Olympic champions in the team all-around event.

The bar has been set high in Rio for team USA, thanks to the incredible performance of the "Fierce Five" during the 2012 Olympics in London.

In addition to winning the gold in the team competition, the five gymnasts combined to win four medals in the individual events, including two gold.

Below we look back at the "Fierce Five" and see what they are up to today.

In London, Jordyn Wieber was 17 and entered the Olympics as the reigning world champion in the all-around. However, despite finishing fourth in the all-around during the qualification round, she was not permitted to compete in the final as two other Americans (Raisman and Douglas) finished higher and only two gymnasts from one country were permitted in the final (21 gymnasts with lower scores were allowed to compete in the final). She did qualify for the final in the floor exercise, finishing seventh.

Today, Wieber is a psychology student at UCLA. In 2015, she announced her retirement from gymnastics on Derek Jeter's website, The Players Tribune. She now serves as a team manager for the Bruins' gymnastics team.

SOURCE: The Daily Bruin and The Players Tribune

Kyla Ross was just 15 years old in London. She did not reach the finals in any individual events, but did help the team to gold in the team finals with strong scores on the uneven bars and the beam.