We've all heard that exercise is good for us. And now we learn that brains of people on exercise look younger than those of sedentary individuals.
I sometimes don't know why I do the stupid things I do. So how could I possibly know someone else's intentions? And that's the thing: We assume the intentions of others based on their actions, and our perception of their actions, and the numerous expectations and biases we hold.
When a belligerent person gets in your face, the heat of the moment makes a productive response challenging. We tend to fight back (anger for anger) or take flight (curl up in a mental ball). Whether you're dealing with angry customers, family members or total strangers, there's a better way...
It's in our nature to "other" people, creating a bubble around the "in" group, and none of us avoids falling into some prejudices. That's got me digging deep to evaluate what I really think about people who are not like me. Are you brave enough to try it?
What's it mean to be humble? Probably not what you think. Humble people don't boast — that much you might've guessed. But at its core, humility requires having an accurate view of your own skills and accomplishments. But most of us don't hold accurate views of ourselves.
The very notion of lobbying may sound like something only paid professionals do. But if you have real passion for a topic, you can put it to good use by lobby your local, state or national representatives directly. This writer, a lobbying advocate now, explains how to do it well.
Researchers conducted a pair of clinical trials (one on humans, one on rats) to see whether they really ate more when stoned (yes) and what they preferred to munch on. On that latter question, humans and rats differed a bit.
Breast milk, in addition to many other advantages, fosters vital gut bacteria in infants that supports immunity and has been linked to less of the constant crying common in many babies. However...
Doctor's advice on food allergies has long been to avoid exposing infants and young kids to potentially deadline allergens, like peanuts. The advice may have been wrongheaded all along.
In today's busy world, perhaps the more important factor in finding happiness is prioritizing it. This psychologist realized she wanted to do a thing that makes her happy, but for a simple lack of prioritization, it wasn't happening. She explains her fix, a model for all of us.
Normally we take medications for what they do. But sometimes doctors don't know why a particular medication works (examples: metformin for diabetes, as well as lithium, even Tylenol. Some drugs are prescribed because they cause less harm than alternatives, even if they might be less effective.
Despite possible benefits for certain conditions, the various types of intermittent fasting don't live up to the hype for weight loss.
In this week's Wise & Well newsletter:
- Lifelong learning thwarts dementia
- Breastfeeding Lowers Mom’s Depression Risk Years Later
- How Ultra-Processed Food Strains the Body
- Attention! Stimulants Don’t Improve It!
- 6 Seconds That Changed My Life
- Why I Was Blind to My Husband’s Cheating
For Olympic athletes, the “paradox of hesitation” is crucial when making split-second decisions about starting at just the right instant vs. jumping the gun. Us non-Olympians live this paradox every day.
Lead was known to be dangerous as far back as ancient Rome. Why lead ended up being added to gasoline is a truly twisted tale of capitalism at its worst. And then: A Republican president created the EPA, which later banned leaded gas—a healthy policy change to be greatly admired.
This writer's story isn't just an engaging heart-on-sleeve tale. It offers practical, science-backed advice to help anyone deal with the reality of a cheating lover.
Plenty of science has shown that night owls suffer worse health than people who sleep on more conventional schedules. The problem isn't so much what their bedtime is, as the fact that society demands most people be awake during traditional daytime hours. Now this...
Ultra-processed food is really bad for health. But what actually happens in the body that makes UPFs so bad? This food expert explains how they eats away at your body's cells and organs, and how the hidden risks play out over many years - without you realizing the damage until it's well underway.
When we worry about unknowns and maybes, that anxiety floods the body and brain with fight-or-flight hormones. New research, including blood analysis, finds that people who worry about whether and how their health might decline as they get older are creating a self-fulfilling prophecy.
The benefits of breastfeeding for babies is well known. But less attention is paid to how it affects new mothers, even as oodles of obstacles and unhelpful stigmas exist in the workplace and across society. Now we learn that the mental health benefits for mom can last a decade.
Wow, I just took a look at Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia topic page, on Wise & Well, and it's loaded with really informative news and deep-dive feature stories by our team of psychologists, physicians, journalists, a neurologist and other informed, talented writers.
A pilot study in which people wore fart-detecting smart underwear for a week reveals that people fart a lot more often than they say when surveyed. But now, any US adult can get some smart underwear to measure their own farting habits… for the sake of science, of course.
This physician had a life-changing revelation, when he crashed his car thanks to ignoring a health issue he (of all people! ) should've taken care of long ago.
Many studies have shown benefits of coffee and tea, with few side effects (for most people). This latest study adds further evidence they (and probably the caffeine in them) can not just improve focus and clarity in the short term but help keep the mind sharper longer.
Abdominal fat, sometimes characterized as a beer belly, is associated with more heart damage — a thicker heart muscle and smaller heart chambers — than is excess body weight alone. The changes reflect early stress on the heart that can lead to heart disease and heart failure.
Why won't Trump apologize for posting that blatant racist video of the Obamas? Could be one of many reasons, but in a nutshell: People who can't or won't apologize when they're blatantly wrong are known to have fragile egos or an idealized self-image that engages in self-deceit for protection.
One type of is good, and one is bad, right? Well… it's not that simple, as this scientist explains. Interesting facts: Cholesterol is made naturally by the body, and it's in every cell, but the waxy, fat-like stuff has to travel through blood in specialized bubbles, otherwise it wouldn't mix well.
Using pulses of electricity to the brain, trigeminal nerve stimulation purports to help alleviate ADHD, depression, epilepsy, migraine headaches and head trauma. But as with many therapies so highly touted, TNS is not a cure-all. This neuroscientist/psychiatrist explains.
Pink noise—think of pattering rain or a babbling brook—has become a popular sleep aid. There is very little research on the effects of this an other forms of acoustic stimulation on #sleep. But a new study finds pink noise isn't the ideal solution to a noisy bedroom (or even a quiet one).
