When we think of grief, often the first thoughts that come to mind are of the emotional waves that come crashing down. Feelings of powerlessness, disbelief—and even shock. These powerful and dysphoric emotions are not just limited to their impact on the mind. In fact, researchers have long known that…
Q: I make a point to go to the gym at least 3 times a week. It’s been one of my New Year’s resolutions, and so far it’s going great. It’s just that I get pretty bad gym anxiety when I’m there. There are a few things that set it…
Most people like to think of their brains and their bowels as completely separate units. Gray matter is where the higher thinking happens, where one contemplates art and one’s place in the universe. The gut is where our breakfast cereal goes. It’s a region of the body we only tend…
You start feeling tired during the day, so you order a wearable device that tracks your sleep. The data indicates that you’re not spending long enough in your REM cycle, so you begin researching natural sleep aids. You discover an online community of amateur biologists who not only recommend avoiding…
Dopamine is probably the only neurotransmitter that could be considered a household name. News sources, tech bros, and mental health outlets toss the word around like a frisbee. Everyone and their dog seems to know what dopamine is—a feel-good chemical that’s produced in the brain, which rewards us for performing…
Many people develop mental and neurological disorders as they enter old age, depression, dementia, and anxiety being among the most common. These challenges often go underrecognized, but it’s important we stay on top of our mental, emotional, and physical health as we age. Take care of yourself throughout life by…
Make a habit of exercising—keeping up with exercise throughout life can slow down aging, according to new study. More specifically, older adults who exercised for most of their lives aged at a significantly slower pace than those who didn’t exercise regularly. They realized this after studying 125 amateur cyclists between…
Exercise improves self-esteem and mood of patients in psychiatric care facilities. This, according to researchers at the University of Vermont. Researchers built a gym in the university medical center’s inpatient psychiatry unit and introduced 60-minute exercise regimens into each patient’s treatment plan. The team surveyed patients on their mood, self-esteem,…
Past research has shown that physical activity has a direct effect on our mental health. A new study, however, says the reverse: that our mental wellbeing directly influences our physical activity. Researchers from the University of Jyvaskyla in Finland conducted questionnaires and interviews to analyze the effects of mental…
New research shows that we can reduce vaccine hesitancy by introducing the hesitant individual to someone with a vaccine-preventable disease. Researchers sought to understand how we can change anti-vaccine attitudes due to a recent rise in vaccine-preventable diseases and vaccine hesitancy. The experimented with 574 college students, 83 of which…
Drinking 6 or more cups of coffee a day can result in heart problems. Researchers from the University of Australia analyzed data from 347,077 participants between 37 and 73 years old. They found that those who drank 6 or more cups of coffee a day had a 22% higher risk…
Overindulging in high-calorie foods when you’re stressed can lead to faster weight gain. When stressed, some of us cope by eating fatty, sugary foods. This might satisfy us in the moment, but a new study from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research says doing so can quickly lead to obesity….
