Mindfully Healing

Nine years before memory changes, this can signal problems. Changes in sense of humour could be an early sign of dementia, a new study finds. A shift to preferring slapstick humour — like Mr Bean — over satirical or absurdist comedy, such as Monty Python, could be an early sign of Alzheimer’s. Friends and relatives of those with dementia reported seeing changes around nine years before the more typical memory problems. Dr Camilla Clark, who led the study, said: “As sense of humour defines us and is used to build

If you want to get pumped up before a big event, what type of music should you choose? Music has already been shown to have all kinds of effects on the mind, like making you happier, reducing pain and bringing people together. Now a new study finds that music of the right kind can transform the listener’s sense of power. The study, published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, was inspired by the pre-game routines of athletes (Hsu et al., 2014). Dennis Hsu, who led the study, explains: