Mindfully Healing

How to improve the brain’s executive functions in only 25 minutes a day. Just 25 minutes of yoga or meditation a day is enough to boost all kinds of cognitive powers, new research finds. Both practices effectively improved the brain’s executive functions. This helps people control their habits, their emotions and how they set and complete goals. Dr Peter Hall, one of the study’s authors, said: “Hatha yoga and mindfulness meditation both focus the brain’s conscious processing power on a limited number of targets like breathing and posing, and also

Psychologists typically find that anxiety and depression share many overlapping symptoms. Instead of being ‘depressed’ and/or ‘anxious’, new research suggests five different types of depression and anxiety. The five are tension, anxious arousal, general anxiety, anhedonia — the inability to feel pleasure — and melancholia. Each type has its own particular symptoms and effects on the brain. The researchers describe the types as follows: 1. Tension This type is defined by irritability. People are overly sensitive, touchy, and overwhelmed. The anxiety makes the nervous system hypersensitive. 2. Anxious arousal Cognitive

Difficulties dealing with stress are linked to mental health problems. Smelling your partner’s clothes helps to reduce stress levels, new research finds. Women who smelled their partner’s t-shirt felt calmer afterwards. In comparison, those who smelled a stranger’s t-shirt experienced increases in the stress hormone, cortisol. Women may be particularly susceptible to the effect as their sense of smell is stronger than men. Ms Marlise Hofer, the study’s lead author, said: “Many people wear their partner’s shirt or sleep on their partner’s side of the bed when their partner is

People were shown happiness, fear, anger, disgust and surprise, as well as a neutral expression. The most attractive facial expression for a photo is any one you like. People judge facial attractiveness from your features, so your expression makes little difference to a photo. Smiling is often thought to be the most attractive facial expression, which is partly why most people smile in photos. However, this study finds otherwise. For the research, 128 people looked at a series of pictures of both men and women shown with different facial expressions.

Psychologists have been using variations on this technique, but this is the first study to show it works. To get rid of negative thoughts, write them down on a piece of paper and literally throw them away. While it might sound too easy, psychological research shows it can be effective. People in the study who did this found they also mentally discarded the thought as well. Professor Richard Petty, study co-author, said: “However you tag your thoughts — as trash or as

The personality trait is linked to healthier and more stable relationships. Having a conscientious partner is best for one’s health, research finds. A conscientious partner also tends to have more stable relationships. That is quite apart from the benefit of living with someone who can hold down a job and who puts the bins out. Professor Brent Roberts, the study’s first author, said: “Highly conscientious people are more organized and responsible and tend to follow through with their obligations, to be more impulse controlled and to follow rules.” Conscientious people

Why negative thoughts make some people depressed, while others quickly dismiss them. “Sticky thoughts” are the hallmark of depression, research finds. Bad things happen to most of us at some point, but some people take it worse than others. This is partly down to the inability to mentally turn away from them. Thoughts about negative experiences can get ‘stuck’ in the brain. Professor Jutta Joormann, the study’s first author, explained what happens in the minds of depressed people: “They basically get stuck in a mindset where they relive what happened

The drug takes effect within hours. Ketamine — a type of anaesthetic — has anti-suicidal effects within hours of administration, new research finds. The drug performed better than a commonly used sedative called midazolam. The drug could be useful for those experiencing suicidal thoughts. Dr Michael Grunebaum, the study’s first author, said: “There is a critical window in which depressed patients who are suicidal need rapid relief to prevent self-harm. Currently available antidepressants can be effective in reducing suicidal thoughts in patients with depression, but they can take weeks to

…and how members of the most narcissistic generation ever react to the label. People born between 1988 and 1994 — so-called “millennials” — are the most narcissistic generation ever. At least that is their view and the view of both their parents and grandparents. Not that the label sits well with them, new research finds. Mr Joshua Grubbs, a millennial himself who led the research, said: “Millennials and older generations agree that millennials are the most narcissistic. They just disagree to the extent of the narcissism.” People in the study