Social Rejection Has A Surprising Mental Advantage

Being rejected socially, can give you this outsider advantage. Being rejected socially makes people more creative, research finds. Feeling outside the group helps people generate more novel ideas. It may help to explain why so many great artists were outsiders — people who lived separate lives in order to produce works that would surprise and delight the rest of us. The study’s authors call it the ‘outsider advantage’. Professor Jack Goncalo, who led the study, said: “If you have the right way of managing rejection, feeling different can help you

2 Attachment Styles That Damage Relationships

Certain types of anxiety can cause massive ups and downs in relationships. Partners who have attachment issues cause considerable instability in their relationship, research finds. One type, known as ‘attachment anxiety’ by psychologists, involves see-sawing feelings. It is the same reason that babies cry when they are taken from their mothers. Around one in five people have an anxious attachment style. A classic sign is wildly have varying feelings about the relationship from one day to the next. People experiencing attachment anxiety spend a lot of time thinking about what

This Sleep Pattern Accelerates Memory Loss, Possible Link to Alzheimer’s

Sleep pattern lowered levels of an antioxidant that helps fight cellular damage, such as that caused by Alzheimer’s. Sleep disruptions similar to jet lag could cause memory problems linked to Alzheimer’s disease, new research finds. It’s well-known by scientists that there’s a link between Alzheimer’s and sleep, but not what causes what. Professor Gregory Brewer, who led the research, said: “The issue is whether poor sleep accelerates the development of Alzheimer’s disease or vice versa. It’s a chicken-or-egg dilemma, but our research points to disruption of sleep as the accelerator

Supporting Children on the Autism Spectrum

Thomas was proud of his young son “Roger’s” remarkable knowledge of birds. Roger’s grandmother, an avid bird watcher, had shared birding books and toy bird replicas with the boy when he was young, and he had shown such great enthusiasm for the topic that at age 3, Roger could identify more than 50 types of birds. But when the boy was diagnosed with autism, a therapist took a more guarded view of Roger’s intense interest. The therapist described the boy’s constant chatter about birds as “stimming”—short for self-stimulating behavior. Suddenly,

How Your Smartphone Can Make You Smarter

How Your Smartphone Can Make You Smarter

Researchers tested how the mere presence of a smartphone affected cognitive capacity. The mere presence of your smartphone makes you more dumb, even when it is on silent, new research finds. It doesn’t even matter if it is turned off! So, leaving your smartphone in another room actually makes you smarter. The study found that when people had their smartphones with them, their cognitive capacity was reduced. Cognitive capacity is the ability to hold and process information in the mind. Dr Adrian Ward, the study’s first author, said: “We see

The Drink That Really Is A Rapid Antidepressant

The Drink That Really Is A Rapid Antidepressant

The most well-known effect of this drink confirmed by research. Alcohol produces the neural and molecular changes of a rapid antidepressant, new research concludes. The drug lifts depression for up to 24 hours due to its effect on the brain’s chemistry. Naturally, the study’s authors were quick to warn against self-medication. Dr Kimberly Raab-Graham, the study’s first author, said: “Because of the high comorbidity between major depressive disorder and alcoholism there is the widely recognized self-medication hypothesis, suggesting that depressed individuals may turn to drinking as a means to treat

This Sleep Pattern Accelerates Memory Loss, Possible Link to Alzheimer’s

This Sleep Pattern Accelerates Memory Loss, Possible Link to Alzheimer’s

Sleep pattern lowered levels of an antioxidant that helps fight cellular damage, such as that caused by Alzheimer’s. Sleep disruptions similar to jet lag could cause memory problems linked to Alzheimer’s disease, new research finds. It’s well-known by scientists that there’s a link between Alzheimer’s and sleep, but not what causes what. Professor Gregory Brewer, who led the research, said: “The issue is whether poor sleep accelerates the development of Alzheimer’s disease or vice versa. It’s a chicken-or-egg dilemma, but our research points to disruption of sleep as the accelerator

Four Types of Depression Revealed By 1,100 Brain Scans

Four Types of Depression Revealed By 1,100 Brain Scans

Brain scans of four different types of depression could aid in the diagnosis and treatment of the condition. Four types of depression have been newly identified by researchers using brain scans. The brain scans revealed distinctly different types of brain activity in each sub-type. The finding may eventually lead to treatments targeted to the particular sub-type of depression. Dr. Conor Liston, who led the research, said: “The four subtypes of depression that we discovered vary in terms of their clinical symptoms but, more importantly, they differ in their responses to

Feeling Blue? Listen To This Type of Music

Feeling Blue? Listen To This Type of Music

“Where words leave off, music begins.” ― Heinrich Heine Beautiful but sad music can help improve mood when people are feeling blue, research finds. For the study 220 people recalled something depressing that had happened to them. They then recalled what type of music they had listened to afterwards. Choosing beautiful but sad music emerged as the only strategy that people thought had cheered them up. Dr Annemieke van den Tol, the study’s first author, explained the results: ”We found in our research that people’s music choice is linked to

Ten Things to ask for when Your Child is Diagnosed with Autism or Developmental Differences

Ten Things to ask for when Your Child is Diagnosed with Autism or Developmental Differences

As a pediatric psychologist I know that families’ journeys can be fraught with unexpected challenges. Discovering that your child has differences can be daunting. And sometimes, making sure that your child’s needs are properly met by the outside world can be even more stressful. One aspect I am especially passionate about as a psychologist is supporting the social and emotional lives of children with developmental differences, including those on the autism spectrum. The good news is that we now know more than ever why it’s essential to nurture strengths and

How To Use Social Comparisons To Motivate Exercise

How To Use Social Comparisons To Motivate Exercise

If you want to run more, use social comparison as motivation. Running is socially contagious, new research finds. Data from 1 million runners collected over five years suggests that the running bug spreads from person to person. Just knowing other people who run is enough to boost your motivation, it seems. Professor Sinan Aral, a study author, said: “Knowing the running behaviors of your friends as shared on social networks can cause you to run farther, faster, and longer.” The study’s authors write: “On the same day, on average, an

Proof That Alcohol Changes This Personality Trait

Proof That Alcohol Changes This Personality Trait

Only one personality trait is changed when people drink. Alcohol has much less effect on people’s personalities than they imagine, new research finds. Only extraversion — how outgoing you are — changes when you are drunk. People become more assertive, gregarious and move around more when drinking. However, people think that all their personality traits change when they are drunk compared with when they are sober. Dr Rachel Winograd, the study’s first author, said: “We were surprised to find such a discrepancy between drinkers’ perceptions of their own alcohol-induced personalities

Free 10-Minute Alternative To Pain Medication

Free 10-Minute Alternative To Pain Medication

The treatment also has no side effects. Ten minutes of mindfulness meditation could be an effective alternative to painkillers, new research finds. The quick meditation session was enough to reduce anxiety about pain and increase both pain tolerance and threshold. The results come from a study of 24 healthy young people. Half meditated for 10 minutes while the other half just sat quietly. Then they plunged their hands first into warm water and then into ice water for as long as they could. Dr Osama Tashani, the study’s first author,