Mindfully Healing

Older brains can perform like younger ones with this supplement. A beetroot juice supplement can make older brains perform like younger ones, new research shows. The supplement was given to older adults just before they worked out. Professor Jack Rejeski, a study co-author, said: “We knew, going in, that a number of studies had shown that exercise has positive effects on the brain. But what we showed in this brief training study of hypertensive older adults was that, as compared to exercise alone, adding a beet root juice supplement to

Surprising facts about anxiety include that it affects the sense of smell and balance, how we judge faces and perceptions of our personal space, and more… Anxiety can be crippling in excess, but it does exist for a good reason. Anxiety tells us we’re in danger and we need to do something. It was our anxious ancestors who prepared better for winter and made plans to fight off neighbouring tribes. The relaxed, laid-back guys never made it. But anxiety’s effects aren’t limited to motivation, they seep through the mind to

Women reported lower mood, self-control and energy. The most common form of the contraceptive pill lowers women’s wellbeing, new research finds. Women who took a combination of ethinylestradiol and levonorgestrel — a common combination — reported lower mood, self-control and energy. This was in comparison to a control group given a placebo. Dr Niklas Zethraeus, the study’s first author, said: “Despite the fact that an estimated 100 million women around the world use contraceptive pills we know surprisingly little today about the pill’s effect on women’s health. The scientific base

Psychologist challenges the orthodox view with evidence from studies conducted over 30 years. Single people are more likely to experience psychological growth and development than those who are married, a psychologist claims. This is just one perk of being single which is often ignored. Others include greater sociability and resilience. The conclusions come from surveying 814 studies conducted over 30 years. Dr Bella DePaulo, addressing the American Psychological Association’s 124th Annual Convention, said: “The preoccupation with the perils of loneliness can obscure the profound benefits of solitude. It is time

Some types of mind wandering may be highly beneficial to our brains, and our futures. Intentional daydreaming is linked to a thicker cortex (a good thing) in certain key areas of the brain, new research finds. Directing the mind to wander is a cognitive skill that can be beneficial in some contexts. For example, it can allow us to mentally rehearse upcoming events, or solve problems we might encounter. In other words, it allows the brain to work out possible futures for us. So, mind wandering is not always a

Plus: four ways the effect of this emotion on behaviour change can be increased. Fear really can change people’s behaviour, a new review of the research finds. It was thought that using fear might produce a backlash effect — but this is not the case. Women are particularly susceptible to behaviour change by fear. Appeals which evoke fear are frequently used in all sorts of messages aimed at the public. For example, fear is used to try and stop people smoking or to support certain political policies. It is perhaps

The common signs of anxiety disorders are both psychological and physical. Anxiety comes in many forms, but all the different types often have certain core features. Like many mental health problems, almost everyone experiences anxiety from time-to-time. Whether it is a problem all depends on the amount and nature of the anxiety. Everyday anxiety in response to stressful events is normal, but severe anxiety in response to relatively minor events can be seriously disabling. Bear that in mind when reading the signs of anxiety. For example, a lot of people

Better emotional control is linked to lower levels of depression and anxiety. The key to healthy emotional control is to be flexible, new research finds. People with lower levels of depression and anxiety tend to vary their emotional control strategy successfully depending on whether the situation can be explained. Dr Peter Koval, one of the study’s authors, said: “Our results caution against a ‘one strategy fits all’ approach, which may be tempting to recommend based on many previous findings regarding reappraisal as a strategy for regulating emotion. Simply using any

Thinking like a five-year-old can help you learn more in a new environment. Young children have one cognitive talent that most adults have forgotten. That is the ability to pay attention to everything. As adults we learn to focus our attention and block out distractions. But, sometimes being distracted means noticing and learning more. Professor Vladimir Sloutsky, study co-author, explained: “We often think of children as deficient in many skills when compared to adults. But sometimes what seems like a deficiency can actually be an advantage. That’s what we found