Mindfully Healing

Why Americans are getting unhappier and the 10 happiest countries in the world. Norway is the happiest country in the world, closely followed by Denmark and Iceland. The United States, though, has become 5% unhappier over the past 10 years, despite people earning more money. The trend in happiness is the reverse for most countries, which have become happier. The US came 14th on the list and the United Kingdom ranked 19th. Canadians lived up to their reputation by ranking at number 7 on the list, while Australia came 9th.

What would you do if repeatedly ordered to give a strong electric shock to a helpless stranger? The year 1963 saw the publication of what was to become one of the most famous psychology studies ever. Stanley Milgram’s ‘obedience’ experiments have become the stuff of legend. What his experiments found was that — when ordered to — 63% of people would give a potentially dangerous electric shock to a stranger. It was designed to show how easily human beings cow to authority. Now, Polish psychologists, repeating the study, have found

Over-thinking worriers enjoy this unexpected psychological advantage. High levels of creativity may go hand-in-hand with neuroticism, a new study finds. It’s because the area of the brain which is linked to creativity also has the tendency to over-think things and worry. Neuroticism is characterised by negative thinking in a range of areas. For a long time neurotic people were thought to have a heightened perception to threat. This doesn’t fit the facts, though, explains Dr Adam Perkins, the study’s first author, said: “…it’s pretty difficult to explain neuroticism in terms

A survey of 30,500 people in the UK across 4 years reveals dramatic mental and physical benefits. Improving sleep quality leads to dramatic mental and physical health benefits, new research finds. The boost from better sleep is equivalent to winning $250,000 on the lottery or taking an 8-week course in meditation. Quality of sleep is more important than quantity, the researchers also found. The conclusions come from a survey of 30,500 people in the UK across 4 years. The researchers also found that lack of sleep led to greater use

Study suggests way to achieve a more sophisticated understanding of any subject. Arguing with yourself can be a highly productive exercise, a new study finds. Imagining both sides of the argument helps people reach a deeper, more sophisticated understanding of the subject, the researchers found. Ms Julia Zavala, the study’s first author, said: “Envisioning opposing views leads to a more comprehensive examination of the issue. Moreover, it impacts how people understand knowledge — constructing opposing views leads them to regard knowledge less as fact and more as information that can

Six months later, 80% had recovered from depression, researchers found. Rumination — thinking about the causes and consequences of depressing events — is common in depression. However, simply realising that you don’t have to ruminate can be liberating, new research suggests. When people learned to reduce how much they ruminated, 80% had recovered after six months (including 10 weeks of therapy). Professor Roger Hagen, who led the research, said: “Anxiety and depression give rise to difficult and painful negative thoughts. Many patients have thoughts of mistakes, past failures or other