Mindfully Healing

Brain scans reveal that just a little of this personality trait boosts happiness. Even a small amount of generosity towards others makes people happier, psychological research finds. In fact, merely promising to be more generous is enough to trigger changes in our brain that lead to greater happiness. People in the study did not need to be extremely generous to see the benefits to happiness levels. Dr Philippe Tobler, one of the study’s authors, said: “You don’t need to become a self-sacrificing martyr to feel happier. Just being a little

30 years worth of research reveals that 50% of people benefit from this simple treatment. Sleep deprivation can rapidly reduce the symptoms of depression, 30 years of research suggests. Around half of people with depression who are sleep deprived under controlled, inpatient conditions feel better quickly. Many see improvements in just 24 hours, in comparison to the weeks it can take for antidepressants to start working. ‘Wake therapy’, as it is sometimes called, involves staying awake all night and the next day. Around 50% of people find their depression improves

Adults who grew up with this childhood personality trait earn more money now. People labelled ‘stubborn, defiant rule-breakers’ as children grow up to earn a higher income, a new study finds. The findings come from research carried out on almost 3,000 children in Luxembourg. The study looked at the children’s intelligence, socioeconomic status and family background, among other variables. Forty years later, 745 of those children were followed up to find out their educational and occupational achievements. The researchers were surprised to find that a more rebellious childhood nature was