Mindfully Healing

Insomnia is the most common complaint people have about their health. Insomnia is not just “all in your head”, neuroscientists have found. For the first time, seven risk genes have been identified for insomnia. This could be the first step in understanding the biological causes of insomnia. It helps to show that insomnia is not — as is sometimes claimed — just a psychological condition. Professor Van Someren, one of the study’s authors, said: “As compared to the severity, prevalence and risks of insomnia, only few studies targeted its causes.

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

This is the closest PsyBlog gets to toilet humour. Do you hang your toilet roll with the end of the paper hanging ‘over’ or with the end hanging ‘under’? According to a survey by Dr Gilda Carle, ‘over’ people are more assertive. Assertive people are more likely to be in leadership roles and to have a take-charge attitude, says Dr Carle. Those hanging the roll ‘under’ are more likely to be submissive. Submissive people tend to be more agreeable, flexible and empathetic, says Dr Carle. To create the toilet paper