There comes a time in most of our lives when we feel lost, confused, and unsure of the next decision to make. During times like these, it’s important to have someone in your corner who can advise and guide you on your journey. It can often make sense to turn to...
People with more narcissistic personality traits watch these kinds of TV shows. People who watch more reality TV tend to have more narcissistic personality traits, new research finds. Those who watch more news programs, though, tend to have lower scores on a test of narcissism. Reality shows may simply draw more people who have vain and narcissistic traits. It could also be that the shows are contributing to people’s narcissism. Ted Dickinson, a study co-author, said: “I suspect the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Some people with narcissistic
People eating this diet felt more positive and were more likely to be flourishing. Eating raw fruits and vegetables is linked to better mental health, new research finds. People eating raw fruit and veg were at lower risk of depression and more likely to be flourishing and feeling positive about life. Raw bananas and apples were particularly beneficial, along with ‘salad fixings’. Just over 6 servings of raw fruit and vegetables provided the maximum benefit to mental health. Cooked, canned or processed fruits and vegetables were not linked to the
How clothing affects the empathy that other people feel towards us. Wearing less revealing and more comfortable clothing makes other people feel more empathy towards you, new research finds. However, when women in the study wore a short dress, heels and heavy make-up, it reduced how much empathy others felt towards them. The same was true whether it was a man or woman observing the other woman. When wearing comfortable trousers, a jersey, ballet flats and light make-up, others felt more empathy towards them. The results are likely because revealing
Is the overfilled lip popular among some female celebrities really the most attractive look? Many women are paying for cosmetic ‘enhancements’ to their lips that are making them less attractive, if new research is anything to go by. The overfilled upper lip may not actually be the most attractive look, a new study published in the journal JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery finds. Scientists at the University of California showed a series of pictures of women’s faces to 150 judges. Both the overall size of the lips and the ratio of
People look more attractive when gazing in this way. Looking directly at someone makes you more attractive to them, research finds. People were particularly attracted to opposite-sex faces that were looking at them and smiling. Dr Claire Conway, the study’s first author, said: “When asked to think of examples of attractive facial characteristics, most people think of physical traits such as healthy looking skin, symmetrical features or a strong jaw. Here we show that gaze direction can also be important for attraction.” People in the study looked at a series
How to improve the brain’s executive functions in only 25 minutes a day. Just 25 minutes of yoga or meditation a day is enough to boost all kinds of cognitive powers, new research finds. Both practices effectively improved the brain’s executive functions. This helps people control their habits, their emotions and how they set and complete goals. Dr Peter Hall, one of the study’s authors, said: “Hatha yoga and mindfulness meditation both focus the brain’s conscious processing power on a limited number of targets like breathing and posing, and also
Psychologists typically find that anxiety and depression share many overlapping symptoms. Instead of being ‘depressed’ and/or ‘anxious’, new research suggests five different types of depression and anxiety. The five are tension, anxious arousal, general anxiety, anhedonia — the inability to feel pleasure — and melancholia. Each type has its own particular symptoms and effects on the brain. The researchers describe the types as follows: 1. Tension This type is defined by irritability. People are overly sensitive, touchy, and overwhelmed. The anxiety makes the nervous system hypersensitive. 2. Anxious arousal Cognitive
Difficulties dealing with stress are linked to mental health problems. Smelling your partner’s clothes helps to reduce stress levels, new research finds. Women who smelled their partner’s t-shirt felt calmer afterwards. In comparison, those who smelled a stranger’s t-shirt experienced increases in the stress hormone, cortisol. Women may be particularly susceptible to the effect as their sense of smell is stronger than men. Ms Marlise Hofer, the study’s lead author, said: “Many people wear their partner’s shirt or sleep on their partner’s side of the bed when their partner is
People were shown happiness, fear, anger, disgust and surprise, as well as a neutral expression. The most attractive facial expression for a photo is any one you like. People judge facial attractiveness from your features, so your expression makes little difference to a photo. Smiling is often thought to be the most attractive facial expression, which is partly why most people smile in photos. However, this study finds otherwise. For the research, 128 people looked at a series of pictures of both men and women shown with different facial expressions.
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