Mindfully Healing

Organisations should adjust their policies if they care about their employee’s wellbeing. People who do not separate their work-life from their private life are killing their well-being, according to new research. Habits like checking and responding to work emails at home or taking the laptop on holiday were linked to lower wellbeing in the study. Those who mixed work and free time were less likely to engage in activities that would help them recover, like hobbies or sports. So they returned to work more exhausted and with a lower sense

Dementia risk reduced in 10 1-hour sessions — benefits seen 10 years later. A type of mental exercise has been linked for the first time to a reduced risk of dementia. The training is called ‘speed processing’ and involves identifying objects and their location on a screen. As people improve at this cognitive task, the software speeds up. The speed training was effective where more traditional memory and reasoning training had little effect on dementia. Professor Frederick W. Unverzagt, who led the study, said it was comparatively easy training: “We

Cool kids do everything to be popular in high school, but what happens to them after that? Teenagers who try to ‘act cool’ in early adolescence grow up to experience a range of problems in early adulthood, research finds. ‘Cool kids’ tend to do things like hang out with more attractive people, become romantically involved at an early age and engage in delinquent activity (smoking, drinking and petty crimes). However, by the age of 22, these ‘cool kids’ are rated as less socially competent than their peers. They were also

How coffee consumption is linked to both mental and physical health. Moderate coffee consumption is linked to reduced depression risk and lower levels of Parkinson’s and dementia, new research finds. Not only that, but the review of more than 200 studies found that drinking 3 to 4 cups of coffee a day is linked to many other benefits. These include lower levels of heart disease, reduced risk of some cancers, diabetes and liver disease. The study’s authors write: “Coffee consumption was consistently associated with a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease,

• Next article in this series: • Previous article: Mindfulness Meditation: 8 Quick Exercises That Fit into Your DayStudy finds least mindful people benefit most from a surprisingly small amount of meditation. A very brief meditation intervention — just 75 minutes spread over three days — can reduce the psychological reaction to stressful events. The conclusion comes from a study which also found that the short training session was most beneficial for those who were naturally the least mindful in their everyday lives (Creswell et al., 2014). Lead author, J.

The funniest sign of high intelligence. People who appreciate dark humour are likely to be more intelligent, research finds. Those who prefer twisted comedy also score higher on tests of emotional stability. To get twisted humour, it seems you need to be laidback and clever. The study’s authors write that dark humour is… “…a kind of humour that treats sinister subjects like death, disease, deformity, handicap or warfare with bitter amusement and presents such tragic, distressing or morbid topics in humorous terms. Black humour, often called grotesque, morbid, gallows or

Effects of the drug last up to five weeks on people who have not responded to other treatments. Psilocybin — the psychedelic component of magic mushrooms — ‘resets’ the brains of people with severe depression, new research finds. The small trial found that the positive effects of two doses of psilocybin lasted up to five weeks. The depressed people who took part in the study had tried all kinds of other treatments, and none had worked. Dr Robin Carhart-Harris, the study’s first author, said: “We have shown for the first

Some types of alcohol make people feel aggressive and confident, others make them feel relaxed. Different types of alcohol are linked to different emotions, a new survey about alcohol finds. Liquor makes people feel more aggressive, while wine is linked to feeling relaxed. Liquor (spirits) were linked in people’s minds to feeling energetic, confident and sexy. Like wine, beer was also linked to feeling relaxed. Professor Mark Bellis, who led the study, said: “For centuries, the history of rum, gin, vodka and other spirits has been laced with violence. This

Some children are at a higher risk of developing psychopathy. Boys with psychopathic tendencies report less desire to fit in with the laughter of other children, research finds. Unlike most children, and adults, boys at risk of psychopathy do not find laughter contagious. Brain scans also showed they had a lower response to the laughter of others. Professor Essi Viding, study author, said: “It is not appropriate to label children psychopaths. Psychopathy is an adult personality disorder. However, we do know from longitudinal research that there are certain children who

Despite being perceived as safe by the general public, herbal medicines actually carry considerable risks. St John’s Wort — a popular herbal treatment for depression — can have serious side-effects, research finds. These include dangerous changes in body temperature and blood pressure. The research compared the side-effects of St John’s Wort with those of fluoxetine — an antidepressant also known as Prozac, Animex-On, Sarafem, Adofen and Deprex. The side-effects of St John’s Wort were just as serious as for the antidepressant. These included: anxiety, panic attacks, dizziness, vomiting, amnesia and