Mindfully Healing

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

Common drugs can give you a 5% better chance of winning at chess. Caffeine, modafinil and Ritalin can all make you better at chess, new research finds. The study shows that cognitive enhancers like these can boost performance even when someone is not tired. For the study 39 male chess players were given either caffeine, modafinil, Ritalin or a placebo. They then played time-limited games of chess against a powerful programme. Professor Klaus Lieb, who led the study, said: “We were surprised to see that players on the drugs played

People in the study slept better and their memory was boosted. Special sounds during sleep can improve sleep and boost memory, new research finds. The gentle sounds were timed to coincide with natural ‘brain waves’: the waves of electrical activity in the brain. People in the study were able to recall 26% more words they had learned after being exposed to the sounds during sleep. Dr Phyllis Zee, a study author, said: “This is an innovative, simple and safe non-medication approach that may help improve brain health. This is a

Make others empathise more with this really strange method. Having people touch rough sandpaper makes them more empathetic, a new study finds. Being in a small amount of discomfort helps people empathise with others in pain. Other ways of putting people in a small amount of discomfort may also work in a similar way. The study was looking at ways to increase donations to charity. Dr Chen Wang, the study’s first author, said: “We found that when people were experiencing mild discomfort as a result of touching a rough surface,

The probiotic buffered the body against the damaging effects of stress. Depression has been reversed in mice by feeding them probiotic bacteria, new research reports. Lactobacillus is a type of ‘good’ bacteria found in yogurt, among other foods. The role of the gut microbiome — the bacteria which live in our gut — has become a focus of research interest recently. Dr Alban Gaultier, who led the study, said: “The big hope for this kind of research is that we won’t need to bother with complex drugs and side effects