Mindfully Healing

Some foods can keep your brain young. Blackberries, blueberries and strawberries all reduce cognitive decline related to age, research finds. All three fruits contain high levels of flavonoids. Flavonoids are powerful antioxidants that can also help reduce inflammation in the brain and body. The research was carried out on data from 121,700 women, who were followed up over decades. Dr Elizabeth Devore, the study’s first author, said: “As the U.S. population ages, understanding the health issues facing this group becomes increasingly important. Our study examined whether greater intake of berries

Certain hairstyles made people look more sexy, others more good-natured or even more narrow-minded. Medium-length casual-looking styles are judged as making women look more intelligent, a survey finds. These styles are also linked to being good-natured. Shorter, highlighted hairstyles on a woman make them look more outgoing and confident. However, in one of those inevitable and irritating trade-offs, shorter hair is seen as less sexy on women. The hairstyle that gives an intelligent sheen to a man was medium-length side-parted hair. The bad news for men with these haircuts is

The most well-known effect of this drink confirmed by research. Alcohol produces the neural and molecular changes of a rapid antidepressant, new research concludes. The drug lifts depression for up to 24 hours due to its effect on the brain’s chemistry. Naturally, the study’s authors were quick to warn against self-medication. Dr Kimberly Raab-Graham, the study’s first author, said: “Because of the high comorbidity between major depressive disorder and alcoholism there is the widely recognized self-medication hypothesis, suggesting that depressed individuals may turn to drinking as a means to treat

Sleep pattern lowered levels of an antioxidant that helps fight cellular damage, such as that caused by Alzheimer’s. Sleep disruptions similar to jet lag could cause memory problems linked to Alzheimer’s disease, new research finds. It’s well-known by scientists that there’s a link between Alzheimer’s and sleep, but not what causes what. Professor Gregory Brewer, who led the research, said: “The issue is whether poor sleep accelerates the development of Alzheimer’s disease or vice versa. It’s a chicken-or-egg dilemma, but our research points to disruption of sleep as the accelerator

Brain scans of four different types of depression could aid in the diagnosis and treatment of the condition. Four types of depression have been newly identified by researchers using brain scans. The brain scans revealed distinctly different types of brain activity in each sub-type. The finding may eventually lead to treatments targeted to the particular sub-type of depression. Dr. Conor Liston, who led the research, said: “The four subtypes of depression that we discovered vary in terms of their clinical symptoms but, more importantly, they differ in their responses to

“Where words leave off, music begins.” ― Heinrich Heine Beautiful but sad music can help improve mood when people are feeling blue, research finds. For the study 220 people recalled something depressing that had happened to them. They then recalled what type of music they had listened to afterwards. Choosing beautiful but sad music emerged as the only strategy that people thought had cheered them up. Dr Annemieke van den Tol, the study’s first author, explained the results: ”We found in our research that people’s music choice is linked to

The drink was linked to shrinkage in the hippocampus, an area critical for memory and other mental functions. Even moderate levels of alcohol consumption are linked to long-term brain damage and declines in mental skills, new research finds. Moderate alcohol intake means around 14 to 21 UK units per week (in the US this is between 7 and 10 ‘standard drinks’, which are 12 oz of beer, 5 oz of wine etc.). The study also found no support for the idea that low levels of alcohol intake are beneficial for

If you want to run more, use social comparison as motivation. Running is socially contagious, new research finds. Data from 1 million runners collected over five years suggests that the running bug spreads from person to person. Just knowing other people who run is enough to boost your motivation, it seems. Professor Sinan Aral, a study author, said: “Knowing the running behaviors of your friends as shared on social networks can cause you to run farther, faster, and longer.” The study’s authors write: “On the same day, on average, an

Only one personality trait is changed when people drink. Alcohol has much less effect on people’s personalities than they imagine, new research finds. Only extraversion — how outgoing you are — changes when you are drunk. People become more assertive, gregarious and move around more when drinking. However, people think that all their personality traits change when they are drunk compared with when they are sober. Dr Rachel Winograd, the study’s first author, said: “We were surprised to find such a discrepancy between drinkers’ perceptions of their own alcohol-induced personalities