Mindfully Healing

The treatment also has no side effects. Ten minutes of mindfulness meditation could be an effective alternative to painkillers, new research finds. The quick meditation session was enough to reduce anxiety about pain and increase both pain tolerance and threshold. The results come from a study of 24 healthy young people. Half meditated for 10 minutes while the other half just sat quietly. Then they plunged their hands first into warm water and then into ice water for as long as they could. Dr Osama Tashani, the study’s first author,

How to identify autism before 18 months of age. Autism is not usually diagnosed before two-years-old. However, the subtle warning signs can be seen even earlier — perhaps before the age of 18 months. The earlier a child is diagnosed with autism, the quicker the treatments can begin. The five early warning signs of autism are: More limited and repetitive play, less name response, less social smiling, less babbling, limited gesture use. Before one-year-old it is difficult to spot any of these signs. But between 12 and 18-months, it is

Greater brain activity seen in the prefrontal cortex, an area vital for the brain’s higher functions. Making art activates the brain’s reward pathways, new research finds. Doodling in particular boosts the blood flow through the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex (above the eyes) is the area of the brain linked to regulating our higher functions like our thoughts, feelings and actions. The study had both artists and non-artists either doodling, free drawing or colouring between the lines. For artists, doodling was linked to slightly higher levels of brain activity. Dr

The emotion helped people make healthier choices. Curiosity is a powerful way to motivate people, research finds. It can even help people make healthier choices. Across four experiments, researchers found that people’s curiosity encouraged them to take the stairs and eat more healthily. Dr Evan Polman, the study’s first author, said: “Our research shows that piquing people’s curiosity can influence their choices by steering them away from tempting desires, like unhealthy foods or taking the elevator, and toward less tempting, but healthier options, such as buying more fresh produce or