Mindfully Healing

Don’t just contradict them — try a more radical approach. Extreme agreeing could be the answer to getting people to change their minds, psychological research suggests. The natural reaction when arguing with someone is to contradict them. However, showing people a very extreme version of their own deeply held opinions can make them think again. It seems that the absurdity of extreme agreeing helps to foster a rethink. I agree with you The study recruited 150 Israelis who were shown a video about the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The video did

The largest household panel survey reveals how parents raise happy children. Children grow up happier when their mother is happy in her relationship. Fully 73% of people whose mothers were ‘perfectly happy’ in their relationship say they are ‘completely happy’ with their family situation. This is just one of the factors in a family that predicts which children grow up to be happier. The others are: avoiding regular arguments and eating at least three evening meals together a week. Arguing more than once a week with parents was linked to

It’s an anxiety and depression symptom that doctors frequently don’t recognise. Feeling physically sick is a little-known sign of anxiety and depression, research finds. Many people — patients and doctors included — assume the cause of nausea is a physical problem, not a mental issue. However, people who go to the hospital with nausea are quite frequently found to be suffering from anxiety and/or depression. This study found that 41% of people complaining of nausea actually had an anxiety disorder and 24% were clinically depressed. Dr Tone Tangen Haug, the

Few people with depression are given a comprehensive plan by their health provider. Over 80% of people experiencing depression say exercise improves their mood and anxiety most of the time. Yet only around one-third actually reach the recommended exercise levels of at least 150 minutes per week. Unfortunately, around half of people find that low mood makes it difficult to get motivated to exercise. Dr Carol Janney, who led the study, said: “Physical activity has been shown to be effective in alleviating mild to moderate depression and anxiety. Current physical

The shrinkage is linked to developing Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia. Excess sugar in the diet could lead to brain shrinkage, a study suggests. A smaller brain is also linked to problems in old age, such as dementia. All of the 249 people in the study had blood sugar levels in the normal range. However, those with higher blood sugar levels were more likely to have less brain volume in key areas in the hippocampus (memory) and amygdala (emotion and cognition). Shrinkage in both of these areas is

Two personality traits are most strongly linked to walking quickly. Fast walkers are more likely to be extraverted, conscientious and open to new experiences. Naturally, though, with age, people tend to walk more slowly. However, those high in extraversion, conscientiousness and openness to new experience did not slow down as much as they got older. The study’s authors conclude: “This study provides robust evidence that walking speed in adulthood reflects, in part, the individual’s personality.” The results come from over 15,000 people between 25 and 100 years old. They were

How to get your brain to run more efficiently under stress. Writing about your feelings can help your brain work more efficiently, new research finds. For people who are chronic worriers, this method can help free up a lot of cognitive resources. Mr Hans Schroder, the study’s first author, said: “…it’s kind of like people who struggle with worry are constantly multitasking — they are doing one task and trying to monitor and suppress their worries at the same time. Our findings show that if you get these worries out

People slept better, awakened less in the night and felt better the next day. Opening the windows or doors before going to bed can improve sleep quality, new research finds. Both measures help to decrease levels of carbon dioxide and increase air quality. In fresher air, people sleep better, awaken less in the night and feel better the next day. The study’s authors summarise their results: “It has been shown that when bedroom air quality was improved in these experiments: Subjects reported that the bedroom air was fresher. Sleep quality

Are couples who are mismatched in physical attractiveness just as happy? Partners who get to know each other over time tend to differ more in physical attractiveness, a recent study finds. In contrast, couples who get involved with each other soon after meeting are often much closer in physical attractiveness. Professor Eli Finkel, who co-authored the study, explained: “This study shows that we make different sorts of decisions about whom to marry depending upon whether we knew the person before we started dating. If we start dating soon after we

The two surveys involved around 370,000 people in the UK. Being married brings people more lifelong happiness than being single, new research finds. The boost to happiness in being married also persists into old age. The positive effect of marriage is even stronger for those people who described their partner as their best friend. The findings were just the same for those people who lived together but were not actually married. Professor John Helliwell, study co-author, said: “Even after years the married are still more satisfied. This suggests a causal