Mental Health & Wellbeing

Schadenfreude: Rejoicing In Rivals’ Misfortune May Be Biological

Why is it that misfortune that befalls certain people can make us feel empathetic and wanting to help, while misfortune that befalls others can actually make us feel happy? A new study shows that Schadenfreude might actually be biological, and that who the misfortune befalls is a critical factor in how we react. via Schadenfreude: [...]

Why do haters have to hate? Newly identified personality trait holds clues

New research has uncovered the reason why some people seem to dislike everything while others seem to like everything. Apparently, it's all part of our individual personality – a dimension that researchers have coined "dispositional attitude." via Why do haters have to hate? Newly identified personality trait holds clues.

Traffic pollution tied to autism risk

Babies who are exposed to lots of traffic-related air pollution in the womb and during their first year of life are more likely to become autistic, according to a US study. The findings, which appeared in the Archives of General Psychiatry, support previous research linking how close children live to freeways to their risk of [...]

Put the books down and get active!

With the HSC in full swing in NSW, parents will be all too aware of how stressful a time this can be for teenagers.   Whether you believe it should be a stressful time or not isn’t the point of this post. The fact is that research reveals that approximately 40% of Year 12 HSC [...]

Mental illness and substance abuse top global causes of disability

Mental health problems and substance abuse cause the most disability and poor health across the world, according to a report published in The Lancet. A team of researchers looked at the premature mortality and the years lived with a disability for more than 200 diseases in 187 countries. Professor Harvey Whiteford, from the University of [...]

Housework is not always a healthy exercise alternative

Housework may not be as healthy as people think – and those who include domestic chores as part of an activity regime tend to be heavier, according to research by the University of Ulster Sports Academy. In the Sport NI survey, over 4,600 people were asked to rate the amount and intensity of their physical [...]

Researchers claim that sleep detoxes the brain

“Why do we sleep? To clean our brains, say US scientists,” The Guardian reports. A US research team, studying mice, has suggested sleep helps clear the brain of 'waste products’. Although sleep is an intrinsic part of our lives, scientists are still uncertain why a good night’s sleep makes us feel better or why lack [...]

Neuroplasticity Primer

With subjective experience new cells are incorporated into the brain and new circuits are created, altered, strengthened or weakened. The static view of the brain has been disproven and it is now known that the brain is very active—constantly changing connections and growing circuits, thought-by-thought, minute-by-minute and day-by-day. Many different brain mechanisms alter neuronal connections—in [...]

Teenagers Are Still Developing Empathy Skills

The teen years are often fraught with door-slamming, eye-rolling and seeming insensitivity, even by kids who behaved kindly before. Some parents worry that they're doing something wrong, or that their children will never think of anyone but themselves. New research shows that biology, not parenting, is to blame. In adolescence, critical social skills that are [...]

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