Mental Health & Wellbeing

Can Smoking Drive You Mad? Study Suggests It Might

"People with first episodes of psychosis were three times more likely to be smokers," said a statement from King's College London's Department of Psychosis Studies, which took part in the meta-analysis. "The researchers also found that daily smokers developed psychotic illness around a year earlier than non-smokers. "It has long been hypothesised that higher smoking [...]

Depression In Pregnant Mothers May Alter The Pattern Of Brain Development In Their Babies

Credit: © Tatyana Gladskih / Fotolia Depression is a serious mental illness that has many negative consequences for sufferers. But depression among pregnant women may also have an impact on their developing babies. Children of depressed parents are at an increased risk of developing depression themselves, a combination of both genetic and environmental [...]

Light-intensity Walk, Every 30 Minutes Could Increase Energy Levels

Standing desks may not be the answer. Photo: Rohan Thomson Are you sitting down right now? How long have you been sitting? If it's been longer than 30 minutes, you should probably stand up. Taking as few as 15 steps every 30 minutes could be the difference between feeling tired and sluggish and feeling energised [...]

The Psychology Of A Hug 

Credit: i.huffpost.com Common sense tells us that a hug is good for us. Now a new study confirms just how and why hugs are so beneficial. A study of 404 healthy adults by experimenters at Carnegie Mellon University examined the effects of hugs on the health of participants, particularly their susceptibility to developing the common [...]

Why Is Impulsive Aggression In Children So Difficult To Treat?

iStock Photo Maladaptive and impulsive aggression is explosive, triggered by routine environmental cues, and intended to harm another person, making it a significant challenge for clinicians, family members, and others who interact with affected children and adolescents. Efforts to develop effective treatments would benefit from better descriptive and quantitative methods to characterize this [...]

New Study Shows Emotional Cost For Parents Who Put On A Happy Face For Their Children

iStock Photo How do parents feel when they regulate their emotional expressions in ways that do not match their genuine feelings? Recent research suggests that parents' attempts to suppress negative and amplify positive emotions during child care can detract from their well-being and high-quality parent-child bonds. The findings were published in the March [...]

New Study Finds Our Desire For ‘Like-minded Others’ Is Hard-wired

Credit: Amanda Summerlin A path-breaking new study on how we seek similarity in relationships, co-authored by researchers at Wellesley College and the University of Kansas, upends the idea that "opposites attract," instead suggesting we're drawn to people who are like-minded. The study could lead to a fundamental change in understanding relationship formation—and it [...]

How Junk Food Primes The Brain’s Food-Seeking Behaviour

Credit: Maliz Ong/public domain The current epidemic of obesity in developed countries should be a warning for health officials in the developing world with newly opened markets. Food manufacturers, restaurant franchising companies, food supply chains and advertisers collaborate to create environments in which extremely palatable, energy-dense foods and their related cues are readily [...]

Calls For Ban On Eyeball Tattooing As Procedure Regulated In NSW

PHOTO: A man shows off his body art, including eyeball tattoos, at a tattoo festival in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2014. (Flickr: Augusto dos Santos) The Baird Government has been criticised for recently regulating the practice of eyeball tattooing, as the New South Wales Opposition calls for a ban on the procedure. The [...]

Friendships Start Better With A Smile

Shutter stock If you want to strike up a new relationship, simply smile. It works because people are much more attuned to positive emotions when forming new bonds than they are to negative ones such as anger, contempt or sadness. Don't try to fake it, however, because people can recognize a sincere smile [...]

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