A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
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 [...]
I bet there’s certain things kids say that grate on you. I bet there are slang terms that, quite simply, you don’t understand. Every now and then you’ll come across a helpful list of the latest “kids speak” like this one. Go on, read it. It’s brilliant. I’ll bet if you think back, [...]
Many negative effects of drinking, such as transitioning into heavy alcohol use, often take place during adolescence and can contribute to long-term negative health outcomes as well as the development of alcohol use disorders. A new study of adolescent drinking and its genetic and environmental influences has found that different trajectories of adolescent drinking are [...]
A SIMPLE idea underpins science: “trust, but verify”. Results should always be subject to challenge from experiment. That simple but powerful idea has generated a vast body of knowledge. Since its birth in the 17th century, modern science has changed the world beyond recognition, and overwhelmingly for the better. But success can breed complacency. Modern [...]
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 [...]
MOST people would agree that some drugs are worse than others: heroin is probably considered to be more dangerous than marijuana, for instance. Because governments formulate criminal and social policies based upon classifications of harm, a new study published by the Lancet on November 1st makes interesting reading. Researchers led by Professor David Nutt, a [...]
“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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
LARGE numbers of girls with high-functioning autism may be going undiagnosed because they have taught themselves superficial social skills, such as making eye-contact and smiling at the right time. Deakin University research psychologist, Alexandra Head, yesterday said data indicating four times as many boys as girls had high-functioning autism - such as Asperger syndrome - [...]
