No, the United States does not have the nicest people in the world, but it does pretty well with the number seven spot on a list of the most empathetic nations, as calculated by researchers at Michigan State University. A Michigan State news release reports that researchers analyzed the data […]
Attitude
Oxytocin For Body and Spirit
Oxytocin doesn’t just renew aging muscles, it can also renew your spirit. Researchers at Duke University have found that men reported a greater sense of spirituality shortly after taking oxytocin and a week later, and that people who took oxytocin also experienced more positive emotions during meditation. All good things. A […]
Meditation Improves Emotional Health
OK, perhaps it’s not all that surprising: meditation tends to level our emotions–in a good way. And according to researchers at Michigan State University, it does so even for people who are not particularly “mindful,” meaning those who don’t usually enjoy a moment-by-moment awareness of one’s thoughts, feelings and sensations. […]
Happy Spouse, Healthy You
It offers the same health benefit as exercise, but it’s a lot easier: keep your spouse happy. Researchers at Michigan State University who studied 1,981 married couples have found that people with happy spouses were much more likely to report better health, regardless of a person’s own happiness. A Michigan […]
What Is the Season of Divorce?
Good question. In fact, there are two seasons of divorce: March and August, the periods following winter and summer vacations.  We know that because researchers at the University of Washington analyzed divorce filings in Washington state between 2001 and 2015. A U of Washington news release reports that the findings suggest that […]
Unhappy At Work Can Mean Unhealthy At Home
Taking this job and shoving it may be good for your health–if you really hate the job to begin with. Researchers at Ohio  State University are convinced that job satisfaction in your late 20s and 30s has a real influence on overall health in your early 40s. How do they […]
Stressed? Make Some Art
Feeling stressed? Paint a picture, even a bad picture. Researchers at Drexel University are convinced that making art, pretty much any art, reduces the stress hormones in our bodies. Most of the time.  A Drexel news release reports that the researchers studied 39 adults, ranging from 18 to 59 years old, […]
Standing Desks Boost Productivity
Yes, standing desks help us burn more calories, and they also appear to improve our attention. Now comes a report from researchers at Texas A&M suggesting that standing desks also improve productivity. A Texas A&M news release reports that when researchers examined the productivity differences between two groups of call center […]
Yes, Women Really Are Nicer Than Men
Yes, Virginia, women really are nicer than men are. How to we know? Because when researchers at Stony Brook University ran a computational analysis of the words used by more than 65,000 Facebook users in 10 million messages, they found that the language used by women is warmer and more […]
A Better Predictor of Mortality: Well-Being
Sure, athleticism is swell, but researchers at the University of Chicago have some new ideas about the best way to describe health and well-being. A University of Chicago news release reports that the new “comprehensive model†of health and aging considers factors such as psychological well-being, sensory function, mobility and health behaviors, […]