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Want to stay well? Try meditation: Study claims it boosts our minds and immune systems
The Daily Mail: Meditation can boost our immune system and improve our mental health according to scientists. Researchers from Harvard University and Justuc Liebig Univeristy discovered that the ancient religious tradition has various health benefits and can be used as an effective clinical treatment. Key findings, published in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science, revealed that meditation can lead to an improved immune function, reduced blood pressure and enhanced cognitive function. But now experts say that the research, based on existing scientific literature, proves it is more than a vague remedy and has important health implications. Read the whole story: The Daily Mail
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Are you lonesome tonight? If the answer’s yes, you might sleep badly
The Daily Mail: If you find yourself unable to sleep through the night, there could be a simple explanation: you’re lonely. A study has found that people who feel cut off from their family and friends have more trouble sleeping – and the lonelier they feel, the more they toss and turn. Researchers at the University of Chicago in the U.S. asked about 100 people to wear devices that kept track of how well they slept. The participants answered questions about their general health, as well as how often they felt left out or isolated. Being lonely did not seem to affect the amount of time spent asleep – but those who felt the most cut off had the most ‘fragmented’ sleep.
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Mindfulness is the best antidote to stress
Zee News: Washington: The best antidote to stress is mindfulness, existing in the here and now, not in the past or future, suggest meditation gurus. Researchers have now drawn a framework of four key components to help explain these positive effects. Mindfulness, an essential part of Indian yoga traditions, has entered the mainstream as people try to find ways to combat stress and improve their quality of life. It is suggested the meditation can have benefits for health and performance, including improved immune function, reduced blood pressure, and enhanced cognitive function. But how is it that a single practice can have such wide-ranging effects on well-being?
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Decoding the Brain’s Cacophony
The New York Times: ST. HELENA, Calif. — The scientists exchanged one last look and held their breath. Everything was ready. The electrode was in place, threaded between the two hemispheres of a living cat’s brain; the instruments were tuned to pick up the chatter passing from one half to the other. The only thing left was to listen for that electronic whisper, the brain’s own internal code. The amplifier hissed — the three scientists expectantly leaning closer — and out it came, loud and clear. “We all live in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow submarine ....” “The Beatles’ song! We somehow picked up the frequency of a radio station,” recalled Michael S.
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Happiness Associated With Longer Life
Science: Happy people don't just enjoy life; they're likely to live longer, too. A new study has found that those in better moods were 35% less likely to die in the next 5 years when taking their life situations into account. The traditional way to measure a person's happiness is to ask them about it. But over the past few decades, psychologist and epidemiologist Andrew Steptoe of University College London (UCL) says, scientists have realized that those measures aren't reliable. It's not clear whether they "assess how they're actually feeling or how they remember feeling," he says.
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Förderliche Neugier
ScienceBlogs: Neugier ist lästig ("Lass mal sehen, was du da hast"), Neugier ist störend ("Was schreibst du gerade?"), Neugier ist indiskret ("Weißt Du, warum der M. neuerdings immer so früh nach Hause geht?") Kein Wunder also, dass "sei nicht so neugierig" zu den häufigeren erzieherischen Ermahnungen gehört. Pandoras Neugier brachte alles Übel unter die Menschen, und auch in der Bibel wird Neugier generell harsch bestraft, sei es die Neugier Adam und Evas auf die Frucht vom Baum der Erkenntnis, sei es die Neugier von Lots emahlin bei der Flucht aus Sodom.
