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People Rationalize Situations They’re Stuck With, But Rebel When They Think There’s An Out
People who feel like they’re stuck with a rule or restriction are more likely to be content with it than people who think that the rule isn’t definite. The authors of a new study, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, say this conclusion may help explain everything from unrequited love to the uprisings of the Arab Spring. Psychological studies have found two contradictory results about how people respond to rules. Some research has found that, when there are new restrictions, you rationalize them; your brain comes up with a way to believe the restriction is a good idea.
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Meditation improves the immune system, research shows
The Telegraph: The practice - an essential part of Buddhist and Indian Yoga traditions - has entered the mainstream as people try to find ways to combat stress and improve their quality of life. Now new research suggests that mindfulness meditation can have benefits for health and performance, including improved immune function, reduced blood pressure and enhanced cognitive function. The study, published in the latest issue of the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science, draws on existing scientific literature to attempt to explain the positive effects. Read the full story: The Telegraph
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Five sex myths busted
Cleo Magazine: Men think about sex more than women. Men want more sexual partners than women do. Would you bet your morning latte that these statements are true? If so, you might have to say goodbye to your hot cup of caffeine. A study by a group of US psychologists has found these beliefs, plus three other common sex myths, aren't necessarily true. Prepare to have your mind blown (a poor choice of words, perhaps? But we're gonna go with it) as we debunk five commonly held beliefs about sex. Myth #1: Men look for sexy, women look for status Evolutionary logic would have us believe that men want physically phenomenal partners who will provide them with physically phenomenal offspring.
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Happy? You may live 35% longer, tracking study suggests
USA Today: No, it's not that simple, but new research says happy lives are longer — by 35%. The study, published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that those who reported feeling happiest had a 35% reduced risk of dying compared with those who reported feeling least happy. Rather than rely on recollections about their feelings of happiness as in earlier studies, this British study of 3,853 participants ages 52-79 rated their feelings at different times on one particular day. Five years later, researchers recorded the number who died and controlled for a variety of factors, including age, gender, health, wealth, education and marital status.
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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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Should you quit taking vitamins?
Yahoo News UAE: I'm a big fan of vitamins. And judging by the size of the vitamin and supplement industry - $20 billion in annual sales, a quarter of that in multivitamins - so are you. Pop one pill and you get a day’s worth of nutrients. What’s not to love? Well, there is this: A recent study in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that taking multivitamins and other supplements may actually shorten your life. Uh-oh. Researchers in the study collected information from nearly 40,000 women (but say the findings apply to men too) several times over 22 years. They asked about all sorts of health issues, including vitamin and supplement use.
