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Supporting Patient Autonomy Is Critical to Improving Health
Even as we spend more on healthcare every year, the number of people with chronic health problems continues to rise in developed countries like the United States. Most of these chronic health problems – such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease – can be addressed through lifestyle changes. But knowing that we should make a lifestyle change to improve our health and actually making that lifestyle change are two very different things.
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Stop acting on impulse
Times Higher Education: Research has shown that people can train their brains to become less impulsive. Psychologists at the universities of Exeter and Cardiff assessed whether asking people to refrain from certain movements while in a simulated gambling situation affected how reckless or cautious they were when betting. The results suggest that training people to inhibit their movements could boost or prime a system in the brain that regulates inhibition across a range of functions. The paper, published in the journal Psychological Science, suggests that more work on the topic could lead to treatments for addiction. Read the whole story: Times Higher Education
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Study Shows Moderate Alcohol Consumption Enhances Social Bonding
Essential Public Radio: The next time someone suggests going out for a drink, you may want to take them up on their offer because it could improve your friendship. A new study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh reveals moderate alcohol consumption in a social setting can increase positive emotions and decrease negative emotions while enhancing bonding among peers. According to researchers, previous alcohol studies tested the impact of alcohol on emotions of social drinkers while drinking in isolation.
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That’s the why
The Irish Times: Why is loneliness bad for your health? LONELINESS HAS been linked with increased risk of health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease in women and depression. It’s a complex area but research in the US looked at one possible aspect of why that might be: the effects of loneliness – perceived social isolation – on sleep. The study, which was published last year in the journal Sleep, involved 95 adults from the Hutterite community in South Dakota. ... The results echo a 2002 study in Psychological Science of college students, where again loneliness was linked with poorer sleep.
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Cursing kids: Are parents to blame?
The Sunday Telegraph: SONGS, the internet and television are full of it, but it seems it's mum and dad who make the rules on swearing. Kids are swearing earlier and more prolifically than ever before - and it is more to do with mimicking their parents than being influenced by the media. True, an increasing level of swearing is everywhere now - on the radio in the songs our kids sing along to and on the TV shows being aired at "family-friendly" times - but an ongoing US study is pointing the finger of blame at mums and dads. Early results have found that swearing starts as early as the age of two and has set in between three and four.
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Feeling Depressed? This May Be the Thing You Need to Feel Happier (Hint: It’s Not Money)
Glamour: If someone handed you a big pile of cash right this second, would you be happy? OK, I admit, I would hardly be weeping into my breakfast if this happened to me--but bear with my entirely-hypothetical example for a second, because a new study is showing that money doesn't actually seem to make people happier at all. But this does... It's respect (Aretha had it right all along!). According to a study in the journal Psychological Science, being respected and admired by your peers and colleagues will give you a greater feeling of happiness than having wealth or a higher socioeconomic status.
