Another reason to move around–not a shock: Exercise May Boost Men’s Sexual Prowess. [M]en who were moderately active — walking briskly just 30 minutes a day, four days a week, or the equivalent — were about two-thirds less likely to have sexual dysfunction than their sedentary counterparts.
A study seems to show that a sense of humor helps keep you alive longer. However… “There is reason to believe that sense of humor continues to have a positive effect on mental health and social life, even after people have become retirees, although the positive effect on life expectancy could not be shown after
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From ScienceDaily: Drug Induces a Memory of Safety in Rat Brains. Researchers have found a way to pharmacologically induce a memory of safety in the brain of rats, mimicking the effect of training. The finding suggests possibilities for new treatments for individuals suffering from anxiety disorders.
From PsychCentral: Habitual Meditation Reduces Pain Perception. “…Meditation trains the brain to be more present-focused and therefore to spend less time anticipating future negative events. This may be why meditation is effective at reducing the recurrence of depression, which makes chronic pain considerably worse.”
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For pain, it’s the adenosine: Once scientists recognized adenosine’s role, the team explored the effects of a cancer drug called deoxycoformycin, which makes it harder for the tissue to remove adenosine. The compound boosted the effects of acupuncture treatment dramatically, nearly tripling the accumulation of adenosine in the muscles and more than tripling the length
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From ScienceDaily, a portrait of the chemistry of the angry brain. Summed up: When we get angry, the heart rate, arterial tension and testosterone production increases, cortisol (the stress hormone) decreases, and the left hemisphere of the brain becomes more stimulated.
For Memorial Day, some progress amidst the generally sobering veteran’s mental health news: Exposure therapy using virtual reality appears to be more effective for alleviating symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than traditional treatment among members of the military who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan, researchers said here. Here, a longer, older New Yorker
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From telegraph.co.uk: Happiness begins at 50 claims new research. Variables such as having young children, being unemployed, or being single did not affect age-related patterns of well being. The research showed that levels of stress, worry and anger all dropped significantly in the fifties and levels of happiness and enjoyment increased. Rather listen than
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From Web MD, a study showing that, with or without meds, increased face-to-face time with health care staff can result in decreased depression. About 30% of patients on placebo who were given one screening test per visit showed mood improvements on a commonly used scale known as the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. In contrast, about
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From the Los Angeles Times: A Botox gap in understanding emotion: Not only do our facial expressions reflect our emotional ups and downs, they appear to send crucial feedback to our brain, suggests a growing body of research. Without that full feedback loop, our ability to understand — and be understood — might be constrained.
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