Games Calm Kids Before Surgery. Playing video games may help calm anxious children before surgery. Investigators assessed 112 children about to have surgery that required general anesthesia. The children were either given a sedative or a tablet device to play games on about 20 minutes before receiving anesthesia. The investigators found that children in both…

Unhappy Relationships May Drive Suicidal Thoughts. Being in a relationship does not always protect people from having suicidal thoughts. A study of 382 Austrian adults found that middle-aged people who were unhappy in an existing relationship with unresolved relationship conflicts were more likely to have suicidal thoughts than those not in a present relationship. The…

Bigger Brain & Blood Flow Involved in Evolution of Human Intelligence. Australian researchers are challenging the long-held theory that human intelligence evolved from bigger brains alone. The researchers analyzed the size of two holes in the base of fossil skulls and found that while brain size increased about 350% during the course of human evolution,…

Body Acceptance Improving Among Women. Women in the United States today seem more satisfied with their weight than American females from 30 years ago. A review of more than 250 studies found that women’s dissatisfaction with body weight declined significantly between 1981 and 2012. Study author Dr. Bryan Karazsia adds, “In the past few years,…

Using Smartphones to Improve Mood. An international study has found that smartphone-based psychotherapeutic exercises can improve one’s mood. In the study, participants were able to choose from different psychotherapeutic exercises lasting five minutes each. For example, some subjects recalled emotional experiences, while others repeated short sentences or number sequences in a contemplative manner, or played…

The Brains of Preterm Babies Benefit from Breast Milk. Premature infants who are fed breast milk within their first 28 days of life have better brain development than those without access to breast milk. Investigators followed 180 preterm infants from birth to seven years old and found a link between increased breast milk consumption during…

Stressed Dads May Affect Their Kids’ Development. When fathers are stressed out about parenting, it may take a toll on their children’s development. In a study that included 730 families, researchers found that sons were more likely to have poorer language skills at age three when their fathers had high levels of stress associated with…

Going to Church Lowers Suicide Risk Among Women. According to a new study, after reviewing 15 years of data concerning 89,708 women, those who attended a religious service one or more times per week had a five times lower risk of suicide than women who never attended service. The authors of the study conclude, “Our…

Depression Strikes Nearly 3 Million Teens Yearly. According to a new government report, almost three million American teens experienced a major bout of depression in 2014. Dr. Paolo del Vecchio, the Director of the Center for Mental Health Services at the United State (US) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration adds, “Adolescence is a…

Declining Brain Health Linked to Increased Risk of Critical Illness. Mayo Clinic researchers report that seniors with mild cognitive impairment are 50% more likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) to treat a serious illness than their peers with no apparent signs of cognitive decline. Critical Care Medicine, July 2016