Is Stress Contagious? A new report finds that not only do babies pick up on their mother’s stress but their bodies will also mimic physiological changes. Researchers found that when mothers were stressed and then reunited with their infant, the child quickly adopted his/her mother’s stress response, including a corresponding change in heart rate. Lead…

Have You Noticed Any Changes in Your Memory? Dr. Erin Abner of the University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging asked 3,701 men ages 60 and up if they had noticed any changes in their memory since their last doctor visit. She found that the patients who reported on-going incidences of memory loss that affected…

Prevent Burnout. Burnout is described as a syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and job dissatisfaction. Teachers appear to be especially susceptible to burnout and this has resulted in poor classroom performance, more days missed from work, and high turnover rates in the profession. In this study, teachers were taught transcendental meditation and were followed for…

The Invisible Risk Group. Researchers studied 12,395 European teenagers ages 14-16 to identify which risky behaviors were linked to depression, anxiety, conduct problems, and self-destructive behaviors. Risky behaviors included excessive alcohol use, illegal drug use, inadequate sleep, sedentary behavior, and excessive time spent watching TV, on the computer, or playing video games. The researchers identified…

Online Courses for Stress Reduction? While mindfulness training in a 1-on-1 setting has been shown to be beneficial for reducing perceived stress, anxiety, and depression, researchers at the University of Oxford wondered if such training delivered via the internet would be as effective. A group of 273 participants completed an online mindfulness course that consisted…

Meditation Benefits. According to an analysis of 47 clinical trials involving over 3,500 patients, meditation offers benefits to people with depression, anxiety, and pain similar to antidepressant medications. The researchers behind the study also note that meditation does not have the potential negative side-effects of antidepressant drugs. JAMA Internal Medicine, January 2014

Green Spaces? Researchers have discovered that moving to greener areas can improve a person’s mental health over the long-term. During a 5-year study, people who moved into greener areas experienced an immediate improvement in mental health that persisted for at least three years. Those who moved to a more built-up area with less green space…

Smoking is a $289 Million Dollar a Year Burden! During the last half-century, 20 million Americans have died as a consequence of smoking and 16 million more continue to suffer from smoking-related conditions. The combined healthcare expenses and lost economic productivity that results from smoking-related illnesses costs the United States (US) about $289,000,000 each year.…

Be Positive! Young people with positive attitudes such as self-belief, aspiration, flexibility, and an appetite to learn were  associated with less hyperactivity, fewer emotional problems, fewer problems with fellow pupils, greater inclination to help others, were happier, and slept better. Think Forward, January 2014

Be Right or Be Happy? There’s an old saying, “Would you rather be right or be happy?” In a small experiment involving one married couple, researchers tested this adage by measuring the self-reported quality of life scores of both the husband and wife over time if the husband were instructed to always agree with every…