Tidy Or Messy Desk? According to research, disorderly environments (like an untidy desk) seem to inspire breaking free of tradition, which can produce fresh insights and creativity. Orderly environments, in contrast, encourage convention and playing it safe. Psychological Science, August 2013

The 9 Risk Factors of Young-Onset Dementia. A 37-year follow-up study found the major risk factors associated with young-onset dementia disease (dementia diagnosed under age 65) included alcohol intoxication, stroke, use of antipsychotics, depression, below average height, father’s dementia, drug intoxication, low cognitive function at 18 years of age, and high systolic blood pressure at…

Feeling Left Out? People who feel isolated are more inclined to make riskier financial decisions for bigger pay offs. The more often people felt excluded, the more they chose the longer odds for bigger lottery pay offs, took greater risks with their finances, bet on horse races, and gambled in casinos. In the absence of…

Live To Be 120? When people were asked whether they would want medical treatments to extend their lives by decades so they could live to be 120 or more, 56% of adult Americans aged 18 and over declined the offer. When asked how long they would like to live, 69% gave an answer of between…

Healthcare Incentives? When faced with paying higher health insurance premiums for not exercising, a study fount that 97% of enrollees met or exceeded a set fitness goal of 5,000 steps per day within one year. Behavioral Translational Medicine, May 2013

Optimism and Stress. A six-year study of 135 older adults (>60 years old) found that pessimistic people have a higher baseline level of stress and have a more difficult time handling stress than their more optimistic peers. Health Psychology, May 2013

Music and Pain. A research trial involving 42 children (3-11) found that those who listened to music during unpleasant procedures (such as administering an IV) experienced lower perceived pain levels and less discomfort. JAMA Pediatrics, July 2013

A Happy Marriage. People in happy marriages live less “in sickness” and enjoy more of life “in health.” Couples in positive marital relationships sustain health over the long run. Those with higher marital conflict are more likely to report poor health. The implication is that marital conflict is a risk factor for poor health. Couples…

Obsessed with Forbidden Pleasures. When individuals are forbidden from everyday objects, their minds and brains pay more attention to them. Obsession is not as strong if others are also denied. When an object is forbidden to a group, the allure of the object drops dramatically. This helps to explain why group diet programs can be…

Brian Health. A recent study recommends that doctors treating patients for type 2 diabetes also take cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors into consideration. The combination of type 2 diabetes and CVD can put patients at a higher risk for long-term cognitive dysfunction, even with CVD at subclinical levels. Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications, June…