If you want to live longer should you give alcoholism a try?
avy drinkers live longer than abstainers. Moderate drinkers fare the best. Via Time Magazine (Hat Tip: Joyce) But a new paper in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research suggests that — for reasons that aren't entirely clear — abstaining from alcohol does tend to increase one's risk of dying, even when you exclude former problem drinkers. The most shocking part? Abstainers' mortality rates are higher than those of heavy drinkers. And: But even after controlling for nearly all imaginable…
2 minutes
7 things you didn’t know about death:
car winners live longer -- unless they're writers. Rockstars really do live fast and die young. Famous people are more likely to die on their birthday. Lou Gehrig may not have died from Lou Gehrig's disease. The leading cause of death among pregnant women is homicide. Men are more likely than women to terminate a life-threatening pregnancy. Many car crashes are caused by drivers distracted by car crashes. Stop worrying about terrorist attacks and quicksand; voodoo curses on the other…
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Which personality types live to be 100?
ople who are extroverted, optimistic and easygoing. via Eurekalert: "When I started working with centenarians, I thought we'd find that they survived so long in part because they were mean and ornery," said Nir Barzilai, M.D., the Ingeborg and Ira Leon Rennert Chair of Aging Research, director of Einstein's Institute for Aging Research and co-corresponding author of the study. "But when we assessed the personalities of these 243 centenarians, we found qualities that clearly reflect a positive attitude towards life.…
1 min read
10 steps to getting better at absolutely everything:
bsp; I've been doing a number of research compilations lately and in case you missed anything, here are the best of the bunch: What 10 things should you do every day to improve your life? What 10 things should you do every *week* to improve your life? What are seven things that can make you happier in seven seconds? 7 steps to being a better person Is improving your life as easy as changing how you sit or stand? 5…
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Is dishonesty contagious?
o you hang out with does affect your ethical standards and, as is often the case, negative behavior influences us much more than positive behavior. Via The Boston Globe: If your mom warned you about running around with the wrong crowd, it turns out she may have been on to something: New research suggests that hanging out with immoral people can actually change your own standards for behavior. People who were made to relate to another person—whether by writing a…
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10 Things That Will Prevent You From Getting Sick, Backed By Research
ok at pictures of sick people. Via The Consuming Instinct: What Juicy Burgers, Ferraris, Pornography, and Gift Giving Reveal About Human Nature: Being exposed to photographs of individuals spreading their germs (e.g., via sneezing or coughing) is sufficient to elicit a boost in one's immunological defense system. It's legit. Here's the study he's referring to: An experiment (N = 28) tested the hypothesis that the mere visual perception of disease-connoting cues promotes a more aggressive immune response. Participants were exposed…
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What’s an easy way to increase attention span, relieve stress, reduce pain and feel better?
end time looking at nature. Via 100 Things Every Presenter Needs to Know About People: Mark Berman (2008) and a team of researchers had participants perform the backward digit-span task, which measures a person’s capacity to focus attention. Next, participants were asked to do a task that would wear out their voluntary attention. After that, some walked through downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan, and some walked through the city’s arboretum. The arboretum has trees and wide lawns (that is, it is…
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Improve Your Life: 10 Things You Should Do Every Day
) Get out in nature You probably seriously underestimate how important this is. (Actually, there's research that says you do.) Being in nature reduces stress, makes you more creative, improves your memory and may even make you a better person. 2) Exercise We all know how important this is,…
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