Working on a important project on your computer? If you want to get it done on time, you might want to turn off the pop-ups that alert you when you get an email or IM. A new study out of the U.K.’s University [more…]
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mind hack
Nervous about a new class, singles meet-up, job interview or kayaking trip? You’ll become instantly braver when you watch a few minutes of your favorite sit-com on hulu.com, play with your pets, chat with a funny friend or do anything else that boosts your mood. A new study in the journal Psychological Science reveals that feeling upbeat makes you easily bored with the same-old same-old, which makes you more courageous about trying anything new!
[photo: wili_hybrid]
Feel like you’re too pooped to work out? It may not be your body that needs recharging—it could be your mind. In a British study, volunteers who were asked to do a mentally tiring task before riding a [more…]
When collecting donations for Haiti relief, the SPCA, your kid’s soccer team, church or another organization, try touching a potential donor on the arm or shaking their hand before you deliver your pitch. Gentle touch triggers a [more…]
The next time you’re in a crowded room, on a noisy street or in another place where it’s hard to make out what someone else is saying, there’s an easy way to hear more clearly: lean in with your right ear. It’s linked to the left hemisphere of your brain, which processes sounds in noisy environments and makes it easier to zero in on one specific sound from among many competing ones, reports the journal BMC Biology.
[photo: oOlemon]
Have you signed up for a knitting class? Heading to a seminar to learn how to start a small business? Being trained at a new job? Learning will be easier when you get plenty of rest beforehand. [more…]
The proof? Try this: While sitting, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles with it. Now, while doing this, draw the number “6” in the air with your right hand. Surprise— [more…]
“Do not disturb”! While most of us base our decisions on how well similar experiences turned out in the past, a new study out of the U.K.’s Bangor University shows that getting interrupted [more…]
Want your kids to clean up their room? Your mate to do the dishes? A coworker to help out more with a project? Before you ask, fill the room with a lemon, orange or pine scent, for instance, by lighting a scented candle, simmering citrus slices in a pan for 10 minutes, or spritzing your favorite scented room deodorizer. In a recent series of experiments, [more…]
Or “I’m blue”, “I’m frustrated”, “I’m stressed” or whatever negative emotions you’re currently experiencing. A recent brain imaging study out of UCLA shows that putting bad feelings into words nixes them by decreasing activity in the amygdala, an area of the brain that governs emotions. The result? You feel better instantly.
[photo: meddygarnet]
Can’t remember appointments or have trouble concentrating? Trying to solve a sticky problem or come up with an inventive redecorating idea? Certain colors can help! In a University of [more…]
