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Next time you twist your ankle, have menstrual cramps or are suffering another type of discomfort, try breathing slowly. Study volunteers who took in 50% fewer breaths per minute experienced significantly less pain when heat was applied to their palms than when they breathed normally, reports the journal PAIN. Research shows that breathing slow relaxes tense muscles and relieves anxiety—two factors that make pain sensations more intense.
[photo: slip]
Want your kids, spouse or co-worker to lend a helping hand? They’re more likely to pitch in if they see someone else being kind first—even if it’s on TV. In fact, the journal Psychological Science reports that volunteers who watched a segment of The Oprah Winfrey Show where musicians thanked their mentors spent twice as more time helping a research assistant afterward as those who viewed funny TV clips. The link? Seeing someone else do a selfless act creates the kind of warm and fuzzy feeling that makes us want act selflessly, too.
[photo: still wanderer]
According to a recent study in the journal PLoS ONE, we end up throwing away an astonishing 40% of the food from our fridge and cabinets, usually because they expire before we eat them. Luckily, there’s an easy way to make use of all your food before it goes bad: Log onto supercook.com and simply type in the ingredients you have in your kitchen. You’ll be given hundreds of links to easy recipes for soups, appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts that use all those items so they don’t go to waste.
[photo: carolyn.will]
Frustrated when friends and family don’t heed your wise words even though you know it will save them time, money and aggravation? The problem may be the way you’re delivering your advice. According to a new study in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, most folks tune out when you offer your opinion for or against a particular option because they feel like you’re making the decision for them. Yet, they’re all ears when you provide information about aspects of their options they may not have known about—for instance, that an appliance they’re considering purchasing is on sale at a nearby store or that a friend had a bad experience with a mechanic they were thinking of taking their car to. By sharing new facts, others still feel like they’re in control of making their decision, plus the extra information you give them makes them more confident about their choice.
[photo: laughlin]
Frustrated by a fussy toddler or pre-schooler who stays awake long past bedtime? Texas Tech University child development researcher Sybil Hart, Ph.D., says she has the answer: sing your child a soothing nursery rhyme while giving her a relaxing massage. In her new book, Lullaby Massage: Rhyme & Touch Massage for Infants and Children, she explains that this calming combo helps youngsters transition from the high-intensity energy of daytime to a more peaceful state so they can unwind and drift off more easily.
[photo: SantaRosa]
Before you fill out expense reports, draw up a budget or do other arithmetic-related tasks, nibble dark chocolate first. Its rich supply of flavanols increases blood flow to the brain, making it easier to do mentally demanding math problems. In fact, in a recent study out of the U.K.’s Northumbria University, folks did significantly better at counting backwards from 999 in threes and were less mentally exhausted by the math challenge on days when they drank a dark chocolate drink than on the days they skipped it.
Stick with a proper measuring tool—such as a measuring cap, dropper, dosing spoon or syringe—not a kitchen spoon. When former cold and flu sufferers were asked to pour one teaspoon of an over-the-counter syrup into a medium-sized kitchen spoon, most poured about 8% too little—and when using a larger kitchen spoon, they poured about 12% too much, reports the Annals of Internal Medicine. These miscalculations may not sound like a lot, but they can make a big difference. Even just a bit too little can make many medications ineffective, and, over several days, a tad too much might cause a dangerous overdose.
[photo: Muffet]
Screw in a red or blue light bulb! According to a new survey of 500 wine sippers, folks enjoyed a wine’s flavor and thought it tasted more than twice as sweet when there was red or blue lighting in the background than when there was white or green lighting behind them, reports the Journal of Sensory Studies. It may be that pleasant lighting makes us perceive what we’re drinking as pleasant, too, says study author Daniel Oberfeld-Twistel, Ph.D.
[photo: jessicamelling]
Are you and your guy trying to decide on a new set of sheets, blankets or PJs? If softness is a key factor, you’re better off going with what feels best to you. Turns out, women have a better sense of touch than men thanks to small fingers that have more closely spaced sensory receptors, which send more information to the brain, according to research out of McMaster University in Canada.
[photo: D. Sharon Pruitt]
Whether they’re riding bikes together, trying on makeup or just talking, a new University at Buffalo study shows that any time spent with pals distracts tweens and teens from eating out of boredom, a chief cause of childhood obesity.
Tip: To help your child make more friends, sign him or her up for after-school programs, free children’s events at your local library or youth groups at your house of worship.
[photo: hecotorir]
Want your partner to adopt a healthier lifestyle—such as doing more exercise or getting his or her blood pressure checked—without having to nag? Simply adopt these healthy habits first—your sweetie will likely follow, according to a recent study in the journal Health Services Research. In fact, this follow-me technique is so effective, the researchers found it works for even on hard-to-reach health goals, like quitting smoking and drinking.
[photo: thelastminute]
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