The extraordinary effect of mindfulness on depression

Mindfulness practices can considerably improve the symptoms of depression and anxiety, especially when used with psychotherapy.

  • Being mindful of depressing thoughts disempowers them
  • Meditation becomes particularly powerful when it's combined with a cognitive therapy
  • Mindfulness and other meditations can work as well as pills but without the side effects
Keep reading Show less

How schizophrenia is linked to common personality type

Both schizophrenics and people with a common personality type share similar brain patterns.
  • A new study shows that people with a common personality type share brain activity with patients diagnosed with schizophrenia.
  • The study gives insight into how the brain activity associated with mental illnesses relates to brain activity in healthy individuals.
  • This finding not only improves our understanding of how the brain works but may one day be applied to treatments.
Keep reading Show less

Why drawing isn’t just an art

There's a growing understanding that drawing is much more than an art form: it's a powerful tool for learning.
  • We often think of drawing as something that takes innate talent, but this kind of thinking stems from our misclassification of drawing as, primarily, an art form rather than a tool for learning.
  • Researchers, teachers, and artists are starting to see how drawing can positively impact a wide variety of skills and disciplines.
  • Drawing is not an innate gift; rather, it can be taught and developed. Doing so helps people to perceive the world more accurately, remember facts better, and understand their world from a new perspective.
Keep reading Show less

Will Mars drive us crazy?

Traveling to Mars is going to be hard. Not going completely bonkers when we're there may be even harder.
  • Much of the global effort toward getting humanity to Mars focuses on the technical challenges of doing so, but researchers have paid less attention to keeping astronauts sane on the nearly year-long trip and afterwards.
  • Recent research has highlighted exactly how dangerous prolonged space travel will be for our mental health.
  • Before humanity can settle the Red Planet, we'll have to figure out a way to protect ourselves from the many stressors of life in space and on Mars.
Keep reading Show less

Objects in lucid dreams are perceived as real, study discovers

It's all about smooth pursuit.
  • While lucid dreaming, we use the same eye movement patterns as when we observe physical actions.
  • However, we use different eye patterns when we imagine movement.
  • Researchers believe this might help add to our understanding of consciousness.
Keep reading Show less