Taking pain relievers makes you more likely to take risks

Research from Ohio State finds that acetaminophen affects our emotions.

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  • Previous research has shown that acetaminophen dulls both our positive and negative feelings.
  • The new study finds that those taking the drug consider risks they've been presented as less scary.
  • Acetaminophen is an important everyday painkiller, so it's a good idea to factor in what it may be doing to our judgement.
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Harvard study suggests avoiding TV and daytime naps to avoid depression

The goal of this large-scale study was to provide actionable information on how to avoid depression or decrease depressive symptoms.

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  • Depression is a very common mental disorder, with more than 264 million people struggling with this issue worldwide. According to WHO, depression is a leading cause of disability.
  • Depression results from a complex interaction of social, psychological, and biological factors.
  • A new large-scale Harvard Medical School study suggests daytime napping and frequent television-watching may be negatively contributing to depression.
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Drugs: What America gets wrong about addiction and policy

Addiction is not a moral failure. It is a learning disorder, and viewing it otherwise stops communities and policy makers from the ultimate goal: harm reduction.

  • "Why are some drugs legal and others illegal? ... if you ask how and why this distinction got made, what you realize when you look at the history is it has almost nothing to do with the relative risks of these drugs and almost everything to do with who used and who was perceived to use these drugs," says Ethan Nadelmann.
  • In this video, Maia Szalavitz, public policy and addiction journalist; Carl Hart, professor of neuroscience and psychology at Columbia University; Ethan Nadelmann, founder of the Drug Policy Alliance; and Harvard University economist Jeffrey Miron dissect why American society's perceptions of drug addiction and its drug policies are so illogical.
  • Drug addiction is not a moral failure and the stereotypes about who gets addicted are not true. Policy that is built to punish drug users for their immorality only increases harm and death rates.
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A breakthrough in chronic pain relief

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen might have discovered a cure.

Photo by Jesper Aggergaard on Unsplash
  • A team at the University of Copenhagen discovered a peptide that cured mice of chronic pain with no side effects.
  • An estimated 7-10 percent of the world's population suffers from chronic pain.
  • The peptide, Tat-P4-(C5)2, previously showed signs of curing addiction in mice.
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    Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: Updated for the 21st century

    Rather than trekking up a mountain, a more accurate metaphor for human development involves navigating the waters of a choppy sea.

    • When we imagine Maslow's famous hierarchy of needs, we visualize a pyramid. This is all wrong, says humanistic psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman.
    • This is because life isn't a video game, where you unlock new levels until you reach the final prize of self-actualization. In fact, Maslow viewed human development as a two steps forward, one step back dynamic.
    • Kaufman rebuilt Maslow's hierarchy of needs, updating it for the 21st century with a solid scientific foundation. And a better metaphor for this is a sailboat.
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