Does hitting the snooze button really help you feel better?

"Bottom line: It's probably best to set your alarm for a specific time and get up then."

To sleep or to snooze? You probably know the answer, but you don't prefer it.

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Surprising Science

Mental health management is an under-appreciated life skill

Without a healthy mind, tackling the life's challenges becomes exponentially more difficult.

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  • Most people know about the importance of managing your finances or eating a healthy diet, but few pay as much attention to their mental health.
  • If we engage in bad habits, we might suddenly find ourselves confined to our beds by fatigue or up all night with anxiety.
  • Research has shown that these four activities are crucial to maintaining a healthy state of mind.
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Mind & Brain

New research shows that sleep helps determine your personality

The quality and duration of your nightly ritual helps define who you are.

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  • People who suffer from emotional instability tend to exhibit poor sleep duration, continuity, and subjective sleep quality.
  • Conscientious people report less variability in sleep duration and continuity.
  • The study suggests that how you sleep this week predicts your personality five years from now.
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Surprising Science

Losing sleep over rude colleagues? Build a 'psychological buffer.'

Your co-workers could be causing your insomnia.

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  • A new study has shown the reasons why incivility at work causes sleep problems such as insomnia.
  • Negative health problems associated with workplace stress include cardiovascular disease, negative mood, and increased blood pressure.
  • The researchers suggest creating a "psychological buffer" between you and your workplace through a variety of techniques.
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Surprising Science

Is acting hazardous? On the risks of immersing oneself in a role.

It's easy to imagine why people link Heath Ledger's death to his treacherous penultimate role.

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  • In 2008, actor Heath Ledger accidentally overdosed on sleeping pills and died, aged 28.
  • One myth that attached itself to Ledger's death was that it was somehow a result of immersing himself in the character of the Joker.
  • New research suggest that fully immersed actors "forget themselves" in the sense that they actively ignore facts about who they are, temporarily subordinating their own thoughts and feelings to those of their character.
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Mind & Brain