Tag: research

Is it good to listen to music at work?

I am on your side. (EXPLORED! #65, Aug 9, 2011)There’s one thing you notice whenever you come back from camping. The noise.

In the car, the shops, the gym: the beat of a drum, the strum of a guitar, the sound of synth – it can feel like we live world of tunes. Arrive at work and what do we do? Turn the radio on or put the headphones in. A survey published last year showed that UK office workers spend a third of their working week listening to music. Why? We use music as a stress relief; to improve concentration or to trigger inspiration.

Let’s cast a scientific eye and find out when listening to music at work really is good or bad… Read more

New Research says: Men Think About Sex More Often Than Women. Really?

Kiss No. 2If you want to do some headline-grabbing research it doesn’t get much better than this. Recent research published in the Journal of Sex Research (yes, I was surprised it existed as well) from the University of Ohio tries to give the most accurate-to-date answer to the age old stereotype of whether men really think about sex more than women.

In a slightly more risque blog post that normal (I don’t particularly want to be found on Google searches relating to ‘sex’, for obvious reasons), It nevertheless seemed important to explore such a relevant issue – well, a friend asked me to comment on said research – so that’s good enough.

Sex researcher Terri Fischer (with the help of two obliging students) concluded that men do think about sex more than women – but not by much. If her results are to be believed, it’s a far cry from the claim that ‘men think about sex every seven seconds’. Intriguingly, she also concludes that there are some factors that make women more likely to have erotic preoccupations… Read more

What’s the best month to be born?

It’s nice to feel special.

Free Girl Holding Fun Pink Happy Birthday Balloons Creative CommonsAstrologers would say your birth month dictates your personality, temperament and chances of future success. Clearly, that’s a load of tosh and designed to make us feel special. However, my wife’s recent remark that ‘all the best people are born in June’ got me thinking. True, she does share her birth month with Donald Trump, George Orwell and Prince William – but surely that’s down to chance. Or is it?

For a long time it has been said that children born in different seasons are more or less susceptible to certain illnesses. Experts have usually cast a wary eye, sceptical of such an absurd notion. Such a suggestion reeks of star signs, planetary alignments, and other such astrological mumbo-jumbo.

However, Virgo’s scales are tipping in favour this idea. Whilst not predicting who your future love, or whether you should turn up for work today, your birth month may dictate your long-term health, your height and ultimately, how long you will live… Read more

“Don’t Blame Me Officer! I was Sleep-Driving…”

In a world of silly excuses for lousy driving, this just about tops the list.

Gimme a break
Busted!
‘Sleep Driving’ isn’t about getting pulled over for driving your Ford Capri drunk. Nor is it taking to the road in a sleep-deprived haze. As improbable as it sounds, ‘sleep driving’ is navigating your gasoline-powered auto whilst completely away-with-the-fairies asleep.

Increasingly, sleep driving has been recognised as a real and dangerous condition by police. Reported most often in The United States, and getting some high profile news coverage, some suggest it’s another quack condition concocted by creative lawyers.

I would wholeheartedly disagree. Sleep driving does happen – but not like how it has been reported in the media. It does seem to happen most often in the USA. No one knows why, but I’d guess it has a lot to do with the wide highways and automatic cars our American friends like to drive… Read more

Behind the Headlines: ‘9/11 Counselling Drives People Mad’ – Is this Tabloid Journalism at its Worst?

September 11, 2001Where were you when the Twin Towers came down? Most of us can remember.

The terrorist attacks of September 11 stirred nations to war; triggered a decade of ‘Islamophobia’– and some even say – unified the people of USA. It has been the most televised and reported event in modern history.

In the hours and days following 9/11, thousands of counsellors travelled to New York to offer support for the traumatised. Although well-intentioned, were these psychologists actually doing more harm than good?

The Daily Mail recently reported that ‘[post trauma] therapy can drive you mad’. You can read their article here. Most people won’t be able to access the 7,000 word research paper they claim to report (without paying twelve bucks). So, if you’d like to know the truth behind the headline, read on… Needless to say, this is tabloid spin at its finest… Read more

Is being Self-Employed good for your Health?

1of365Working for yourself will make you happier, more satisfied and more productive.

These are the surprising conclusions of over two decades of life-satisfaction research – Which is rather odd; considering that being your own boss means no health insurance, no pension and no end of the month office party (!!)

With increasing pressure on salaried jobs and ever-diminishing public-sector pensions, many more of us could be looking at self-employment. But can longer hours, increased responsibility and more stress really be for everyone? Surely, having to do the company accounts when your friends are watching the Grand Prix is going to take a psychological and physiological toll…?

Taking a speedy look through the most current research, today’s post might help you find out whether driving solo is really good for you and your health… Read more

“Your Science Reporting Truly Sucks…” – The Editor’s ‘Apology’

It’s not just tabloids that are having their pants pulled down at the moment. Medical journals are too.

Sorry, We're Open by marsupialrobotA few weeks the BJGP – Europe’s leading general practice journal – heralded apparently ground-breaking research on the benefits of acupuncture. On closer inspection, the research was poorly constructed, drew dubious conclusions and biased in extremis.

I wrote an outraged letter, complaining of how such a ‘peer-reviewed’ periodical could promote such utter tosh as ‘ground breaking research’. Two months have passed and the editors have had the humility to publish not just my correspondence, but that of nine others(!) Clearly I wasn’t the only one hacked off.

To readers, the deconstruction and utter lambasting from doctors, professors and lay-readers was conclusive. It’s was a shame then that the editor’s ‘response’ was so utterly lacklustre… Read more

New Research Asks: Could you hack a night shift?

Just too tired by fmgbainIt’s 5 am and you feel like death. Eight hours down and you’ve still got four more to go. With a mind like sludge, a phone rings and you need to sound attentive and informed. This isn’t going to be easy.

Me – I hate night shifts. Hours of dark, unrewarding loneliness accompanied with the odd things your digestive system does at four in the morning. Finishing means collapsing into bed utterly exhausted as the rest of the world enjoys their Cheerios. It is strange experience. Even stranger, is that so many people actually love working at night.

Some people must be better at it than others. Researchers from Bergen, Norway – a country known for very long, dark winters – compiled over 30 years of research to find out what makes a true ‘night worker’. Could this be you? Read on, to see if you are built to work the night shift… Read more

Save the Planet by… Becoming a Vegan! Do I really have to?

Veganism – it’s just something for middle-class ‘hippies’ right? Vegans are those tree-hugging, hemp-wearing festival-goers who say ‘man’ far too much. Well perhaps it’s time for a rethink on that stereotype. At least if you care about environment, that is.

Kale Sandwich (Gone Raw)
Could you fight Climate Change with a Kale Sandwich? It's very tasty (apparently) (Image: GoneRaw.com)
If you had thought you could do your bit to fight global warming by getting an eco-friendly Hybrid car – forget it. You’ll reduce your ‘carbon footprint’ more just by changing what you eat.

A new documentary called ‘PlanEAT‘ sets out to show the effects our dietary choices have on our health and the environment. Citing a selection of research, the film’s single purpose is encourage us to eat a more ‘plant-based’ diet (that’s the trendy new name for veganism). You could call it the ‘Super Size Me‘ for the animal-loving eco-warrior.

If this film has the impact it hopes to achieve, the future could be one that sees us ditching our hamburger and milkshake for Kale Sandwiches and Lime Mousse (made from Tofu, no less).

Hmm, I think some of us are going to need some very serious persuasion… Read more

4 Fascinating Facts on Why You Are Easily Distracted (and not likely to read all of this)

Go on and admit it, you have a terrible attention span.

But it’s not all your fault. This is the internet after all and everyone knows that the ‘information superhighway’ is a candy store of virtual distractions – endless images, buttons and flashing graphics all competing for your attention. Right now, there’s probably four or five other things you’d quite like to be doing: Shopping on ebay, browsing YouTube for funny videos, reading emails or checking Facebook (who knows, someone might have commented on your oh-so-witty status update)!

Can't Concentrate: 14/365
Find it difficult to stay focused?
If you’re still reading then feel proud of yourself – you tenacious person you – because you belong a special minority that isn’t as easily distracted! Today’s post looks at four fascinating facts that show how pitiful we all are at keeping on task (and don’t worry they are fairly short)… Read more