Being moody is actually good for you, according to science

Sep 2, 2024

Being moody is totally normal and now it looks like it is actually good for us!

A study has found that those who swing on the pendulum of emotional intensity may be showing signs of a natural ability to adapt to change.

The University College London has created a theory that moodiness helps to reinforce our responses to various environmental factors.

If an experience makes us happy, we are going to seek more of it. And in contrast, if an experience is unpleasant, it will likely bring us down.

Being able to flip a switch when it comes to your reactions is beneficial in terms of survival, in both your social and work life.

"The ubiquity of moods and the extent of their impact on our lives tells us that, throughout the course of evolution, our moodiness must have conferred a significant competitive advantage," said lead expert Dr Eran Eldar.

Now, the study did admit that being moody all the time can lead to depression, but Dr Eldar added that “being moody at times may be a small price to pay for the ability to adapt quickly when facing momentous environmental changes.”

Feel free to sulk about missing your bus or fume for a few minutes when your sister steals your favourite dress.

Science says it’s okay!

Second-born children more likely to be troublemakers, study says

May 28, 2024

by Amber Saunders

Being the eldest sibling isn’t easy. We often get blamed for everything, our siblings always steal our clothes and we had to put up with stricter rules when we were growing up.

However, our little brothers and sisters get away with murder.

A report has revealed that the second born child is more likely to be a troublemaker and we’re not one bit surprised.

MIT economist, Joseph Doyle, has discovered that the second-born child is more likely to misbehave and it has a lot to do with how parents reared them.

The report revealed that second-born children are 25 to 40 percent more likely to get in major trouble in school and even with the law.

Experts believe that this has a lot to do with how strict parents are with their first born and how they tend to go easy on their second-born.

The child’s role models are also completely different to their big brother or sister.

Doyle explained to NPR, “The firstborn has role models, who are adults. And the second, later-born children have role models who are slightly irrational 2-year-olds, you know, their older siblings.”

He added, “Both the parental investments are different, and the sibling influences probably contribute to these differences we see in the labor market and what we find in delinquency. It's just very difficult to separate those two things because they happen at the same time.”

Thanks for giving us another reason to love being the oldest, science!

Watching Christmas movies is good for your health, science says

Dec 13, 2023

by Amber Saunders

The countdown to Christmas is officially underway and we’re feeling way too excited about it. We’ve been itching to watch our favourite festive films since the summertime but managed to hold off until after Halloween.

Now that December is here, we’ll happily tune into Love Actually, The Holiday, Home Alone and Elf every single evening.

Christmas movies never fail to make us smile so we’ll be watching as many as possible this winter.

Movies like The Grinch and Miracle on 34th Street always make us feel better and science has even found evidence to prove that watching Christmas movies is actually good for you.

Researchers have found that Christmas movies release feel-good hormones. They told DoYouRemember, “It does create that neurological shift that can produce happiness. I think anything that takes us out of our normal habituation, the normal day in, day out ,signals our senses, and then our senses measure if it’s pleasing or not. Christmas decorating will spike dopamine, a feel-good hormones.”

Christmas movies can also help lower stress and reduce anxiety levels, which is ideal as we approach one of the most hectic times of the year.

Watch Hugh Grant shimmy around 10 Downing Street or cry over It’s a Wonderful Life with your nearest and dearest this winter. After all, science says it’s good for your health.

If anyone needs us we’ll be watching The Muppet Christmas Carol for the foreseeable future.

Being the eldest sibling is the best, according to science

Nov 7, 2023

by Amber Saunders

We’ve got good news for those of you who are the eldest sibling in your family. You may have to deal with your younger brother always asking you for a lift or your little sister stealing your clothes when you’re not home, but all is not lost.

A study has found that there is one major perk to being the oldest sibling. Researchers revealed that the eldest child is usually the smartest.

Apparently, there is “a strong negative relation between birth order and cognitive outcomes of children.”

The study was conducted by teams of researchers at the Universities of Houston, New South Wales and Sheffield.

The teams discovered that older siblings feel more confident when it comes to their academic performance, whilst younger brothers and sisters can often doubt themselves.

This may be because the eldest sibling doesn’t have anyone to compare themselves to. However, as younger siblings know, you’re often compared to your big sister or brother.

The team explained that younger siblings may be ‘less intelligent’ because they don’t get as much attention from their parents, compared to their older siblings.

They said parental attention has a massive impact on children’s academic performance. For example, the youngest daughter may not feel as supported as her older brother did when he was in school because the parents have more children to focus on.

“Although later-born children are not born disadvantaged in their health or developmentally, we find that parents are unable to provide them with the same level of cognitive support as they do with their first-born,” they explained.

Hurray for eldest children!

Pregnant women should avoid caffeine entirely, one study claims

Sep 10, 2023

by Amber Saunders

A study published in the BMJ Evidence Based Medicine journal, suggests that pregnant women and women trying to get pregnant should avoid caffeine entirely.

Prof Jack James, of Reykjavik University in Iceland, conducted a study on 48 women and their baby’s birth outcomes, which led him to believe that drinking coffee while pregnant or while you’re trying to get pregnant can lead to increased risks.

These include miscarriage, stillbirth, lower birth rate and/or small for gestational age, childhood acute leukaemia and childhood overweight and obesity.

This is a blatant contradiction to the current medical advice, which encourages women that it is perfectly safe to consume 200mg or two medium-strength cups of coffee a day. “Consequently, current evidence does not support health advice that assumes ‘moderate’ caffeine consumption during pregnancy is safe,” he said.

The study found that the risk of miscarriage increased by between 32% and 36% among caffeine-consuming pregnant women. “Of nine studies reporting results for small for gestational age (SGA) seven reported caffeine-related increased risk and two reported no association,” according to Prof James.

He also found “maternal caffeine consumption is associated with an increased risk of childhood acute leukaemia”. The study concluded that a high maternal caffeine consumption was associated with a 65% increase in the risk of acute lymphocytic leukaemia and a 58% increased risk of acute myeloid leukaemia, the most common cause of cancer death in children.

However, it’s important to take this advice with a pinch of salt, as experts have described this study as alarmist and extreme. Prof Jack James has admitted that this study is purely observational and provides no legitimate evidence to support his claims that caffeine is dangerous to pregnant women.

The study neglects to show cause-and-effect links between the results, or take into consideration other confounding factors, such as cigarette smoking or wider dietary issues.

Dr Luke Grzeskowiak, a pharmacist at the University of Adelaide, Australia, described the paper as “overly alarmist” when he spoke to the BBC.

“There are so many dos and don'ts associated with pregnancy and the last thing we need is to cause unnecessary anxiety,” said Grzeskowiak. “At the end of the day, women should be reassured that caffeine can be consumed in moderation during pregnancy.”

Study finds women living with men do ‘majority’ of household chores

Aug 24, 2023

by Amber Saunders

This may just boil your blood to dangerous levels. Many of us are well-used to cleaning up after ourselves, as well as the men around us.

New research has found that women who share a home with a male partner undertake the 'majority' of the household chores, which is unsurprising to most.

Researchers at University College London and Imperial College London have found that women still do most of the household duties when they live with a man, specifically 16 hours per week on tasks compared to the mere six that men carry out.

The Independent reported on the data, which was taken on 8513 heterosexual couples who lived together between the ages of 16 and 25 from 2010 until 2012 in the UK.

The findings of the UK Household Longitudinal Study can't be applied to queer couples or couples who don't live together.

The study was published in the journal Work, Employment and Society, and focused on a series of weekly work variables; hours spent at a paid job, hours spent caring for a child or adult and hours spent on chores.

The education of the participants and their attitudes towards gender roles were also examined.

The couples were divided into eight groups, based on the balance of paid and domestic work each partner carried out.

A range of people were included with different backgrounds such as low caregiving responsibilities, men who are the primary earner, women who are the breadwinners, women who do most of the household work, dual earners who shared caregiving responsibilities, women who work part-time and do domestic work, couples with men who work long hours, and unemployed couples with low caregiving responsibilities.

It was found that women completed the majority of the domestic tasks in a shocking 93 percent of the couples surveyed.

When both partners worked full-time, women were FIVE TIMES more likely to spend 20 hours or more a week on chores.

50 percent of the couples examined had a "relatively egalitarian division of work," according to the authors of the study.

However, only two groups (seven percent of the couples) were seen to be the most egalitarian: a female earner who shared domestic work and couples in which men spent long hours on chores.

"The female-earner was the only group in which men’s contribution to the housework was similar to that of their partners, and this group had the highest proportion of women with educational qualifications higher than those of their partners," the study reads.

The authors concluded that in the UK, "gender equality in divisions of work is rare and gender norms remain strong."

Both partners need to share feminist ideals when it comes to household work being divided fairly, but a baby constantly thrust couples back into their old roles.

"The largest egalitarian groups in this study were less likely to have children," according to the data.

Gender disparities clearly still exist when it comes to care-giving and household duties, with domestic employment still mainly women in the workforce.

Hit snooze: Study shows that more sleep can stop sugar cravings

Jul 21, 2023

by Clare Martin

Who would have ever thought that getting 40 extra winks could make you skinnier?

A study from a research team at King's College London has found that sleeping more cuts down on sugar cravings.

Losing weight and sleeping in? This is a diet plan that sounds right up our alley!

In the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition-published study, the researchers examined what happened when they extended the amount of time people slept each night.

They found that when people slept longer, they ate about 10 grams less sugar each day than average levels of sugar intake. Participants who slept longer also reduced their carbohydrate consumption.

"The fact that extending sleep led to a reduction in intake of free sugars, by which we mean the sugars that are added to foods by manufacturers or in cooking at home as well as sugars in honey, syrups, and fruit juice, suggests that a simple change in lifestyle may really help people to consume healthier diets," principal investigator Dr. Wendy Hall noted.

In the study, 21 participants had sleep consultations in order to extend their visit to the land of nod by 90 minutes each night. These participants were all people who previously slept less than seven hours a night, the recommended minimum time adults should sleep.

The team also studied 21 other adults who also were getting less than seven hours' sleep as a control group.

The participants who received sleep consultations were advised to avoid caffeine before going to bed, start a relaxing night time routine and not go to bed feeling too full or hungry. They were also given a bedtime.

Their sleep patterns and diets were monitored for a week after, and the results were impressive.

86 percent of the people in the sleep consultation group increased their amount of time in bed, and half increased their actual time spent asleep, from 52 to almost 90 minutes. Those in the other group did not extend their time sleeping significantly.

However, it is thought that the extended sleep experienced by the group who received sleep advice may not have been of the best quality. The team suggested that any new sleep routine will take some time to get used to.

"Sleep duration and quality is an area of increasing public health concern and has been linked as a risk factor for various conditions. We have shown that sleep habits can be changed with relative ease in healthy adults using a personalised approach," lead researcher Haya Al Khatib, from the Department of Nutritional Sciences, stated.

"Our results also suggest that increasing time in bed for an hour or so longer may lead to healthier food choices. This further strengthens the link between short sleep and poorer quality diets that has already been observed by previous studies."

He continued that they hope to further examine nutrient intake and sleep patterns, especially in longer-term studies and populations that are at a higher risk of obesity or cardiovascular problems.

Study: Men are spending hours hiding in bathroom from chores

Jun 28, 2023

by Amber Saunders

Every now and again, we read the results of scientific surveys and our blood boils enough that the steam contributes to global warming. This latest survey has succeeded in causing such rage.

Apparently, men spend HOURS hiding in the toilet from 'nagging wives', kids and household chores and suffer from a lack of 'me-time'. Really? Like, in all seriousness?

Considering they don't have to put in tampons or sanitary pads, we often wondered what can take some men so long in the bathroom, but now we know the answers.

Men are viewing bathrooms as their safe haven from the chaos of family life, retreating to the sanctuary to escape chores.

The study was conducted back in 2018 and it focused on the reasons why men hastily run away from their responsibilities to such a strange (and unhygienic…) part of the home.

According to the study, which surveyed 1000 male participants, men rack up seven hours of time spent in bathroom per year.

The reasons? They ran away from nagging partners, house chores, noisy children and also wanted the chance to use their phones in peace. Funny how mums don't get the same opportunity.

The study was commissioned by bathroom expert Pebble Grey, and discovered that one-in-10 bathroom visits would be interrupted. This adds up to 171 interruptions every year.

45 percent of the study's male participants said they rarely get any 'me time'. Among these men, a quarter of them stated that their partners aren't understanding of how hectic their lives actually are.

Somehow, we don't have sympathy considering women get paid less for their time and still have zero moments of self-care in their lives…

Study shows doggos lie awake at night pondering their problems

Oct 26, 2022

by SHEmazing Contributor

We all do it. Remember that absolutely mortifying thing you did seven years ago in school that you can't seem to shake off?

The anxiety of saying "you're welcome" instead of "thank you" when someone holds the door open for you, the sheer sweat-worthy fear of falling down (or up) the stairs on your bus, you name it, and we've worried about it.

We've always assumed that our furry little friends simply don't have these worries, but now SCIENCE (gasp) has disproved this, and we're shook.

The Royal Society scientific journal has published a study which supports the result that doggos struggle to nod off if they have anything troubling them, meaning that we're not as different as we think.

All that time that you lay in your bed, pondering that terrible moment when you asked your friend how their grand-dad up the North is getting on in his nursing home, and they reply that they are, in fact, deceased, leaving you stewing in shame.

The time in work that you were wandering around with your knickers tucked into the back of your skirt, the time you threw up at the local disco after one Blue WKD, even the time you said "keep the change" to the lad in Spar, and it was only a five cent coin.

Doggies apparently sit up and ponder their embarrassments and worries too, maybe they get anxiety about the lack of 'good boy' praise which they received that day.

"Does my human still love me?" They think, as they rest their head on their paws, with a slow, violin concerto playing in the background.

"What if they actually don't like cleaning up my poop?"

"What if they send me to the pound and I get embroiled in the local gang war between the Pug Thugs and the Rottweiler Pilers?"

They stare glumly out of the rain-splattered window, tossing and turning following a negative experience at the dog walking park that day.

The study stated that dogs tend to fall asleep much faster following a negative day, presumably to escape from the terrible consequences of the day.

We still think of the horrendously awkward things we were doing in 2005, forever looking up at the blank ceiling searching for answers…

Owning a dog is good for your cardiovascular health, study finds

Oct 8, 2022

by Amber Saunders

We've always suspected it, but now scientists have confirmed that dog owners are more likely to have better cardiovascular health.

The research was published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings and involved 1,769 people between 25 to 64-years-old, living in Brno in the Czech Republic.

Each participant had to provide information on their BMI, diet, physical activity levels, cholesterol, blood pressure, if they smoked or not and their fasting blood sugar levels.

42 percent of the candidates owned a pet of some sort, with 24 percent of people owning a dog and 17.9 percent owning another animal.

The American Heart Association heart score system test was used, looking at seven changeable risk factors of heart health.

Dog owners were more likely to exercise, have an ideal diet and blood glucose level than those who didn't, but they were more likely to smoke for some reason. They still scored better overall for cardiovascular health, however.

The study authors cautioned: "The higher smoking rates among dog ownership attenuates the association between dog ownership and cardiovascular health."

Existing evidence links dog ownership to better mental and physical health, so it makes total sense.

Study co-author Andrea Maugeri commented in a statement: "In general, people who owned any pet were more likely to report more physical activity, better diet and blood sugar at ideal level.

"The greatest benefits from having a pet were for those who owned a dog, independent of their age, sex and education level."

Research claims that getting a pooch could be a useful way to boost heart health, and an important way to tackle the prevalence of heart disease.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the US alone, causing one-in-four deaths each year according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Senior investigator Francisco Lopez-Jimenez stated that owning dogs has previously been linked to better mental health and feeling less lonely, both of which are assumed to decrease the risk of heart attacks.

One study published in the journal BMC Psychiatry, which examined 17 existing papers concluded having a pet could help the symptoms of mental illness.

Philippa Hobson, senior cardiac nurse for the British Heart Foundation, told Newsweek: "Whether you're a pet-owner or not, physical activity can benefit your heart in lots of different ways.

"Just spending 10 minutes a day walking around the block is good for your heart health," she added,

Who could ever deny that having a pup is good for us?

Rejoice! Red wine is actually GOOD for your teeth (so says science)

Sep 30, 2022

by Amber Saunders

Good news, ladies!

Not only can red wine improve memory and boost fertility, but a new study has found that a glass of vino could actually do wonders for your pearly whites.

But wait? What about the stains?

I have to admit that this was the first question that popped into my head after discovering the research, but as it turns out, certain components of the beverage could help fend off bacteria that cause cavities and gum disease.

Researchers at the American Chemical Society examined the effect of polyphenols, a chemical structure which is a known antioxidant, on oral health.

Results published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, showed that red wine actually reduces the ability of plaque-causing bacteria to stick to the teeth and gums – promoting an improvement in overall oral health.

The research also linked red wine to multiple health benefits including good bacteria in your gut and a lower risk of diabetes.

Not fond of the vino noir?

Not to worry, polyphenols can also be found in drinks such as coffee, green and black teas, and orange and lemon juice – but, just like most things, the positives will only be seen when consumed in moderation.

Cheers to that!