Topic: physical activity

Hold Your Pee and Cross Your Arms to Boost Brainpower

Hold Your Pee and Cross Your Arms to Boost Brainpower

A study published in Psychological Science earlier this year suggested that bladder control equals better mind control: When offered several choices (between receiving $16 tomorrow or $30 in 35 days, for example), subjects who had a full bladder made better overall decisions. The study begs jokes about gulping down coffee before heading to the mall, but there are more practical implications than just knowing that you’ll do better if you have to pee. Instead of assuming that the mind always controls the body, the research flips traditional thinking on its head: What we do with our body — everything from physical posture to what we eat — can also go to our head. More »

Don’t Buy a Dog For Your Health

Don't Buy a Dog For Your Health

This week’s issue of the New York Times‘ Science Times is devoted to animals, with a lineup of articles that spans everything from health to food to emotions. They’ve given us interesting food for thought, but they’ve also presented some ethical conundrums: One article debates the moral grounds of vegetarianism, Mark Bittman scolds us for considering pets more equal than the animals we find on our dinner plates, and another tells us to forget the treadmill and get a dog. They present several wonderful debates to liven up our dinner conversation, but the bit about replacing our gyms with dogs really strikes a nerve: I’m no animal rights activist, but even I find it alarming to treat a dog like a fitness toy. Dogs require time, money, and commitment that no treadmill will ever ask you for, and they deserve a lot more love and consideration than a gym. Could they also benefit your health? Definitely. But that’s not reason enough to get a pet. (You’d probably lose weight chasing a toddler around, but that’s not a very good reason to adopt one, is it?) More »