Keep Holding On How long can you hold your breath for? Is it over two minutes? Pretty impressive–now imagine holding your breath for that long while sinking deeper and deeper below the dark depths of the ocean, reaching distances of 100 feet (about the length of a 10-story building), while thousands of pounds of water […]
Tag Archives: mental health
May
15
Making a mom: hormones and maternal behavior
posted by Eleanor Ketterer-Sykes
It was Mother’s Day this weekend… have you called your mom yet? Maternal bonds are essential for the survival of the infant, as well as to encourage the mother to make sacrifices and engage in parental behaviors to care for her young. This is something that your mom probably felt as soon as she met […]
April
05
Feeling Pooped? Gut Microbiome Interventions for Depression
posted by Seona Patel
We often think of depression as a disorder rooted in the brain—a chemical imbalance or faulty wiring. But what if the roots of depression extend far beyond and below the skull, into an unexpected place? Scientists are increasingly finding that the gut microbiome—a vast ecosystem of bacteria, viruses, and fungi living in your gut—could play […]
January
30
The Magic of a Memory Model
posted by Max Weinberg
You know that moment when you can’t quite remember a song, but the instant it starts playing, the memory floods back and you can sing along perfectly? This last year the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to John Hopfield who came up with an elegant model for how this process could work in the […]
June
01
Science meets Serenity: Benefits of Sauna Use on the Brain
posted by Dalia Saklaway
The reason that saunas have been used for thousands of years and across the world, is because of their profound and proven health benefits. Heat exposure has been proven to have phenomenal effects on our bodies, and some of the most fascinating of those effects are the health benefits that heat exposure has on the human brain.
March
02
Mindfulness as a treatment for anxiety
posted by Seraphina Solders
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) may be similarly effective as medication for treating anxiety disorders
July
21
Media Misrepresentations of Mental Illness: Dissociative Identity Disorder
posted by Jacqueline Mosko
It’s no secret that watching movies can create lasting impressions on viewers. This is true in cases of medical dramas, where viewers are introduced to rare diseases through interactions with fictional patients seeking help. It is also true of mental health conditions – both in the cases of television and movies, it has become increasingly […]
June
16
Breathe in the Benefits: Hyperbaric Oxygen for PTSD
posted by Susan Lubejko
Even if you haven’t heard the term “hyperbaric oxygen treatment” (HBOT), you are actually probably familiar with its premise. Most often, we hear of this treatment being used for divers that ascend from depth too quickly and experience decompression sickness (“the bends”) caused by a buildup of gas bubbles in their blood from rapid changes […]
May
26
Why does breathing slowly make us feel better?
posted by Seraphina Solders
You’ve heard it before – during moments of overwhelm, take slow, deep breaths. But how exactly does controlling our breath influence our physiology and ultimately impact our mental well-being?
August
29
The Neuroscience of the Breath
posted by BrittanydFair
The Neuroscience of the Breath Scientists search to uncover the mind-body connection Mind-body practices, which stem from traditions originating in countries such as India, China, and Tibet, have become increasingly popular in Western society. These practices, which include yoga, meditation and tai chi, revolve around breathing techniques or pranayama- learning to control the breath […]
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