Some happy-related news to kick off your Friday: our language is a positive one.
English is biased towards positivity, say researchers who’ve just had their study published in the journal PLoS One. They looked at four sources (included the New York Times and Twitter) and the positive words outnumber the negative ones. Not necessarily because we’re all cheery, though. The thinking is that because we are geared to “social storytelling” as a species, happy and positive words have become more of a fixture in our language than the sad and unhappy ones.
In other words, none of us want to listen to a downer and so our language has evolved.
(Stacked books wallpaper, Anthropologie)
January 13, 2012
Could dropping some extra weight be as simple as putting pen to paper?
Yes, a writing exercise that takes just 15 minutes may help you shed those extra lbs, says a new study published in Psychological Science. Jotting down your thoughts about values important to you may help you lose more weight than if you don’t take the time to do so.
The study involved a group of 45 women with a BMI of 23 or higher who were asked to rank the importance of a set of values (including everything from relationships to creativity), and half the group was asked to write about a value close to their heart, while the other half were asked to write about a value less key to them. Four months later, those who wrote about an important value had lost some weight whereas the others had put on some weight.
The thinking is that by writing about values important to you helps you feel better, and so you may not be as apt to eat that unnecessary snack, for example.
Something to consider if “losing weight” made it onto your list of resolutions for 2012.
(Journal, Christian Lacroix Papier)
January 5, 2012
As someone who adores pretty stationery and the personal touch of sending an actual handwritten letter or card over texting or emailing (although, admittedly, I’ve been doing much more of the latter), it made me smile to learn that handwriting (and teaching kids handwriting) offers health benefits, both mentally and physically in this piece from the Los Angeles Times.
Pencils, MUJI.
June 16, 2011
