News and Features Related to Health & Balance

First Impressions Surprisingly Accurate

Nov. 6, 2009 -- How many times did your mother tell you: Don’t judge a book by its cover? All our lives, we’ve been admonished not to jump to conclusions when we meet people. However, a new study shows that those early conclusions are surprisingly accurate. More than 100 undergraduate students at th
Read Full Article
Happiness: 6 Myths and Truths

If you'd like to be happier -- who wouldn't? -- the first step may be to challenge your own views about happiness. Maybe you think that to be happier, you need more than you have now -- more freedom, more money, more love ... fill in the blank. Or maybe you've convinced yourself that this is as good
Read Full Article
Believe It or Not -- Computer Games Can Be Healthy

Cynthia Whitehead is a word person. A lawyer who drafts environmental and development legislation, the 60-year-old from Oakland, Calif. regularly taxes her left hemisphere -- the side of the brain responsible in most people for language and analysis. So when her stress level goes up, she turns to Be
Read Full Article
Physical Health: Fun Ways to Get Fit and Trim

No time to work out? No time to plan healthy meals? Lack of time isn't the only excuse offered by sedentary people who need to lose weight. Close on its heels is another complaint: Working out just isn't fun, and neither is shopping and cooking "healthy." Exercise and weight loss experts say they h
Read Full Article
Workplace Bullying Linked to Sleep Problems

Sept. 1, 2009 -- Being bullied at work may make you toss and turn all night. Researchers have found that people who are intimidated, insulted, or otherwise harassed on the job are more likely to have sleep disturbances than are other workers. Their findings appear in the Sept.1 issue of the journal
Read Full Article
Mixed Signals

Read Full Article
Won't Take That Lying Down? Here's Why

Aug. 26, 2009 -- A person's body position may affect how the brain responds to insults, a study shows. Texas A&M University researchers studied the brain activity of 23 male and 23 female university students. They wired them with a stretch cap full of electronic sensors and then subjected them to cr
Read Full Article
Cloris Leachman's Latest Chapter

The winner of nine Emmy Awards and one Academy Award, actress and comedienne Cloris Leachman has charmed American audiences for more than 60 years. This past year, she pushed her creative powers even further when she both competed as the oldest contestant on Dancing with the Stars and published her
Read Full Article
Good Jokes Cure Bad Moods

Aug. 20, 2009 -- After a rough day at the office or a nasty interchange with a rude store clerk, a great joke can often quickly lift us out of a bad mood. Now, Dutch researchers think they've verified why this is so and how a joke helps us -- most of the time - laugh it off and turn our negative moo
Read Full Article
4 Healthy Habits That Cut Disease Risk

Aug. 10, 2009 -- Don't smoke. Get off the sofa and take a walk. Stay away from the junk food. Watch your waistline. You may have heard the advice before. But did you know that if you follow all four of these healthy habits together, you could decrease your chances of developing some of the most comm
Read Full Article