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Like most people, you have probably sampled your fair share of energy drinks, whether you drank it before your weekend marathon or while on your way to the office, your reason for drinking it remains the same ̶ you want an energy boost. If you were wondering whether energy drinks actually work to give you that extra boost, then the answer is yes, but not necessarily in the way you may think.

Research has shown that energy drinks do give athletes the kick they need to push through the pain and keep going, but not by strengthening tired muscles; rather the energy drink stimulates the brain and gives them the incentive to continue. Some research even indicates that energy drinks can have an effect without being ingested.

A recent study, carried out by a group of researchers for The Journal of Physiology, showed just how powerful energy drinks can be. The researchers prepared three types of drinks, one that contained glucose, one that contained maltodextrin (a carbohydrate) and another that contained neither of the two. Each drink was disguised by artificial sweeteners to ensure that they tasted the same.

The drinks were then tested on a group of athletes who were asked to complete a challenging set of timed tasks. During these tasks, the athletes rinsed their mouths with one of the three drinks. The athletes who had rinsed their mouths with glucose or maltodextrin were able to outperform those who had used the water disguised as an energy drink.

The athletes who had used the glucose or maltodextrin energy drinks also had a higher power output and pulse rate, although they had not worked harder than the other athletes. Later, with the help of brain scans, the scientists found that glucose and maltodextrin triggered a response in the brain that is associated with pleasure or reward, which could help to change a person’s perception of their workload. The artificial sweeteners did not have this effect.

So, energy drinks work by sending a type of signal to the brain, rather than actually providing the body more energy to keep the muscles working efficiently.

Despite these positive brain boosting effects, energy drinks are not necessarily the healthiest option, and in cases where they are overused or abused, they can even become dangerous. When it comes to long distance driving, many drivers tend to rely on energy drinks to keep them going throughout the night without sufficient breaks and rest stops.

The problem with this is that although energy drinks do give a temporary boost, they are known to cause energy slumps when they wear off. Tired drivers may drink a can of Red Bull and be fine for an hour, but after that they will experience a dramatic drop in their energy levels and will have trouble concentrating or reacting to sudden alterations on the road.

A drowsy driver can pose a significant threat to others on the road and can even be compared to driving under the influence of alcohol. The Institute of Advanced Motorists has called for drivers to be aware of the dangers associated with relying on energy drinks, stating that driver drowsiness is responsible for nearly 300 deaths each year in the United Kingdom.

Energy drinks are also thought to be responsible for more problems in schools, due to the fact that young teens and even children are already reliant on the substance to keep them alert during school hours. In the United States, a third of 12 through 24-year-olds say they regularly consume energy drinks such as Red Bull, Monster, Full Throttle and Amp.

Those who drank energy drinks in combination with alcohol got drunk twice as often as those who did not mix the two.

These types of energy drinks are laden with caffeine and sugar and have been known to cause nausea, abnormal heart rhythms and other health problems when overused. At a high school in Colorado Springs, a group of students fell ill after they had consumed large amounts of the caffeinated energy drink Spike Shooter, which led to energy drinks becoming a banned substance at the school.

In another case four students in middle school were taken to the emergency room with sweating and heart palpitations after consuming an energy drink called Redline. In Sydney, a government investigation into energy drinks was carried out after several high school students suffered nausea and dizziness as a result of drinking energy drinks. They found that nearly three quarters of all energy drinks being sold in New South Wales exceeded the state’s legal caffeine limits of 320mg per liter.

In the United Kingdom, a school in East Sussex requested that local shops not sell energy drinks to their students due to the adverse effects they were having on them, and in some countries, including Norway and Denmark, certain energy drinks have even been banned due to concerns about their safety.

One of the main concerns that public health services have about energy drinks is that unlike coffee, they can be consumed relatively quickly, because they are cold and refreshing, which may cause people to consume them more frequently and in larger amounts than coffee.

Another danger is the new trend of mixing energy drinks and alcohol, like the popular vodka Red Bull drink that is a favorite among regular club goers. Drinking an energy drink that is high in caffeine causes users to feel more alert, which means they may consume more alcohol than they normally would.

A study, published by Academic Emergency Medicine, found that those who drank energy drinks in combination with alcohol got drunk twice as often as those who did not mix the two. They were also more likely to become injured while drinking and require medical attention.

This is not to say that energy drinks are bad, rather the abuse of energy drinks is bad. If you use some common sense and practice moderation, you shouldn’t have a problem.

Don’t gulp down energy drinks to stay awake at work or on a long-distance drive, because nothing can substitute a good night’s sleep. But, if you need a quick pick-me-up to get you through the last hour of work or to get your workout in on a day when you don’t feel like it, then an energy drink may present the perfect solution.

Remember, the mere taste of an energy drink could be enough to give your brain the boost it needs to perform more efficiently, so enjoy your energy drinks in moderation and you will get the benefits without the side effects.

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You probably know the feeling, your alarm goes off and the first order of business is getting that cup of coffee or tea into your system. For over 1,000 years now, millions of people have been dependent on their caffeine fix in the morning and often all throughout the day, in order to remain functional and stay alert.

But recent studies have shown that caffeine may not actually do anything to wake you up or keep you alert, and the sense of feeling more awake may simply be your body responding to getting its fix and reversing the withdrawal symptoms.

If you drink a lot of coffee throughout the day while at work, you may notice that on your day off, when you drink less coffee, you feel sluggish and may even develop a headache even if you have had more sleep than you are accustomed to getting on work days. The reason for this is simply that your body is going through withdrawals because you have not had your usual dose for the day.

For people who are not normally coffee drinkers, having a strong cup of coffee as a pick-me-up may do them more harm than good, as their body is not used to it. They are unlikely to feel more alert after their caffeine fix, but they may feel jittery or overly anxious, or even have difficulty concentrating on one thing, which is anything but the effect they were looking for.

A group of researchers at the University of Bristol conducted a study to determine the effects of caffeine on people based on their genetic differences. During the study, 139 volunteers were examined and had blood samples taken, making it the largest study of its kind.

After that, they were asked to abstain from drinking coffee or caffeinated drinks for a period of 16 hours. Then, some volunteers were given a caffeine pill, while others received a placebo pill. In the hours following, they were again given either a placebo pill or a higher dosage of the caffeine pill.

The researchers then measured their level of alertness as well as their emotional state of mind by means of a questionnaire that looked at their physical sensation scales, mood and alertness. It was discovered that how people are affected by caffeine depends a lot on whether or not they are used to consuming it.

Of the subjects examined, about half were used to consuming medium amounts of caffeine a day (a few mugs). The other half was not accustomed to drinking caffeinated beverages on a regular basis or at all. The subjects who did not normally drink coffee did not feel more alert after their dose of caffeine; rather, they experienced more frequent headaches as a result of the caffeine pills.

Those who were accustomed to drinking coffee and received a placebo experienced withdrawal symptoms such as headaches and sleepiness. Of the 139 volunteers, four asked to be excused from the study early due to their severe headaches.

Clearly, caffeine withdrawals are no joke. Those who were not used to consuming caffeine reported higher anxiety levels, particularly those with the gene ADORA2A, which is known to play a part in panic attacks. The subjects that consumed medium to high amounts of coffee felt no such effects, showing that consuming caffeine regularly causes people to build up a resistance to the drug.

Recent studies have shown that caffeine may not actually do anything to wake you up or keep you alert, and the sense of feeling more awake may simply be your body responding to getting its fix and reversing the withdrawal symptoms.

Conversely, another study carried out by an international group of scientists; found that the mere smell of a freshly brewed cup of coffee may be enough to perk you right up.  In their research, they used lab rats that were made to inhale the aroma of coffee. Some of the rats were under levels of stress due to sleep deprivation.

The scientists then looked at the rats’ brains to analyze certain genes and proteins. They found that the after having sniffed the coffee, the stressed out and sleep deprived rats showed higher levels of certain proteins that are known to protect the nerve cells from damage caused by excessive stress. The rats that had not caught a whiff of the beverage did not show any signs of improvement or higher levels of proteins.
This could explain the feeling of satisfaction that one gets from walking into a coffee shop and breathing in the rich aromas of dozens of steaming hot mugs of coffee. If you are tired of experiencing caffeine withdrawals on your day off, the best advice would be either to cut coffee completely from your diet, or continue to drink it regularly every day of the week.

Cutting it only slightly, or on certain days of the week will only worsen your feelings of withdrawal, because your body will not be able to adjust to your routine. Of course, you could always just stand in a coffee shop for a couple of minutes each morning to get your pick-me-up without the caffeine.

On the up side, if you are a regular coffee drinker and you have no intention of giving it up any time soon, you will be happy to know that there are actually a number of health benefits attributed to the consumption of coffee.

Harvard researchers have found that coffee, in moderation, may protect against high cholesterol, diabetes and even Parkinson’s disease. Researchers also found that people who drink coffee regularly are 50% less likely to develop liver cancer than those who do not.

So while coffee may not necessarily make you more alert, there seem to be plenty of reasons to continue drinking it, or at least to justify its use. Just don’t go overboard, because too much caffeine may cause you to become dehydrated or in extreme cases, even suffer panic attacks or seizures.

Generally, it is advisable not to drink more than 600mg of caffeine per day, which is about four to five cups of coffee. The key here, as with anything, is to be moderate in your caffeine consumption. If you listen to your body, get enough sleep and hydrate throughout the day, you will be able to enjoy your coffee for many years to come.

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The question of whether or not cell phones cause brain cancer or present other potential health hazards is one that has received a lot of attention over the years. In this day and age, with over five billion cell phone users, it is virtually impossible to avoid mobile phones, so knowing whether or not they are safe to use is important to say the least.

Unfortunately, although the subject has often been researched and debated, there has still been no conclusive answer to the question, with some parties stating that there is no danger, others stating that the risk is too small to be of any consequence, while others are convinced that the wireless devices are responsible for brain tumors and other deadly cancers.

Cell phones use non-ionizing radiation, which is not as strong as the radiation used by x-ray machines or that found in radioactive materials. They fall into the same category as microwaves, which have received their share criticism over the years, but are generally accepted as safe to use.

Some research suggests that although the use of mobile phones is quite safe in the short-term, the long-term effects of the radiation emitted by cell phones may increase a person’s risk of developing certain types of cancer. A number of studies carried out over the past 20 years have shown that people who have used cell phones for over a decade may have a great risk of developing brain tumors on the side of their head where their phone is most often situated.

Cell phones may be more dangerous for children than for adults, due to the fact that their skulls are thinner and their brains smaller, which could make it easier for the radiation to penetrate their heads.

Lawrie Challis, professor of physics at the University of Nottingham, commented in an interview with Scientific American that there may be a link between cell phones and brain tumors in people who have used cell phones for ten or more years. If you are concerned about this possible risk, you could try using a hands free set with an ear piece or a speakerphone, so that the mobile phone is never actually held up to your head.

However, one of the largest studies to date, which was carried out in Denmark by the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Copenhagen, showed that there is no traceable link between cancer and cell phones. Throughout the study, the entire Danish population over the age of 30 and born in Denmark after 1925 was followed, with the help of information from the Danish Cancer register and Danish phone network operators.

The study looked at the effects of mobile phones in over 360,000 cell phone users over a period of 17 years and found no link between the use of mobile phones and any type of cancer, including brain tumors and leukemia.

The researchers also analyzed the data of 10,729 tumors in the years between 1990 and 2007 and came to the conclusion that those who had used mobile phones for over 13 years showed no increased risk of developing brain tumors or other forms of cancer, which clearly contradicts the results from some of the previous studies.

To make things even more confusing, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recently changed its stance on cell phones and moved them to the list of carcinogenic hazards, right alongside substances like lead, engine exhaust and chloroform.

Before May 2011, the organization had assured consumers that no health risks had been established in regards to cell phones. However, this was not the result of any new research, but a review of previous studies. A group of 31 scientists from all over the world reviewed previous studies and came to the conclusion that there was enough evidence to classify cell phones as possibly carcinogenic to humans.

CTIA-The Wireless Association wireless has been quick to point out that this new classification does not necessarily mean that cell phones do cause cancer, while The European Environmental Agency has called for more studies on the subject.

Are you feeling confused yet? The reason these findings appear to be so contradictory may lie simply in the fact that each study varies in its methods and quality, but biochemist at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affair’s VA Medical Center, Jerry Phillips, is of the opinion that the conflicting results are due to the nature of the radiation that is being studied.

The reason for this is that the human body may sometimes react to radiation by trying to fix the adverse effects by starting up various repair mechanisms. So the effects of radiation may show up differently in various people, thus accounting for the variations in the results of these types of studies.

If you are wondering what to make of all this, it may be best to err on the side of being too cautious in your use of mobile phones. Many phone manufacturers already warn users to be cautious in the use of mobile technology and keep as much distance between themselves and their phones as possible.

In the Apple iPhone 4 users manual, consumers are advised to keep the phone at least 15 millimeters away from their body when making calls, while the makers of Blackberry have advised users to maintain a distance of 25 millimeters between phone and body, so that a minimal amount of radiation is absorbed.

There is also evidence that cell phones may be more dangerous for children than for adults, due to the fact that their skulls are thinner and their brains smaller, which could make it easier for the radiation to penetrate their heads. With this in mind, it is best not to let your child use a mobile phone on a regular basis.

A good piece of advice for avoiding radiation when making phone calls or otherwise using mobile phones is to avoid doing so within buildings, elevators, moving vehicles, tunnels and rural areas where the reception is bad. This is because cell phones emit more radiation when they have to work hard to connect to a cellular tower. So, if you want to play it safe, get yourself a headset and, when possible, use your phone only outdoors or in areas where you can get a strong signal.

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Have you ever come back from your holidays with a deep craving for the sun’s rays on your outstretched limbs? Studies have shown that there may be more to this phenomenon than just post-holiday blues, and what you see as an innocent desire to be out in the sun and get a bit of “healthy” color on your skin, may actually be a sign of addiction.

Up until recently, although scientists have long suspected that regular exposure to ultraviolet rays may be addictive, there was no clear evidence to support the theory that tanning can be addictive. But, a study carried out at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, showed that certain parts of the brain, which are known to play a part in addiction, are activated when an individual is exposed to UV rays.

During the study, the brain activity of seven volunteers was monitored while they used tanning beds. The volunteers were all frequent users of tanning beds. During the first session, the subjects tanned under UV rays, but during the second session they unknowingly received filtered (fake) UV rays.

When the volunteers underwent the tanning session with the real UV rays, their brains showed signs of increased activity in the dorsal striatum, anterior insula and medial orbitofrontal cortext. These are regions of the brain that are associated with a feeling of being rewarded. The same areas of the brain are also activated when a person consumes drugs or a high-value food such as sugar.

After the real UVR sessions, the subjects showed a decrease in their desire to tan, as they had received their “fix.” However, when the subjects underwent a session with filtered UV rays, they still reported a strong desire to tan, despite the fact that they did not know that the UV rays had been filtered. Clearly, there was no fooling these dedicated tanners that they had gotten their quota of UV exposure for the day.

The fact that tanning is addictive should come as no surprise to most people. After all, we know the damage that ultra violet radiation can cause. From wrinkles and premature aging to skin cancer, the health risks are numerous. Statistics from the Skin Cancer Foundation show that there are over 120,000 new cases of melanoma every year in the United States alone.

But even though education on the potential dangers of tanning has greatly improved, there are still countless people who continue to worship the sun or visit tanning beds on a regular basis. This compulsive behavior is similar to that of people who are addicted to nicotine or alcohol.

Those who visit tanning beds as little as four times a year may already be increasing their risk of melanoma by 11%.

Research carried out in 2005, with the help of a test that had been designed to spot alcohol abuse, showed that those who frequent tanning beds or regularly set out to sun bathe meet the psychiatric definition of a substance abuse disorder.

Those who enjoy visiting tanning beds know that what they are doing is bad for them, yet, because the brain registers these effects as a rewarding or satisfying experience, it is hard for them to stop.
Does this mean that anything we enjoy doing could potentially be addictive? Although in theory this may be true, it is clear that some substances or practices are far more addictive than others. For example, while food in general is not thought of as addictive, people have been known to develop addictions to certain foods, particularly those high in sugar content.

So, while you are unlikely to develop an addiction to broccoli, if you are accustomed to having a milkshake every day, you will probably miss it when you don’t have it.

The scientists’ findings regarding tanning beds are backed by the years of experience of dermatologists who deal with patients suffering from melanoma or other UVR related health problems. Many dermatologists have noted this addictive behavior in their patients, who will often return straight to their old habits of tanning once their cancers have been cut out.

Unfortunately, many people are under the mistaken impression that tanning beds are quite safe or that they do not pose as much of a health risk as natural sun exposure. This misconception was, in the past, promoted by salon owners, who assured their customers that much of the dangerous ultraviolet radiation was filtered out and that the exposure from a tanning bed is more controlled than outdoor sunbathing.
A study carried out at the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health and Masonic Cancer Center, however, shows a definite link between the use of tanning beds and melanoma. The research, one of the largest ever carried out on this subject, involved over 2,200 Minnesotans.

The researchers found that those who use tanning beds on a regular basis were 74% more likely to develop malignant melanoma. Those who visit tanning beds as little as four times a year may already be increasing their risk of melanoma by 11%.

The study also examined the argument of whether or not certain types of tanning devices are more likely to have an adverse effect on people’s health than others. The conclusion left no room for argument. The researchers found that there is simply no such thing as a safe tanning device, and the use of a tanning bed for any amount of time can greatly increase an individual’s risk of developing skin cancer, regardless of their age or gender.

If you recognize this behavior, you may be addicted to tanning, and you should seriously consider taking measures to detoxify yourself of the harmful addiction. As cliché as it may sound, the first step to recovering from an addiction is admitting that you have one in the first place.

If you have come to the end of this article and find yourself denying that your visits to the tanning salon present a health problem or explaining away your actions and attempting to justify your behavior with rational arguments, then chances are you are already moving towards the path of recovery.

Just as smoking or drug and alcohol abuse can pose a serious health threat, tanning, whether indoors or outdoors, is a dangerous pastime and should be treated the same as any other harmful addiction.

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As anyone who suffers from reoccurring migraines will know, finding a fast and effective way to ease the intense pain is of paramount importance to the quality of life of the sufferer. But pumping yourself full of drugs and avoiding strenuous activities for fear of triggering one of the dreaded attacks, is not the most convenient or healthy solution.

People who suffer from migraines tend to shy away from the gym because they believe that exercise may bring on a migraine. However, recent studies have not only shown that exercise is unlikely to trigger attacks, but that it may even have positive effects on the sufferer and work to prevent the onset of migraines in the future.

Naturally, every person is different and therefore will also have different triggers, so there is no across the board solution when it comes to preventing or easing migraines. But, with that said, stress is known to be one of the top migraine triggers, accounting for 75% of migraine attacks, while exercise is widely known to be one of the most effective stress relievers there is. So, for some people, getting moderate to strenuous exercise in on a regular basis may be the best and most natural solution to migraines.

In a study that was recently published in the scientific journal Cephalalgia, a group of Swedish scientists examined the direct effects of exercise on migraine sufferers. During the study, 91 migraine sufferers were divided into three different groups. One group was given a migraine prevention drug called topiramate. The second group was asked to exercise for 40 minutes three times a week, while the last group did regular relaxation exercises.

The study was carried out over the period of three months followed by additional monitoring over a six month period. An equal amount of improvement was noted in all three groups, showing that exercise or relaxation techniques can be just as effective as drugs in relieving migraine symptoms and improving a person’s quality of life.

If you are looking for an alternative to drugs, you may want to seriously consider exercise as a way to prevent migraine attacks and ease their symptoms. But if hitting the tread mill and sweating it out doesn’t appeal to you, there are some less strenuous exercises that can have an equally positive effect on you.

Dr. Paul Rizzoli, co-author of the book The Migraine Solution, has recommended yoga as a possible treatment for migraines, due to its relaxing and stress relieving nature. Many migraine sufferers may prefer yoga to a more strenuous type of exercise because it is low impact and less likely to trigger a stress-related migraine attack.

The reason for this is that migraines can be triggered by both “good” and “bad” stress, so for some people, strenuous activities like jogging or aerobics could trigger an attack, while an exercise like yoga, that focuses on breathing techniques and muscle control would be less likely to have that effect.

Simple things like getting sufficient sleep and eating the right things at the right times can greatly reduce the occurrence of migraines.

A study that was carried out on a smaller scale by a headache clinic in Sweden also showed that exercise can, in the long-term, have benefits for migraine sufferers beyond relieving their pain. The goal of the study was to develop an exercise program that would improve oxygen intake in migraine sufferers without bringing on attacks or making their symptoms worse. Throughout the research, 26 migraine sufferers were observed over the period of 12 weeks as they followed an exercise program that consisted of indoor cycling.

The side effects, migraine status (frequency, intensity and medication intake) and quality of life of the subjects were all evaluated throughout the study, which had the subjects cycling three days a week.

By the end of the 12 week period, the subjects showed significant improvements in their overall fitness levels as well as a significant reduction in the number of migraine attacks they experienced. The severity and duration of their migraines was also reduced with the help of the exercise program.

Previous research has shown that migraine sufferers may have a higher sex drive because migraines and sexual desire are be influenced by the same chemical, and the old Marvin Gaye song “Sexual Healing” may have more truth to it than you realized. Some studies have found that engaging in sexual intercourse during a migraine may actually help to ease the pain.

Researchers found that out of the women who had used sex as a way to relieve migraine pain, 61% reported some measure of relief from their pain, which, when compared to many drugs that soothe around 60% of migraines, is a pretty good percentage.

According to Dr. Alexander Mauskop of the New York Headache Center, the endorphins that are released during an orgasm can work to relieve migraine pain. Endorphins are opiate-like chemicals, which are known to induce a positive feeling that prevents the messages about pain from ever reaching the brain. The chemicals may even be able to prevent a migraine before it comes on, so next time you notice the telltale signs of a migraine, you know what to do.

Unfortunately it will not always be possible to access this particular migraine remedy, so finding other ways to live with and prevent migraines is still important. Luckily, by making some simple lifestyle changes, most migraine sufferers are able to manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life.

Simple things like getting sufficient sleep and eating the right things at the right times can greatly reduce the occurrence of migraines. Speaking to a professional about ways to manage migraines is important in order to find a tailor-made solution to your problem.

Professionals will be able to point out food triggers, which may include things like chocolate, caffeine, red wine, cheese or dried fruits. Processed foods and foods containing monosodium glutamate (MSG) are also known to trigger migraines in sufferers. In order to determine what may be triggering yours, it can be helpful to keep a food diary.

Generally, living a healthy lifestyle by getting enough exercise, sufficient sleep, proper nutrition and avoiding stress can go a long way to reducing the occurrence and severity of migraines.

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Memory is one of the most important functions of the brain. Your memories define who you are, but they also enable you to function properly in day to day life. You probably have a number of outstanding memories from your childhood, perhaps a fishing trip you took with your father or maybe something unpleasant like the passing of a loved one. These long-term memories are deeply ingrained in your brain and you are unlikely to ever forget them.

Then you have the short-term memories, most of which blend into your daily routine and are soon forgotten, like the drive to work or what you had for lunch. Without the formation of both long and short-term memory, life would be extremely difficult to navigate.

You would not remember the meeting you had with a client or your new boss and, in the long-term, you would forget the important defining moments in your life that have helped to form your character.

Despite the fact that memories are so important to us human beings, research has shown that what you remember may not always be completely accurate. This is because the brain is highly susceptible to suggestion and, over time, whether days, months or years, your memory and perception of a particular event or happening tends to change.

Many people have what are known as flashbulb memories of momentous occasions in their lives or in the world around them.

If you have you ever discussed an important event with a friend or relative, you probably noticed that their memory of that event differs slightly (or maybe even quite dramatically) from yours. Many people have what are known as flashbulb memories of momentous occasions in their lives or in the world around them. This can include things like what they were doing when they heard about the September 11 attacks or where they were when they received a call about the death of a loved one.

Although these memories are generally extremely detailed and tend to be remembered very clearly by the individual in question, psychologists have also been found them to be rather inaccurate when put to the test. Karim Nader, a neuroscientist at the McGill University in Montreal, has carried out numerous studies on this phenomenon and is of the opinion that the act of remembering may actually cause your memories to change.

According to Nader, it is virtually impossible for anyone to think of an event that happened in the past without changing it somehow. He also believes that flashbulb memories in particular are more likely to be altered dramatically. This is because memories of monumental events are often replayed over and over in a person’s mind or during conversations with colleagues, family or friends, and each time the memory is replayed it might be slightly altered.

Not all scientists agree with Nader’s theory that memories are altered simply by remembering them, but, his theory may explain why certain types of therapy are extremely helpful for people who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder and wish to move on with their lives by putting painful memories behind them.

Researchers at the Stanford University in California carried out a study showing that both the frontal lobe and left and right temporal lobes dictate which scenes the brain will remember and store up as a memory. The researchers found that the verbal memories of an experience are encoded in the left frontal regions, while the spatial and visual aspects of the same experience are encoded in the right frontal regions.

Why the brain picks out certain pictures or words to remember is not entirely clear, but the researchers suspect that it may have to do with a person’s previous experiences and the time that it takes to process the information. For example, you are more likely to remember a picture of your hometown than a picture of a place you have never visited.

A study carried out by scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California, showed that the brain, with the help of new brain cells that are generated every day, is able to establish when a particular event happened and then store up that information as a memory. Although the brain does not give events a specific time stamp, such as February 15, 2011, events are remembered with the help of other memories that occurred around the same time. So, the brain will be able to establish whether a certain memory happened before or after another one.

According to neuroscientists, if the same neurons are active during two separate events, your brain may link these memories together, which causes you to associate them with each other when you think back on them. For example, if you went to a friend’s birthday party on Monday morning and then went to see a movie with that same friend on Friday night, you might remember these separate events as occurring on the same day, although in actuality they were days apart.

You are more likely to remember a picture of your hometown than a picture of a place you have never visited…

This is because the same young neurons that were active during your friend’s birthday party were also active when you went to see a movie with the same friend, which links these events closely in your memory. According to researchers, even events that happened as far as several weeks apart may be remembered together.

Have you ever smelled a bar of soap in a bathroom or taken a bite of a freshly baked pie and suddenly been transported back to an event that took place in your childhood? This is because your brain cells link this smell or taste to the event that happened in your childhood, even if the event was completely unrelated to the pie or soap.

Although you may not have necessarily eaten a piece of cherry pie on your first day of school or washed your hands with lavender soap after winning your first soccer match, your neurons associate the taste or smell with that event because it happened around the same time.

Of course, the young brain cells only play a small part in the forming of memories, but scientists believe that this finding may help them in finding effective treatments for conditions where new brain cells don’t form as they should, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and even depression.

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We all know the feeling; you head purposefully to the kitchen to fetch a glass of orange juice, only to arrive without a clue of what you wanted to do there. Contrary to what you may think, this is not because you are “getting old” or losing your mind. There is actually a scientific explanation for this confusing phenomenon.

According to a number of studies, the doorway is to blame for your forgetfulness, at least some of the time. This forgetfulness is often called “doorway amnesia,” “room amnesia” or the “doorway effect,” and is said to be caused by changing from one environment into another. When you enter a new room, your brain automatically shifts its focus to your new surroundings, which is why you may have trouble recalling the reason for your trip to the kitchen.

A study, carried out at the University of Notre Dame, used both a virtual game and ordinary rooms to test this theory on a group of college students. The students were asked to carry objects from one room to another and then recall which objects they had been carrying or were carrying at that very moment. The researchers found that both those using the virtual game and those passing through actual rooms, had trouble remembering the objects they were carrying upon entering in a new room.

The doorway effect is more than just a matter of someone being forgetful, absent minded or airheaded…

The researchers also had the students go back into the previous rooms to see if doing so would help them remember what they had forgotten, but this proved ineffective. When the students were asked to cross the same distance, only this time to move objects from one table to another in the same room, they had no difficulty recalling what they had moved.

Clearly, the doorway effect is more than just a matter of someone being forgetful, absent minded or airheaded, because no matter how hard to press yourself to remember what you were doing in the previous environment, your brain has already stored away that information and moved on to the information that is available in your new environment.

This tendency to forget once in a new surrounding is tied in with the fact that humans don’t remember events in a continuous stream; rather the brain breaks certain events up into segments. So, when you walk into another room, your brain takes whatever it is you were doing in the first room and stores it up as one segment of information to prepare itself for whatever will happen next.

Think about what you did yesterday. You will probably have your day broken up into a number of separate events rather than a continuous stream of memories. When telling someone about your day, you will remember certain events that stood out to you, like maybe you missed the bus and had to take a taxi to work. Later you may have dropped a tray at lunch or spilled coffee on your desk, but these things will not necessarily be remembered together although they happened on the same day.

If you recognize this doorway amnesia, you can learn to avoid it by making a conscious effort to repeat to yourself, either out loud or in your head, what you are heading into the next room to do. Aside from this, the only other way to avoid the doorway effect would be to avoid passing through them altogether, which is not necessarily a very realistic solution.

Photo by Vivi Calderón

In this day and age of increasing global inter-connectivity, having the ability to speak more than one language is a highly valued skill. Studying a foreign language is a requirement in some schools in the U.S but in some countries, it’s the law that all students are to pass two languages before they are allowed to graduate. Meanwhile, those who grew up learning but English are taking language classes in droves.

There is a reason, of course. Bilingualism can very well translate to better job opportunities and a better pay. In some career paths, fluency in more than one language is even an absolute requirement. And who can resist the temptation to brag about being able to speak French?

So imagine my surprise when I read that the scientific community used to believe bilingualism was bad for your brain. Dr. Colin Baker, professor of Education at Bangor University, wrote in his 1993 book Foundation of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism that around a century ago, it was believed that bilingualism could cause anything from language confusion (“cerebral confusion”), “split personality” and even spiritual decline. He then followed up with his 1995 book, A Parents’ and Teachers’ Guide to Bilingualism, and noted that just half a century ago educators across North America used to tell immigrant parents to discourage the use of their native language at home. Practicing a second language, it was believed, could hamper the children’s ability to absorb formal education.

Bilingualism can very well translate to better job opportunities and a better pay.

The underlying argument for this belief was that the brain was limited in its capacity. So in learning a new language, the brain had to sacrifice some of its working capacity. Using the metaphor of a weighing scale, it was argued the study of a second language would reduce the brain’s capacity to retain knowledge of the other languages.

That era is long gone.

Many researches had since dispelled the misconceptions surrounding the disadvantages of learning a second language. Janet Werker’s (University of British Columbia), for example, compared babies who grew up in bilingual homes and those in monolingual homes. She found that babies from bilingual homes were able to distinguish between different languages, while those from monolingual homes could not – showing that language confusion never occurred even if children were to be learn more than one language early in their lives.

In fact, various experiments since then showed that the study of foreign languages was linked to various cognitive advantages. Dumas, for example, reported in journal Child that the study of foreign language not only did not induce language confusion, it improved students’ English language skills. In the study that involved 13,200 students in third and fourth grades of Louisiana public schools, it was apparent that students who studied a foreign language invariably did better than those who did not in the English portion of the Louisiana Basic Skill tests, regardless of their race, gender or academic level.

And if you think only young children benefits from learning a second language, consider the study conducted by T.C. Cooper and was published in The Modern Language Journal (1987). Cooper analyzed the data collected from the Admission Testing Program of the College Board and found that students who studied a foreign language in high school had better Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, and that each year of foreign language study was found to correlate with higher verbal and math scores in the SAT test. While those who did not study foreign language had a mean of 366 on SAT verbal test and 409 on SAT math test, those with one year of foreign language scored a little higher (378 and 416) and those with five years of foreign language scored dramatically higher (504 and 535).

There are many studies that seem to point out the correlation – but not causation – between the study of second language and improvement in overall cognitive skill. Are there any research that point to causation?

Enriching the brain

Baker challenged the earlier hypothesis that suggested our brain has a limited capacity for the acquisition of a new language. He also challenged the idea that different languages were retained in different parts of the brain (the belief was that the brain was sectioned into exclusive parts containing the knowledge of one language and with no communication or overlapping among the exclusive sections). He argued that knowledge of different languages were not kept apart. Instead, they were meshed together in our cognitive systems, and readily transferred and generalized into one another to enrich and add to the collective knowledge.

Therefore, Banker reasoned, bilingualism could boost your cognitive skills.

He further suggested that by knowing different words (in different languages) to describe one particular object or idea, the brain of a bilingual person also possessed an increased flexibility in cognitive thinking. He explained this concept by describing that in Welsh, ‘ysgol’ could mean either ‘school’ or ‘ladder’. An English speaker who learned Welsh as a second language, then, could have an added additional dimensions to his/her cognitive thinking: the idea that school was some sort of a ladder to take one up to a better life.

Baker also found that bilingual children showed higher creativity in story-telling, which was supported by Ianco-Worrall’s research that revealed that in terms of language semantic development, bilingual children were ahead by two to three years than their monolingual peers!

Could it be that smarter students simply preferred to take up another subject? Diaz studied this issue in depth, and using statistical analysis he was able to determine that the causal link run from bilingualism to increased cognitive ability – lending support to Baker’s theory.

Better brain structures

If statistical analysis and theories, isn’t enough, consider this experiment.

In an attempt to learn more about the correlation of learning second language and its effect on the brain, Andrea Mechelli and colleagues of London’s Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience along with experts from Fondazione Santa Lucia in Rome administered a brain imaging experiment on three groups of people. The first group was monolingual, the second group learned second language before the age of 5, and the third learned second language by the ages of 10 to 15.

The experiment showed that bilingual participants had denser brain tissues compared to monolingual ones. Brain tissues that showed as being denser was specifically gray matters, the tissue that made up most of the brain’s nervous cells. This increased density was more apparent in the left hemisphere of the brain – the area responsible for language and communication skill – but is still observable in the bilingual participants’ right side of the hemisphere. (This supported the notion that the learning of second language is not merely a linguistic activity, but also a cognitive activity of the brain).

The study also found that the group who acquired second language early in their lives (before the age 5) had denser gray matter in the brain imaging experiment compared to the group who acquired second language later in life. The researchers who published this study in the Nature journal thus concluded that the study of second language may possibly alter the structure of the human brain, and that the earlier the learning acquisition process began, the greater was the impact in the brain’s gray matter density.

Experiment showed that bilingual participants had denser brain tissues compared to monolingual ones.

What the experiment above suggested was that bilinguals may have a cognitive advantage over their monolingual peers due to better brain structures, namely the gray matters, that were more actively developed as they learned a second language, especially when they had started it early in their childhood.

Building cognitive reserve in the brain to perform at its best capacity

So far we’ve covered how bilingualism benefits children and teenagers. What about the elders? Well, experts now believe that learning a second language can help slow the onset of Alzheimer’s and dementia by increasing the brain’s cognitive reserve.

Kovelman, together with other researchers, conducted an experiment that suggests bilingualism encouraged the brain to build a cognitive reserve. He found that while different languages were processed at much of the same area of the brain (in the left hemisphere), there’s nonetheless increased activity in the right hemisphere when participants are switching back and forth between two languages. These increased activities particularly took place in part of the brain called the “dorsolateral prefrontal cortex”, an area of the brain responsible for working memory, organization, regulation, and intellectual function, among others. (Mechelli’s, whose findings are discussed above, came to the same conclusion).

This expansion of neural activity outside of its common area when the speaker was in bilingual mode was as predictable as it was prominent on bilingual people’s brain scan, such that this phenomena was often dubbed as bilingualism’s “neurological signature”. The purpose of the neurological signature, experts argue, is to maximize the communication effectiveness of both languages.

Learning a second language, in other words, is to the brain like what exercise do to the body. It keeps the brain healthy and strong simply because it’s a cognitively challenging task.

Photo by doug88888

Music can have a greater effect on your brain than you may have thought, and according to recent studies, certain types of music can actually help people learn languages more quickly, solve complex problems, overcome addictions, lower blood pressure, ease pain and depression and even help Alzheimer’s patients recall long forgotten memories.

A study carried out by the journal Brain showed that children who received musical training at a young age showed signs of improved memory skills when compared to children who had received no training. The study was carried out with the help of memory tests that focused on general intelligence skills like literacy, mathematics, visual processing and IQ.

Remarkably, the patients who listened to music were better off than the other two groups and showed signs of being more perky and alert.

The children, aged between four and six, were divided into two groups, those who received music lessons outside of school and those who did not. After just four months, significant differences began to show, with the children that received music training showing signs of improved IQ and memory skills which are not directly to music, like literacy, visual processing and mathematics.

It seems musical training can have a profound effect on the brain and how it develops, stores and assimilates information, so it is no wonder that scientists are recommending that music be included in primary school curriculums and possibly even pre-school curriculums.

Young children are not the only ones who are affected by music in a positive way, and adults can also stimulate their brain by listening to certain types of music. A similar study which was also carried out by the journal Brain, showed that music can help speed up the recovery process for stroke victims.

The 60 patients, all of whom were also receiving regular therapy for stroke recovery, were divided into three groups; those who listened to music, those who listened to audio books and those who listened to nothing at all. Remarkably, the patients who listened to music were better off than the other two groups and showed signs of being more perky and alert. However, there was still some uncertainty about whether or not this was because the patients enjoyed the music, which could have influenced the results.

In order to answer this question, the scientists took it a step further and studied the effects of music that the patients didn’t particularly like. In this case, the patients’ brains showed heightened activity, but their performance on tests for their perceptual senses was poor. When the patients listened to music they knew and loved, they showed minimal brain activity, but they performed a lot better on the same tests. So apparently, listening to music can make you smarter, or at least sharper, but the type of music you choose is also an important factor.

Throughout the series of tests, scientists played music from different artists including Frank Sinatra, Kenny Rogers and the Flying Burrito Brothers Band. They found that Kenny Roger’s music had the most positive effect on the patients, which resulted in the experiment’s results being named “The Kenny Rogers Effect.” But before you rush out to purchase “The Best of Kenny Rogers,” remember that while the nursing home residents may have found that the music stimulated their neurological pleasure centers, someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy country music may not find the Kenny Rogers Effect to be very therapeutic.

According to the musicologist Julius Portnoy music can also alter high or low blood pressure, improve digestion, increase (or decrease) energy levels and change metabolic rates. Portnoy found that calm music, such as classical or instrumental music, worked to relax the body by increasing the amount of endorphins in the blood.

In the same way that the right music can have a positive effect on someone’s brain, the wrong music can affect a person negatively and even has the potential to cause sickness. The lyrics themselves do not affect the brain; rather it is the rhythm, tone and melody that cause a reaction. Certain types of music, particularly rock music, can actually be harmful to organisms.

A study along these lines was carried out by exposing mice to different types of music. Out of the three groups, one was exposed to harmonic music, the other to disharmonic music and the last was used as a control group. The brains of the mice that had been exposed to disharmonic music, showed signs of brain nerve damage and behavior degradation while the other two groups showed no significant changes.

Sedative, calm music is preferred for this treatment because it is known to balance out the patient’s blood pressure and heart beat.

Just to clarify, by “behavior degradation” the scientists mean that the mice listening to heavy metal and hard rock music all killed one another. Naturally, people will draw their own conclusions from this study, but before you condemn all rock music, remember that mice are (obviously) a different species and these studies are not 100% accurate in predicting effects in humans. Although 24 hours of heavy metal just might be enough to drive even the most dedicated metal head insane.

On a more positive note, music has also been shown to be an effective tool in helping people overcome addictions. The right type of music releases hormones and neurotransmitters that are associated with the feeling of satisfaction, thus compensating for the absence of drugs when a person is going through withdrawals. Sedative, calm music is preferred for this treatment because it is known to balance out the patient’s blood pressure and heart beat.

Clearly, music is a powerful tool and can have both a positive or negative effect on its listeners. So choose your music carefully and consider what kind of effect it may be having on you and others around you.

Photo by KT of Lake Orion

It’s no secret that mental health is an issue in our society. One statistic that may surprise you, though, is the massive disparity in prescription medication use between men and women. In fact, one in four women used mental health drugs of some kind in the period between 2001 and 2010. Drug use is also increasing rapidly for both genders, but more so for women. Anti-depressant use amongst women has shot up 29 percent since 2001.

But it’s the gender disparity that is most interesting and perhaps of most concern. What about anti-anxiety medications? They are used by women at twice the rate of men. Perhaps this is because our culture tends to demand that men “soldier on,” and men, as a result, seek medical assistance less often than women.

It’s also possible that at least some major mood disorders are genuinely more common in females. Women, for example, are statistically more likely to suffer from borderline personality disorder and may be more likely to become depressed.

One theory is that women are more likely to suffer from short-term stressors. Society tends to expect women to bear the brunt of child rearing and often work a full-time or more than full time job on top of it. Anti-anxiety medications are fast acting and often prescribed for short-term use when dealing with marital discord, job loss or bereavement.

Women are more likely to suffer from borderline personality disorder.

Is this really a problem, though? Perhaps it is. It’s certainly telling that women are being prescribed more ‘happy pills’, be they anti-anxiety, anti-depressant or atypical psychotics (increasingly prescribed for major depression). It may say that women are more likely to shut up and take a pill rather than protest when their psychiatrist prescribed medication rather than some alternative therapy. It may be biological.

But one in four is a ridiculously high number. These drugs are not without risk. Is it a coincidence that women are also more likely to abuse prescription medication – perhaps the very same anti-anxiety drugs their doctor gave them to help them get over last year’s stress? Although it is more likely that amphetamines or opioids are abused, sedatives are also high on the list of commonly abused drugs.

On top of that, recent research has shown that for mild to moderate depression anti-depressants are not helpful and may, in fact, be harmful. Many of these drugs have unpleasant side effects that can last even after the woman stops taking them. One common anti-depressant, for example, has been associated with permanent, significant weight gain. It might be that women are being prescribed medication they don’t need and their tendency not to argue with their doctors is making them ‘victims’ of the tendency to want to solve everything with a pill.

This tendency is a problem in our society. Because psychiatric medications seem to work fast and solve the problem easily, without anyone having to work hard, they tend to be over-prescribed. Drug companies are also trying to make a profit and will often advertise these drugs directly to potential users rather than simply to doctors and psychiatrists. Because of this, the value of alternative treatments such as talk therapy or lifestyle changes tends to be neglected. For example, women who suffer from mild depression often get better long-term results from thirty minutes of exercise a day than from medication. For short-term stressors, a good counselor is the best way to go.

It is possible, however, that the true root cause of the gender disparity goes back to the very same reason that women suffer more from short-term stressors. Our society places a burden on married women with children that is often unfair. They are expected to be the one who does the bulk of the parenting but can seldom afford to stop working to do so. Because of this, women often have less free time than men. When you are trapped in the cycle of get up, go to work, come home, care for the kids, go to bed, repeat, where is the time for thirty minutes of exercise a day? Or for weekly counseling sessions?

An hour or two of “me time” could be enough to prevent the development of anxiety or depression in the first place.

Are women going to their doctors when they become stressed and begging to just be given a pill to make them feel better because they don’t have time for a better, more natural treatment? Is the guilt we tend to heap on working mothers making them unwilling to make the time because it is for them, not their children?

In other words, are women taking more psychiatric medications than men not because they need them more but because they don’t have time to either prevent mental illness or fix it by any other means? If this is true, then the answer lies in society’s expectations. Perhaps a good counselor could convince these women that they are allowed to get off the treadmill, let their hair down and devote some time to themselves and their own needs. An hour or two of “me time” could be enough to prevent the development of anxiety or depression in the first place.

Regardless of the cause, the issue is a real one. The more we learn about mental health, the less smart it seems to rely on pills as a quick fix solution. Despite this, more and more women are doing just that.