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Melissa Dahl

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  1. It Seems the Cigarette Industry Helped Create the Type A PersonalityA strange origin story for an enduring self-concept.
  2. A New Theory on Déjà Vu: It’s How Your Memory Fact-checks ItselfStop me if you’ve heard this.
  3. Olympic Champions’ Minds Are Quieter Than YoursAll-out effort combined with all-out chill.
  4. Free Advice: Use the Very First Hour of Your Day for Creative WorkDo it for the smugness.
  5. Some Parts of Your Brain Are Better Than Others at Handling Sleep LossEvery sleep-deprived region of your brain is sleep-deprived in its own way.
  6. People Are Happiest at Work When They’re Treated Just a Little Like ToddlersClear expectations, with a lot of wiggle room.
  7. To Your Brain, Audiobooks Are Not ‘Cheating’A cognitive psychologist on a question that annoys him.
  8. Stop Psychoanalyzing Trump From Afar, Psychiatrist Commands Other PsychiatristsIt’s “irresponsible, potentially stigmatizing, and definitely unethical,” the president of the American Psychiatric Association said.
  9. You and Your Dog Share a Language: The Feelings Written on Your FacesScientists are trying to systematically decode canine facial expressions.
  10. The Nap Is a Modern InventionMidday slumber: not Paleo.
  11. work
    The Best Way to Answer the World’s Worst Job-Interview QuestionWhat’s your biggest weakness?
  12. The 4 Things That Are Worse Than Death, According to 180 Severely Ill PeopleA rather dark version of the game Would You Rather.
  13. Reading Makes You Carsick Because Your Brain Thinks It’s Being PoisonedSo many mixed signals. So much nausea.
  14. The Fascinating Thing Moving Does to Your MemoryMemories of events just before and just after a move seem more vivid.
  15. Bernie Backers and the Psychology of What Might’ve BeenThis is practically a textbook example of the power of if onlys and what ifs.
  16. Everyone Calm Down for a Minute About ‘Sugar Addiction,’ Neuroscientists PleadThe scientific evidence is “far from convincing.”
  17. Half of Dermatologists Say They Weren’t Trained to Spot Cancer on Black SkinRacial disparities in health care start in med schools.
  18. The Psychological Appeal of Those Viral Optical IllusionsCan you spot the panda? The cigar? The phone?
  19. Bad Dreams Are Like Dress Rehearsals for Your MindIt’s a way of practicing for real life, or so goes one theory.
  20. health
    Exercising in Nature May Hold Unique Benefits for the DepressedGo outside! (But maybe wait until we’ve found our way out of this heat-dome thing.)
  21. Are Pets As Happy As Their Owners Think They Are?A new book explores the “ambiguous ethics” of pet-keeping.
  22. Now Appearing at the Republican National Convention: Actual BarfAround a dozen GOP staffers are reportedly showing symptoms of norovirus.
  23. Zoo Elephants Need Friends and HobbiesSocial and mental stimulation may be even more important than the size of their enclosures.
  24. The Woman Who Lost Her Sense of ‘Mine’A case study sheds new light on the link between your stuff and your sense of self.
  25. People Who Make Confident, Quick Decisions Are Often Making Bad DecisionsYou hem and haw and hem again to your heart’s content.
  26. Maybe Alzheimer’s Begins in Early ChildhoodScientists found early hints of the disease in people as young as 3.
  27. How to Handle One Night of Insomnia: Do NothingOne sleep scientist argues that making up for a bad night’s sleep by hitting the snooze button or napping will only make things worse in the long run.
  28. Goats: The New DogsThey look pleadingly to humans for help, just like dogs do.
  29. Hopelessness Doesn’t Have to Preclude ActionDespair doesn’t have to go away before you resolve to act.
  30. How Prolonged Exposure to Sweet, Blessed Silence Benefits the BrainEarly research is suggesting that quiet is more than just the absence of noise.
  31. It Seems That Cats Are Very Into NutritionNothing tastes as good as a balanced diet feels.
  32. 5 Big Ways Kindergarten Has Changed Since the 1990sLess play. More math.
  33. The Key to Accurately Predicting the Future: Know When to Change Your MindIt gets harder the more you know about a subject.
  34. What to Do During the Day to Increase Your Chances of Lucid Dreaming at NightThis is rather Inception-like.
  35. Running Shoes Change the Muscles in Your FeetBut not exactly the way fans of barefoot running have argued in the past.
  36. Psychologists Want to Remind You That Your Colleagues Exist Outside of Work“Structured unstructured time” — in non-corporate-speak, that’s chitchat — is highly encouraged.
  37. Kindness Is Intuitive — It’s Overthinking That Leads to Selfish BehaviorThe science of selflessness.
  38. The Warriors’ Brain-Zapping Devices Might Be Placebos — But Placebos WorkSome sports scientists urge those in their field to harness the “belief effect” when working with athletes.
  39. You Can Teach Yourself to Turn Down Your Self-DoubtIt’s called “cognitive reappraisal.”
  40. The AMA Will Lobby Congress to Overturn Block on Gun-Violence ResearchThe nation’s largest association of doctors just issued a statement calling gun violence a “public-health crisis.”
  41. 10 Extremely Precise Words for Emotions You Didn’t Even Know You HadAre you feeling awumbuk, that emptiness after a guest leaves? Or are you in the grips of torschlusspanik, the jitters elicited by a looming deadline?
  42. Even Extroverts Find It Draining to Be Around Other Humans for Too LongToo much of a good thing.
  43. For Centuries, Animals Have Been Helping Us Understand Human SuicideHow the narrative has shifted over the years.
  44. A Dumb Way Restaurants Trick (‘Trick’) You Into Drinking More WineA timely excuse.
  45. There Is No Modern Sleeplessness EpidemicAre people really sleeping fewer hours than they did in decades past?
  46. The Only Person Who Can Make Your Job Meaningful Is YouEven the best bosses can’t create meaning for their employees.
  47. The List of Zika-Related Birth Defects Just Got LongerMore details emerge on what the World Health Organization is calling “congenital Zika syndrome.”
  48. 135 Couples Told Scientists How Depression Affects Their RelationshipsThe good and the bad.
  49. The Lasting Benefits of Growing Up Around BooksA new study links access to non-schoolbooks in childhood with a higher income later in life.
  50. The Weird Psychology of Game of Thrones Fan TheoriesWhat R+L=J and the like can tell us about conspiracy theories.
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