The World’s Largest Coalition of Nontheists and Nontheist Communities!

Being Bad Is Good For You (Apparently)

Here's a rather interesting article from the Daily Mail:
Article

It lists the findings of quite a few different studies on a number of different parts of life, and is a fairly entertaining read.

A few quotes:

"LAZING ABOUT
ADDS YEARS TO YOUR LIFE

People who get up early and busy themselves all day long are heading for an early grave, says public health expert Professor Peter Axt. He believes lazing about is the key to a long life and an antidote to professional stress, provided people are otherwise healthy.
He suggests: 'Waste half your free time. People who would rather take a midday nap instead of playing squash have a better chance of living into old age.' Research shows that people who run long distances into their 50s are using up energy they need for other purposes such as cell renewal and fighting disease, he adds.
As examples of his thesis, he has pointed to the increased longevity of zoo animals - for instance lions in the Serengeti live only eight years, but can live to the age of 20 in a zoo; Arctic polar bears last 20 years in the wild, but 40 in captivity. Human examples are priests, nuns and monks, who tend to live quieter lives.

Lazing about: Why hit the gym 5am when you can spend the day on the sofa AND live longer?
Another added benefit is that our brains are much more active when we daydream than previously thought. 'Mind wandering is typically associated with negative things like inattentiveness,' says psychology Professor Kalina Christoff at the University of British Columbia. 'But research shows our brains are very active when we daydream, much more than when we focus on routine tasks.'
The findings suggest that daydreaming, which can occupy as much as one third of our waking lives, is an important cognitive state where we sort through important information."

"LOUD MUSIC
STIMULATES THE BRAIN

Loud music: Heading off to rock festivals, or simply turning up the volume on your home amplifier might be good for your brain power
Heading off to rock festivals, or simply turning up the volume on your home amplifier might be good for your brain power.
According to researchers at Manchester University, music fans are stimulating part of the inner ear known as the sacculus, which responds to the beat in music. This gives the brain pleasure and makes us feel good - during the music and afterwards.
The sacculus, which is not thought to have any hearing function in humans, appears to be sensitive only to very loud volumes, above 90 decibels.
Neil Todd, an expert in the scientific study of music, explains that the sacculus seems to be part of a primitive hearing mechanism that has slowly been lost as humans have evolved.
He said it has a connection to the part of the brain responsible for drives such as hunger, sex and hedonistic responses.
When these desires are satisfied, the brain is stimulated into releasing feelgood hormones that make us calm, happy and responsive. So to trigger a dose of happy hormones on a Monday morning, you should, in theory, choose Black Sabbath over chamber music."

Tags: health, lazy, music, stress

0 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Johnsky on September 3, 2009 at 10:36am

I'm not posting my opinion on this article, just a fair warning.
Daily Mail is notorious for making up scientific studies out of thin air just to get more readers.

They're a tabloid paper. Don't immediately trust anything written by them, find another source.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by AcesLucky on September 3, 2009 at 12:22pm

Wow! Several more reasons to be a Slacker! I like it.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Kaimana on September 3, 2009 at 2:07pm

I believe some of you are missing the key word there, "entertaining".

It was fun to read, that is, for the most part, it.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by OutlawGirl on September 3, 2009 at 2:22pm

'Mind wandering is typically associated with negative things like inattentiveness,' says psychology Professor Kalina Christoff at the University of British Columbia. 'But research shows our brains are very active when we daydream, much more than when we focus on routine tasks.'

Having had ADD since I was a kid, this part is at least true to me. My brain is like a rocket ship when I'm daydreaming and the stories I have in my head are always extremely vivid. I also tend to get VERY excited and walk around if I'm really engaged in the story. Makes it kind of difficult to write things down because I get so caught up in the rush. XD

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Jared Lardo on September 6, 2009 at 11:34pm

This explains my bass-filled Good Morning playlist from a year ago.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Sentient Biped on September 7, 2009 at 9:08am

Adriana is completely right, of course.

Still it's a funny article. Based on this content, I know a lot of people who will outlive Methusalah.

We have an expression, "The good die young". My mother used to say, of her own grandfather, the family thought "He was too mean to die".

I always thought that zoo animals lived longer because they didn't get eaten by predators, or their younger peers. Not it turns out it's because they're sitting around watching sitcoms and eating cheetos?