Author: dispatchtimes news

A Finnish eight-year study has found that higher self-reported screen time and lower amounts of unsupervised physical activity in childhood and adolescence are linked to slightly better cognitive performance in the teenage years, though researchers emphasise the effects are small and not causal. The PANIC study followed 260 children who were aged between six and nine at recruitment in Finland, tracking them through adolescence to around 15 to 17 years old. The researchers say the long duration helps illuminate how daily movement patterns may influence brain development over time. To capture physical activity and sedentary behaviour, the team used two…

A new study suggests that while a happy marriage is generally linked with longer life, the health benefits hinge on the daily habits couples share. The research, published in Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, found that when partners bond over poor diets and bad sleep, their relationship satisfaction might actually accelerate biological aging. Researchers sought to understand why the health benefits of marital satisfaction vary so much from couple to couple. Stephanie J. Wilson, a psychology researcher at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, led a team to examine a concept called symptom-system fit theory. This idea suggests that indulging in…

A new study from researchers at Stetson University casts doubt on the impact of so‑called harmful language guides, suggesting that everyday readers generally do not find the targeted terms offensive and that reading them in fiction does not harm psychological wellbeing. The two experiments, conducted with American adults and published in the Journal of Open Inquiry in the Behavioral Sciences, question whether restricting commonplace phrases actually delivers measurable benefits. Harmful language guides are policy documents produced by institutions, universities or businesses that urge people to avoid certain everyday words and to favour alternatives they deem safer. Examples cited in the…

A large genetic study has found that activating the GLP-1 receptor—the target of widely used weight-loss and diabetes medicines—appears linked to better mental health and a lower risk of conditions such as depression and bipolar disorder, with hints of protection against substance use disorders. The research, conducted by Guoyi Yang and colleagues, was published in Translational Psychiatry. GLP-1 receptor activation and mental health The GLP-1 receptor is a protein present on the surface of cells throughout the body, including the pancreas and the brain. When activated, it helps regulate blood sugar and signals fullness to the brain, reducing appetite. GLP-1…

A new study exploring art portraits suggests that beauty and attractiveness, while closely linked, are driven by different factors. Researchers found a strong association between the two judgments, yet beauty also hinges on specific image properties such as self-similarity and symmetry. The work, published in i-Perception, analysed a database of 192 digital portrait images against responses from 300 adults. Portraiture is a long-standing subject of artistic endeavour, with faces often recognisable even when artists adopt distinctive styles. This makes portraits peculiar aesthetic objects: prized both for the beauty of the artwork and for the perceived attractiveness of the person depicted.…

A new study suggests the shape of a world leader’s face could correlate with their likelihood of starting international conflict, with wider-faced rulers appearing more prone to war, particularly in the early days of their tenure. The research, published in Politics and the Life Sciences, analysed 1,761 leaders across 174 countries over a 63-year period from 1947 to 2010 and found that those with wider facial proportions were more likely to initiate militarised disputes abroad. The metric at the heart of the study is the facial width-to-height ratio, defined as the distance between the outer cheekbones divided by the distance…

A new study suggests that older adults who lived in socialist East Germany before the 1989 reunification show better cognitive health in later life and slower mental decline than their West German peers. The researchers point to the former East German educational system, with its longer compulsory schooling and universal early childcare, as a possible reason. Researchers Ariane Bertogg of the University of Konstanz and gerontologist Jeffrey E. Stokes of the University of Massachusetts Boston conducted the analysis, framing the long-standing division of Germany as a natural experiment to examine how different political systems shape cognitive development across a lifetime.…

A new study published in Deviant Behavior links an intense obsession with celebrities to criminal thinking patterns and vulnerable narcissism, suggesting that the darker side of celebrity worship is tied to a deeply insecure self-concept and a willingness to justify rule-breaking. Celebrity worship is described as a one-sided parasocial relationship with a public figure, existing on a spectrum from mild interest to borderline pathological fixation. In milder forms, people may simply enjoy chatting about their favourite actors or musicians; at the extreme end, attachment can become obsessive and disrupt daily functioning. Central to the study’s framework is narcissism, a personality…

A large new study has found that emotional intelligence is linked to distinct physical activity patterns in women, but not in men. The research, published in Personality and Individual Differences, analysed data from 6,368 Lithuanian adults aged 18 to 64, with women making up about 71 per cent of participants. Emotional intelligence describes a person’s ability to perceive, regulate, and effectively use both their own emotions and those of others. Higher emotional intelligence is often associated with better psychological well-being, social functioning and resilience to stress, and emerging evidence suggests these emotional skills connect with daily health habits and aging.…

A new study suggests that even light, lifetime alcohol consumption may be linked to poorer hand dexterity and balance as people age. The research, published in Alcohol and Alcoholism, examined whether low-level drinking affects motor coordination and postural stability in healthy adults, and found notable associations when age is considered alongside lifetime alcohol intake. Manual dexterity refers to the ability to perform coordinated hand and finger movements to grasp and manipulate objects, while static postural stability is the capacity to stand upright without swaying. Both skills are important for independent living as people grow older, from everyday tasks to preventing…