Well, turns out that those icons of alternative office space — exercise ball chairs — didn’t hold up well with the scientists. You’ll burn at least four more calories per hour (hey, that’s a cookie a day), but it won’t fix your posture. …a 2009 British study found that prolonged sitting on a therapy ball [...]

Need an excuse to get a massage? Research shows that it’s good for your stress levels (duh), and immune system — and that the effects vary by type! Volunteers who received [deep-tissue] Swedish massage experienced significant decreases in levels of the stress hormone cortisol in blood and saliva, and in arginine vasopressin, a hormone that [...]

“When we are not sure, we are alive.” — Graham Greene Fascinating article in Scientific American Mind this month: The Willpower Paradox. Turns out that resolving to do something is not nearly as effective as wondering if you will do it. …Those primed with the interrogative phrase “Will I?” expressed a much greater commitment to [...]

Two great articles on ergonomics in today’s Times: a review of a standing desk and a panel discussion of the article. (For a third, read the Wall Street Journal’s January 2010 piece on the dangers of sedentary life.) Standing up while working is starting to trickle into various offices and schools. As I noted in [...]

Yoga teachers often use the word grounded. It’s a verb (to ground through the feet) and an adjective (a grounded feeling). But what does that really mean? It’s a yoga cliche, a phrase that’s used so often it’s lost some of its punch. And most of us didn’t know the definition to begin with. Read [...]

New article in the Journal links prolonged TV watching to an increased rate of death — even for people who exercise! The problem is the extended periods of sitting still. And it seems that sitting on a plane, at a computer, or — gasp — reading a book is just as bad.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been working on clearing my mind more often during the day. The natural tendency for a busy mind is to work ever harder to crack a problem or find an innovative solution. The yogic belief is that a clear, unburdened, relaxed mind is actually a more creative, efficient problem solver. And now that belief has a boost from hardcore science.

Good reminder as the holiday music starts playing: exercise creates physical, as well as mental, buffers for stress in the brain. Rats who had run for several weeks before stress tests (like swimming in cold water): showed less activation in neurons associated with stress displayed less anxiety and helplessness maintained calmness and curiosity, even when [...]

The Times had a (long) article on worriers in Sunday’s magazine. Studies have identified a subset of infants/children with “high-reactive” temperaments. They go on to be inhibited adolescents, and anxious adults. So if relaxation techniques don’t seem to do you much good, it could be that you’re naturally wired more tightly. This isn’t all bad, [...]

Wired has a great article about the increasing effectiveness of placebos (and how the drug companies are scrambling to keep up), and it turns out that a large variable is COLOR: Yellow pills make the most effective antidepressants, like little doses of pharmaceutical sunshine. Red pills can give you a more stimulating kick. Wake up, [...]