ScienceDaily: Living Well News

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• Empathy helps children to understand sarcasm
• A slow, loving, 'affective' touch may be key to a healthy sense of self
• Weighed down by guilt: Research shows it's more than a metaphor
• Something in the (expecting mother's) water: Contaminated water breeds low-weight babies, sometimes born prematurely
• 'Cyberchondria' from online health searches is worse for those who fear the unknown
• Sunscreen saves superhero gene
• Babies learn to anticipate touch in the womb
• 'Brain training' may boost working memory, but not intelligence
• Evaluating mobile weight loss apps on use of evidence-based behavioral strategies
• Reading is good for your health
• Link between car crashes, adverse pregnancy outcomes
• Young credit card users are more responsible than older borrowers
• The negative results of concealing who you really are on the job
• Death rates higher among middle aged, elderly when economy is booming
• Debit cards deduct nutrition from school lunches
• People mean most for our collective happiness
• Dietary intervention reduces stomach problems for diabetes patients

Empathy helps children to understand sarcasm Posted: 08 Oct 2013 01:53 PM PDT The greater the empathy skills of children, the easier it is for them to recognize sarcasm, according to a new study.

A slow, loving, 'affective' touch may be key to a healthy sense of self Posted: 08 Oct 2013 10:29 AM PDT Researchers found that a loving touch, characterized by a slow caress or stroke -- often an instinctive mother/child gesture or between romantic partners -- may boost the brain's sense of body ownership and, in turn, play a part in creating and sustaining a healthy sense of self.

Weighed down by guilt: Research shows it's more than a metaphor Posted: 08 Oct 2013 10:28 AM PDT Ever feel the weight of guilt? Lots of people say they do. They're "carrying guilt" or "weighed down by guilt." Are these just expressions, or is there something more to these metaphors? Researchers have now found evidence that the emotional experience of guilt can be grounded in subjective bodily sensation.

Something in the (expecting mother's) water: Contaminated water breeds low-weight babies, sometimes born prematurely Posted: 08 Oct 2013 09:29 AM PDT Pregnant women living in areas with contaminated drinking water may be more likely to have babies that are premature or with low birth weights (considered less than 5.5 pounds), according to a new study.

'Cyberchondria' from online health searches is worse for those who fear the unknown Posted: 08 Oct 2013 09:29 AM PDT Turning to the Internet to find out what ails you is common, but for folks who have trouble handling uncertainty, "cyberchondria" -- the online counterpart to hypochondria -- worsens as they seek answers.

Sunscreen saves superhero gene Posted: 08 Oct 2013 07:25 AM PDT Next time your kids complain about putting on sunscreen, tell them this: Sunscreen shields a superhero gene that protects them from getting cancer. Researchers have found sunscreen provides 100 percent protection against all three forms of skin cancer.

Babies learn to anticipate touch in the womb Posted: 08 Oct 2013 06:17 AM PDT Babies learn how to anticipate touch while in the womb, according to new research. Using 4-D scans psychologists found, for the first time, that fetuses were able to predict, rather than react to, their own hand movements towards their mouths as they entered the later stages of gestation compared to earlier in a pregnancy.

'Brain training' may boost working memory, but not intelligence Posted: 08 Oct 2013 06:17 AM PDT Brain training games, apps, and websites are popular and it's not hard to see why -- who wouldn't want to give their mental abilities a boost? New research suggests that brain training programs might strengthen your ability to hold information in mind, but they won't bring any benefits to the kind of intelligence that helps you reason and solve problems.

Evaluating mobile weight loss apps on use of evidence-based behavioral strategies Posted: 08 Oct 2013 06:17 AM PDT In a new study published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, UMass Medical School behavioral psychologist and weight loss expert Sherry Pagoto, Ph.D., and colleagues find that mobile apps to help people lose weight are lacking when it comes to strategies for changing behaviors.

Reading is good for your health Posted: 08 Oct 2013 06:12 AM PDT People with poor reading skills are likely to be less healthy than those who read easily, according to recent research. Literacy skills are important for keeping in good shape.

Link between car crashes, adverse pregnancy outcomes Posted: 08 Oct 2013 06:12 AM PDT Motor vehicle crashes can be hazardous for pregnant women, especially if they are not wearing a seat belt when the accident occurs.

Young credit card users are more responsible than older borrowers Posted: 08 Oct 2013 06:07 AM PDT If you think young people don't know how to manage money and pay down their credit cards, then you should think again. A new study shows young borrowers –- 18 to 25 years old -- are among the least likely credit card users to have a serious default on their cards. Not only that, they're also more likely to be good credit risks later in life.

The negative results of concealing who you really are on the job Posted: 08 Oct 2013 06:07 AM PDT Most know that hiding something from others can cause internal angst. New research suggests the consequences can go far beyond emotional strife, and that being forced to keep information concealed, such as one's sexual orientation, disrupts the concealer's basic skills and abilities, including intellectual acuity, physical strength, and interpersonal grace—skills critical to workplace success.

Death rates higher among middle aged, elderly when economy is booming Posted: 07 Oct 2013 04:08 PM PDT Death rates among middle aged and older people are higher when the economy is growing than when it's heading for recession, reveals a long term analysis of the economic cycles of developed countries.

Debit cards deduct nutrition from school lunches Posted: 07 Oct 2013 08:19 AM PDT School cafeterias that accept only electronic payments may be inadvertently promoting junkier food and adding empty calories to students' diets.

People mean most for our collective happiness Posted: 07 Oct 2013 06:42 AM PDT Swedish soccer star Zlatan is associated with happiness, but not iPhones. A new study suggests that our collective picture of what makes us happy is more about relationships, and less about things.

Dietary intervention reduces stomach problems for diabetes patients Posted: 07 Oct 2013 06:42 AM PDT Many diabetes patients suffer from symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and lack of appetite. A doctoral thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy shows that a diet consisting of foods that fall apart easily, for example boiled potatoes and fish gratin, can help alleviate the condition.

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