Mental Health
Here you can read the latest news and research studies covering mental health. This is also the place to find out about different strategies on how you can reduce stress and boost happiness, and many other ways to look after your mental wellbeing.
Woman born without a chunk of her brain shows the power of plasticity
Imagine going to the doctor for a check-up and finding out you are missing a vital part of your brain. This is what happened in 1987 to a woman — referred to as EG— who had no prior knowledge of her condition before this scan. In accounts from EG and those who know her, no unusual behavior Read More...
Paid parental leave improves infants' brain development
The months after giving birth are significant for mothers, not just for the physical and emotional recovery from labor, but for the time to bond with the new child and to adjust to the major life change. There is an ongoing discussion in the United States for the implementation of national paid Read More...
3 ways to relax to the max in nature, according to science
Okay, so you’ve finally decided to carve out the time in your busy schedule to commune with nature because you’ve heard and read that spending time outside has a wide range of benefits from physical health to mental wellbeing. However, you only have access to a city park, your backyard, or even Read More...
Should schools take on the four-day workweek too?
If you follow The Optimist Daily, you’ll notice that there’s been growing interest in the benefits of shortening our workweeks from the conventional five days to four—so why shouldn’t school children adopt it, too? The Forest Gate community school in Newham, London already has three Read More...
A new study reveals how engaging activities reduce loneliness
Loneliness can be a major problem for good mental health and brain health in the long term. Many of us, though, still live alone, and the pandemic and post-pandemic culture have led to sometimes unavoidable periods of loneliness. This doesn’t need to be unhealthy, though. A new study from Read More...
Need some encouragement? Call this adorable kid-run hotline
Anyone who has the delight of children in their lives in one form or another will agree: kids say the cutest things. Most adults know that functioning as a productive member of society usually requires thinking about what they want to say before actually saying it, which makes kids’ lack of Read More...
This atlas maps out the area of the brain associated with substance disorders
As we have reiterated many times at The Optimist Daily, the brain is an extremely complex organ shrouded in mystery. Incredible and interesting breakthroughs are always being made on this front, including how our brains interpret smell, how they communicate with our organs, and the regions involved Read More...
How to talk to your kids about the war in Ukraine
Approaching conversations about difficult topics with your kids is a challenge every parent has to face, whether that’s climate change or war, it can be a daunting and awkward task. Nowadays, the internet has given children access to some not-so-savory content, including circulating images of the Read More...
What this zebrafish gene reveals about autism in humans
The human brain is enormously complex, no one can deny that, but some parts of our brains are similar to those of some simpler animals. Think of it this way: a motorcycle may not have a car’s rear differential, air conditioning, or safety features, but they do both have an engine. Some of the Read More...
Bill before California State Assembly for a four-day workweek
If we can get as much done in a shorter amount of time, with a clear head and minimal stress levels, why shouldn’t we? We should all love our jobs, and many of us luckily do, but we still need to live full and active lives outside of the office. Many believe that the trick to living a rounded and Read More...