Brain Holds Stress-Coping Mechanism

Those who hit the gym don't take stress out on subordinates: study

(NEWSER) - Got a crabby boss? Maybe you should get your office to chip in on a gym membership. Bosses who work out are less likely to mistreat their employees, according to a recent study in the Journal of Business and Psychology , spotted by Scientific American . Researchers had 98 MBA students fill out surveys on their bosses' behaviors, and had bosses fill out a separate survey about their stress levels and exercise habits. More»

Growing darkness depresses, so you need to keep upbeat

(NEWSER) - The increasingly short and dark days of winter can make many people feel depressed this time of year, and Daylight Saving Time only makes things worse. So to help people out, Time offers eight tips to keep your spirits up:

• Socializing and exercising. OK, not exactly what you crave when you're feeling depressed, but forcing yourself to be active and meet people can really turn your mood around.

May cause learning and memory troubles, depression: Study

(NEWSER) - Air pollution isn’t just a threat to the heart and lungs: It can also affect learning, memory, and mood, researchers find. They exposed mice to extended periods of polluted or filtered air, and found that those exposed to pollution were slower to learn, quick to forget, and possibly more vulnerable to symptoms of depression and anxiety, the Telegraph reports. “This could have important and troubling implications for people who live and work in polluted urban areas around the world,” the lead researcher says. More»

Powerful drug cocktails for stress, depression can be deadly

(NEWSER) - When Senior Airman Anthony Mena was found dead in his apartment, he had eight prescription medications in his blood, including three antidepressants, a sleeping pill, a sedative, and two powerful painkillers—but it was the combination of those drugs that killed him, not his own hand. The US military's medical system is flooded with prescription drugs, and the results sometimes can be deadly, claiming the lives of 101 soldiers between 2006 and 2009, reports the New York Times . “I’m not a doctor, but there is something inside that tells me the fewer of these things we prescribe, the better off we’ll be,” said one military official. More»

New link made between genes, risk of depression

(NEWSER) - Bad—or, potentially, good—news for pessimists: Some people's negative outlook on life appears to be caused by a genetic condition, according to a new study. Researchers found that people with low levels of the brain chemical NPY are likelier to be pessimistic, to deal poorly with stress, and to suffer from major depression, the Telegraph reports. More»