How does stress relate to illness Stress is a blanket term that can mean many things. Technically, stress involves an individual’s physical and emotional reaction to pressure from his environment of from within himself. A job promotion is stressful because, although generally positive, it may make one feel that harder work is expected. Thus while stress is often thought to be negative, it may... 

The experience is common to most of us and is often intensely embarrassing. We meet a man we recognize, but we can’t remember his name. Or we know him well, but can’t recall his wife’s name – and hope that we don’t have to introduce the couple to somebody else. Sometimes, we remember absurd details about a person whose name we forget, such as the kind of car he drives,... 

Doctors say it isn’t laughter that causes hiccups but more probably the feasting that goes with fun. Too much food and drink may irritate the diaphragm, a sheetlike muscle separating the chest and the abdomen. The victim loses control of the diaphragm, which contracts suddenly and causes a rapid closure of the vocal chords. The result is a loud and sometimes embarrassing hick. Many attacks of... 

How to prevent yawning? The scene: a crowded room in the late evening. Suddenly, one person yawns. Before long, others flow suit, accusing the rest to yawn of having started the mass display of tiredness and boredom. We have all had experiences of that kind, yet many researchers dispute that yawning is contagious. A likely explanation is that when one yaw follows an other it becomes the subject of... 

"laughter is still the best medicine" Without doubt, the mind has an enormous influence over our health. Doctors’ casebooks are full of examples of patients whose illness appears to stem from general depression. A healthy person receives bad news, is understandably upset, and before long complains of being ‘run down’. One British study shows that chronic illness among... 

aggressive Behaviour is difficult to measure, but many scientists – male and female – agree about certain differences between the sexes. They say that girls are superior at reading and understanding difficult material, and they speak more fluently. Boys are generally better at mathematics. They shine at such skills as reading maps and finding their way of mazes – and they are without... 

dreams Nothing in our lives is stranger than the fantasies created in our dreams. Some of them are delightful, with all the joy and romance that have inspired poets since ancient times. We wake up sorry to find that we have been dreaming. Other dreams are so bizarre that we are baffled: people appear who have been out of our thoughts for years; other charvers are a composite of two or more acquaintances;...