Psychology

“Sick” of being stressed: The link between chronic stress and the immune system

Health, Psychology / /

Stress is an inevitable part of life, but when it becomes chronic, its effects can persist far beyond mere psychological discomfort. Chronic stress is characterized by prolonged exposure to physical, emotional, or environmental stressors. Unlike acute stress, which is the body’s natural response to a threat, chronic stress persists over an extended period of time […]

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Quantifying common sense: New research suggests it’s not so common

Culture, Psychology, World / /

Common sense, or the practical knowledge shared by the majority of the population regarding everyday matters, is ambiguous: It is difficult to know exactly why something is common sense even though it is intuitively clear. Many often assume that something clear to one person is also clear to another, but this may not be the

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Function of dreaming in humans from an evolutionary perspective

Health, Psychology / /

Sometime around 2500 BCE, the earliest recorded dream in history was documented. This was Sumerian king Dumuzi’s dream, from the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia, and was recorded in cuneiform. In this vision, the king sees subjects moving before him with various objects in their hands and on their heads, which was a perplexing story to

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Calm, chaos, and the technological singularity

Psychology, Technology / /

At the crossroads of order and chaos, humanity has consistently sought paths leading to discovery and invention, creating equilibrium amidst perpetual disorder. Calm, in this context, embodies the rules governing human civilization—a structured order that harmonizes existence and guides our collective journey toward desired outcomes. Take Mesopotamia for instance, the earliest urban and literate civilization

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Beyond the senses: COVID-19’s influence on brain maturation and the aging process

Biology, Health, Psychology / /

For millions of people around the world, COVID-19 was not just a week-long scare; it became a chronic condition. The most familiar symptoms of COVID-19 resemble those of the common cold, but it had a much farther reach than respiratory or muscular difficulties, especially in adolescent communities. Newer concerns are coming to light regarding how

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The nature of pseudoscience

Psychology / /

Articles, blog posts, and Instagram accounts sometimes tell us that the world will end on a particular date, evoking a strong sense of panic. Some people frantically change their behavior altogether due to sudden news that the world will be ending. Concerned individuals may prepare for this time period by nestling in their basements with

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The spirit molecule: Our body’s natural psychedelic

Biology, Health, Psychology / /

DMT earned its nickname as the “spirit molecule” in the 1990s when over half of Dr. Rick Strassman’s research subjects vocalized experiencing something extraordinary. His experimentation had initially concerned the physiological effects of the molecule, but he couldn’t ignore its inherent psychoactive influences after about 200 of his participants reported undergoing a “religious” transformation with

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Deep brain stimulation study provides biomarker to track recovery from severe depression

Health, Psychology / /

Like the bottom of the ocean, major depressive disorder (MDD) is widespread, often dangerous, and yet largely shrouded in mystery. MDD impacts about 5% of the population — 280 million people worldwide — and its symptoms include the lack of ability to feel pleasure, extreme fatigue, and sleep and appetite disturbances. These symptoms cannot be

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Awake or asleep? The science behind lucid dreaming

Psychology / /

Everybody dreams. Whether we remember their intricate plots or feel them slipping away the second we wake, sleep science has long known that all humans dream. Many have experienced the dread of sprinting at a snail’s pace through hellishly personalized nightmares, others discovering fantasy worlds where human flight and super strength are made possible. However,

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