Puzzles, brain-training games and hobbies have long been said to stave off cognitive decline. But while some research has shown that intensive brain-training programmes done over several weeks can reduce cognitive impairment, such interventions aren’t very practical in daily life. So my team and I decided to explore whether doing brief brain-stimulating activities could improve […] … learn more→
Blog Archives
Reading, socialising and doing puzzles can help preserve cognitive health – large study shows
Every year we speak 300 fewer words per day: where have they gone?
Anyone can try it today. We simply need to count, even just roughly, how many people we’ve actually spoken to—speaking to them, looking at them, or at least listening to them in person. And then count the number of people we’ve sent written messages to, whether by email, WhatsApp, or any other channel. If the […] … learn more→
Friendship is built over time, through ordinary moments – I teach lonely college students to notice them
The first skill I learned when I became a political science professor nearly 20 years ago was how to quiet a room full of chatty undergraduates. These days, I often walk into a silent room, with students staring at their phones and barely acknowledging the classmates beside them. As I read more about the United […] … learn more→
Like a fish in water: friendship in the digital habitat
We live immersed in technology, without a doubt. Our spaces are filled with devices and gadgets that encompass a wide range of functions and sophistication. Interpersonal relationships don’t just draw from the waters of the digital age; they are immersed in them. Digital technologies shorten geographical and temporal distances, shape consumption, work, study, and entertainment […] … learn more→
Why making friends at university feels harder than it really is
The summer before starting university can be a time of multiple worries for students. Worry about obtaining a place on your desired course. Worry about navigating clearing to confirm your place. Worries about securing accommodation, sorting student finance, preparation for academic studies and even finding the right stationery are also common. Yet many students’ biggest […] … learn more→
The brain isn’t hardwired to read – here’s how we pull it off and why some are better at it than others
For an experienced reader, recognising the words on this page feels effortless. Yet, evolutionarily speaking, your brain shouldn’t be able to read. Reading has existed for too short a time to have shaped a dedicated centre in the brain. Therefore, the brain has to learn to read using systems that evolved for other purposes. But it has long […] … learn more→
What cannabis use really tells us about university students’ eating habits
Cannabis has a reputation for making people hungry. Popular culture has long joked about the “munchies,” and many people assume that students who use cannabis naturally have poorer diets than those who don’t. Our latest research suggests the story is more complicated. As researchers who study the health behaviours of university students, we surveyed more than […] … learn more→
‘You’re a 4 out of 10’: the troubling rise of AI appearance ratings
A teenager joins an online video chat. Within seconds, artificial intelligence analyses their face and gives them a score out of ten for “attractiveness”. They are compared in real time with another user who scores higher and is declared the winner. The game is live-streamed, and the audience ridicule the loser in the chat. This […] … learn more→
Students are anxious – and it’s no surprise, since we are teaching them to be that way
Temporary anxiety can often surface before the first day of school. Sometimes, that can help kids get in the right mindset for a big day. But when anxiety becomes a constant feature of children’s and teenagers’ days, that stress doesn’t switch off when they leave the classroom or finish an exam. It can become the body’s […] … learn more→
End-of-year trips: educational experience or just a party?
Few events generate as much excitement during adolescence as end-of-year trips. Being away from home, spending time with friends, and enjoying a newfound sense of freedom make these trips particularly intense experiences. For many young people, they represent one of their first opportunities to develop greater autonomy, make their own decisions, and interact with their […] … learn more→
