Stress

Gizmodo Monday Puzzle: Can You Figure Out These Bizarre Words?

Word nerds: This challenge of homophones and syllables is for you.

Stress Really Can Turn Your Hair White, Mouse Experiment Suggests

The idea that fright or any other kind of stress can turn hair white has endured for centuries. But a new study this week—in mice—provides some of the first concrete evidence of this phenomenon existing. It might also offer a biological explanation for how it happens. Henriette Campan, teacher and personal assistant to French queen…

U.S. Workers Are Getting Less Sleep Than 10 Years Ago, Study Finds

That many people don’t get enough sleep is hardly news, but a recent study suggests that sleep deprivation is getting worse in the U.S., especially for people with high-pressure jobs in medicine, law enforcement, and transportation. There’s been plenty of research suggesting that people generally aren’t getting as much sleep as they ought to be.…

Your Bones Secrete a Hormone That Can Make You Panic, Scientists Find

Anyone who’s ever said they felt scared to their bones might have been speaking more literally than we knew. A new study out Thursday seems to show that in both mice and humans, bones secrete a hormone in reaction to stressful situations. What’s more, this bone hormone appears to be crucial to our fight-or-flight response, in…

Working Out in a Group Is Better for Your Mental Wellbeing Than Going at It Alone, Suggests Study

The way we exercise and who we choose to do it with is a very personal thing, but new research suggests that working out in a group setting has its advantages, resulting in significant improvements to physical, mental, and emotional measures. Those who workout alone, by contrast, experience virtually no changes in stress levels or…

All the Dangerous Things You Shouldn’t Be Doing With Your Fidget Spinners

Like lawn darts, nano-magnets, and slap bracelets, fidget spinners are only one stupid stunt away from becoming yet another forgotten fad. And as usual, instead of enjoying them responsibly, the internet is hard at work trying to find ways to make spinners as dangerous as playing with firecrackers. This is why we can’t have fun…

Worrying About Money Is Tough on Wallets and Wrinkles

As someone who often struggles to make ends meet, I often feel like I want to just curl up in a ball and never leave my house. During the worst months, I often found that it took a toll on my appearance. The dark circles under my eyes started to sag, my face would break…

Do You Suffer From ‘Exploding Head Syndrome’? You’re Not Alone.

New findings indicate nearly one in five college-age students has been startled awake by an abrupt, loud noise that doesn’t actually exist. Known as “exploding head syndrome,” the psychological condition appears to be more common and disruptive than previously thought. Art by Jim Cooke. Some of you may already be familiar with exploding head syndrome…

Seeing these people do yoga on a cliff’s edge didn’t relax me at all

Yoga is supposed to bring peace and spiritual balance and relaxation so obviously it makes complete sense to do it on top of cliffs and on the edge of cliffs and on really thin but really tall rocks, right? The people doing this extreme yoga look completely at ease throughout this stunt but I totally…

Using Social Media Is Less Stressful Than You Think, Say Scientists

Anyone who has spent time on Facebook or Instagram has experienced … let’s call them negative emotions. But new research suggests that using social media is actually less stress-inducing than you might think. In a study called “Social Media and the Cost of Caring,” scientists at the Pew Research Center used the Perceived Stress Scale…

This Stress-Sensing Fitness Tracker Won the Nation’s Top Design Award

The National Design Awards were last night in New York, where 20 products were vying to be named the country’s best. The winner, chosen by public voting, was a fitness tracker called Spire, which claims to keep tabs on your overall well-being by measuring heart rate and breathing patterns to monitor stress. Spire was designed…

This Camera Will Flag You as a Suicide Bomber If You Seem Stressed Out

You might want to practice some breath-control before you go to China. Chinese scientists have reportedly developed a mini-camera to scan crowds for highly stressed individuals, who, it turns out, have a greater chance of turning out to be suicide bombers. The camera works by detecting the level of blood oxygenation in exposed areas of…

Geologists finally understand how sandstone arches get their shape. By studying cubes of sand, researchers showed that areas squeezed by vertical stress are strengthened and protected from erosion. This means that it’s gravity — and not erosion — that gives rise to elegant sandstone arches, pillars, and alcoves. Image: Doug Meek/Shutterstock.

I Stop Breathing When I Type and You Probably Do, Too

I noticed a pretty unnerving problem recently. It was a normal day at work. I, being a blogger, spend a lot of time pounding on a little keyboard and staring at a big screen. While working on an especially stressful post and a particularly challenging paragraph, I started getting lightheaded. I’d stopped breathing. This was…

Are we in the midst of an anxiety epidemic?

Some people have called anxiety the Disease of the 21st Century; and on an anecdotal level, it’s easy to understand how someone might think anxiety worthy of the title. We’ve all experienced it at one time or another – that horrible feeling when the whole world seems to be crashing down on us. But is…

HeartMath Inner Balance Review: Like Meditation Training Wheels

The benefits of consistant meditation are too well told. Lower stress, better focus, easier sleep. But despite its inherent simplicity, it can be really tough to learn and practice, especially if relaxation doesn’t come naturally. The HeartMath Inner Balance is designed to hold your hand as you learn, which may be all some of us…

What makes red squirrels the greatest warriors in Squeaktown

Though cute and furry on the outside, North American red squirrels have the souls of warriors. Each adult will claim a small section of forest, and fiercely defend its territory against all others. And the most successful fighters owe it all to stressed-out mothers. Human mothers are advised to avoid stress, but that advice doesn’t…

Monkeys are the most stressed when they’re stuck in the middle

Sociological studies have found that middle managers tend to be more stressed than either their bosses or their underlings. That phenomenon might well be true of all primates, as macaques display heightened stress levels when they are in the middle of their social hierarchy. Researchers at the University of Liverpool and the University of Manchester…

A Portable Shipping Container Sauna Is the Ultimate Stress Toy

Sometimes squeezing a foam ball just isn’t an effective way to deal with stress. So if you’re the head of a giant corporation, or even the president of a large country, consider having this self-contained portable sauna at your disposal. At $41,000 the Sauna Box isn’t cheap, but odds are if your stress-busting needs are…

How Much Does Your Computer Stress You Out?

A recent survey commissioned by Crucial has turned up a few interesting statistics on computer stress. 94 percent of respondents said they’ve had computer problems drive them up the wall, and a little over half aren’t happy with how their little Internet box behaves in general. 18 percent even said computer problems are more stressful…