Research shows that having plants in areas where you spend time, such as your house and your workspace, can lead to various benefits, such as improving your physical health, contributing to your emotional well-being, and boosting your productivity. Furthermore, despite the fact that plants can be so beneficial, they generally require relatively few resources, …
The ostrich effect is a cognitive bias that causes people to avoid information that they perceive as potentially unpleasant. For example, the ostrich effect can cause someone to avoid looking at their bills, because they’re worried about seeing how far behind they are on their payments. Information avoidance can lead to detrimental outcomes in …
The Stanford marshmallow experiment was a psychological study conducted in the late 1960s to early 1970s, in which children were placed in a room with some tasty snack, such as a marshmallow, and told that if they could wait for a short while before eating it then they will get an extra snack as a …
The Google effect and digital amnesia are two related psychological phenomena, which have to do with our tendency to forget information that is available online or stored digitally. For example, the Google effect and digital amnesia could cause someone to forget a certain piece of information, if they know they can find it later by searching the …
Research shows that there are various benefits to playing video games. These include cognitive benefits, such as improved reaction time, improved mental flexibility, and improved spatial abilities, as well as other types of benefits, such as reduced stress levels, increased self-esteem, and increased prosocial behavior. In the following article, you will first learn more …
Memory cues are objects or events that help trigger an action or a memory of that action. Memory cues can either be things that we set up intentionally in advance, as in the case of a reminder on our phone, or they can be unintentional, as in the case of seeing a product at the …
A common piece of conventional wisdom is that you should never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. Intuitively, this makes sense: if you’re already full when you go to buy food, you’ll be less tempted to buy extra food items. However, studies on the topic show that this is not always the case. Rather, …
Most of us go to sleep with our phone within reach. This can be a problem, because keeping your phone next to you in bed often leads to a variety of sleep, health, and productivity issues. In the following article, you will learn why you are better off putting your phone out of reach …
In today’s world, late-night exposure to bright lights is one of the most common issues affecting sleep quality, a fact which is often attributed to the widespread use of light-emitting screens. Basically, when you check your phone or laptop while lying bed, you’re making it more difficult for yourself to fall asleep, while also reducing your …
Research suggests that chewing gum could have some small but beneficial cognitive benefits. In the following article, you will learn about these benefits, and about how you can take advantage of them. The cognitive benefits of chewing gum There is a large number of studies on the topic of the cognitive benefits of …