The science behind the creeps
Plus, the stuff of nightmares
BRAIN WAVES
Zoinks! Ever had a serious case of the creeps? A new study looked at what exactly causes the spooky feeling you might get in haunting situations. Researchers had volunteers listen to either creepy horror movie music or calming meditation music. At the same time, they exposed some of the study subjects to “infrasound,” or low frequency sound waves, such as storms, traffic, pipes, ventilation systems, and industrial machinery. Then they collected data on participant stress markers and asked them how the music made them feel. It turned out that people exposed to infrasound became more irritated, rated the music as sadder, and showed higher stress‑hormone levels — all without realizing anything unusual had happened. “Most people don’t know what infrasound is,” said study author Rodney Schmaltz. “So, imagine you go into an old building, it’s kind of scary. Maybe you’ve been told there’s a ghost and again the hair on the back of your neck goes up and you feel something. Well, it’s quite reasonable then to think that that has to be a ghost.” Turns out, however, it’s just a frequency. Probably.
Nightmare fuel. Every kid gets the occasional nightmare, but when those nightmares become chronic, they can be disruptive. A new study set out to explain why some kids develop chronic nightmares and how therapy might help. Researchers proposed a new model to explain why these nightmares might happen, looking at factors like dream content, arousal, sleep habits, and most importantly, a child’s belief in their ability to control the nightmares. They found that when kids wake up from nightmares instead of sleeping through them, they lose the chance to naturally resolve the fear — in other words, the nightmare has no sense of closure. “It’s a child’s response to a nightmare that causes the chronic nightmares to happen,” said study author Lisa Cromer, “which means if we can learn to respond to nightmares differently, then we can interrupt that cycle.” One way to do this, they suggested, might be to encourage kids to write about and reframe the nightmare.
Liar, liar. Should you tell a harsh truth if it will only cause pain? Or is it sometimes kinder to keep someone in the dark? Listen to learn more.
ON THE HIDDEN BRAIN PODCAST
Unleashing Your Creativity: For centuries, people have described creativity as something mysterious: a flash of insight, a whisper from the muse, a sudden idea that seems to arrive out of nowhere. Psychologist Ap Dijksterhuis explores the hidden mental processes that lead to these moments of inspiration, and why breakthroughs often emerge when the mind is at rest.
ON THE MY UNSUNG HERO PODCAST
Missy Nicholson’s Story: As a new mom, Missy checked herself into a psychiatric ward for depression. During a group session, a fellow patient reached over and held her hand as she cried.
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MIND GAMES
Alice came across a lion and a unicorn in a forest of forgetfulness. Those two are strange beings. The lion lies every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and the other days he speaks the truth. The unicorn lies on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The other days of the week he speaks the truth. “Yesterday I was lying,” the lion told Alice. “So was I,” said the unicorn. What day is it?
LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE
3 monkeys share a bunch of bananas. The first monkey takes 3 bananas. The second monkey then takes half of the remaining bananas. The third monkey takes the last banana. How many bananas were in the original bunch?
The answer: Five
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