BRAIN WAVES
Time is on my side. Do you feel like your life is flying by? Here’s a novel way to slow it down: try being bored. In a recent study, neuroscientists gave rodents (whose brain patterns are strikingly similar to ours) various tasks to do. They then analyzed their brain activity, focusing specifically on a part of the brain that's associated with attention and emotion. After looking at how these tasks changed their brain patterns, researchers came to the conclusion that the brain perceives the passage of time based on the number of experiences we have, rather than some kind of internal clock. “We tell time in our own experience by things we do, things that happen to us,” said James Hyman, lead researcher in the study. When we’re bored, we feel like time is going by slowly because we use action to tell time. “On the contrary, when a lot of events happen, each one of those activities is advancing our brains forward,” Hyman continued. “And if this is how our brains objectively tell time, then the more that we do and the more that happens to us, the faster time goes.”
Love, but later. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder. A 2023 study looked at how people experience different kinds of love in a relationship. It found that for couples who have been together for a while, romantic love doesn’t come easily. People who were married for three or more years, for example, reported feeling significantly less romantic love than people who were married for two years or less. The good news is that the old cliché about “spending time apart to feel close again” is true. When people spent eight hours or more away from a partner, their “partner love” increased quite a bit — 37 percent for women and 15 percent for men.
A social prescription. We all know relationships are important. What we might not realize is just how important these relationships are to our physical health. Listen to learn more.
ON THE HIDDEN BRAIN PODCAST
Wellness 2.0: The Art of the Unknown: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” It’s been 45 years since John Lennon sang that line, yet it’s an idea that continues to speak to an uncomfortable truth. While we all like to think we have some measure of control over how our lives will unfold, our plans are often upended by unknown events and curveballs we couldn’t have predicted. This week, we conclude our Wellness 2.0 series by talking with political scientist Brian Klaas. He studies how we respond to the random events that shape our lives, and how we can turn them to our advantage.
ON THE MY UNSUNG HERO PODCAST
Cara Beth Rogers’ Story: When Cara Beth Rogers was studying abroad in college, her brother, Luke, died in an accident. On the plane ride home, a stranger made her overwhelming grief a bit easier to bear.
Don’t forget to send us the story of your unsung hero! Record a voice memo on your phone and email it to myunsunghero@hiddenbrain.org.
HIDDEN BRAIN+
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MIND GAMES
I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body but I come alive with the wind. What am I?
LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE
What three numbers give the same result when multiplied and added together?
The answer: 1, 2, and 3.
A MOMENT OF JOY
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