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Furry Prescription: The Healing Powers of Pet Interaction
This article discusses the therapeutic benefits of pets on human health, emphasizing their role in enhancing physical activity, improving mood, and providing emotional support. Through personal experience and scientific research, it underscores the transformative impact of pet ownership on individuals’ well-being.
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The Danger of Focusing on Obesity as a Risk Factor for COVID-19
If you were to Google the terms “obesity” and “COVID-19,” you would likely be inundated with articles about how larger-bodied people who contract COVID-19 are more likely to have severe symptoms, experience longer lasting problems, and die from the virus. Spreading this potentially overstated claim can perpetuate the harmful weight stigma that already exists in…
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The Benefits of Higher Social Status: Climbing the Social Ladder
This article is authored by Samantha Eisert and Danny Rahal and is part of the 2020 pre-graduate spotlight series. We live within a complex social hierarchy where access to resources is unequal, and the richest people with the most resources and respect are considered to be at the top of the hierarchy and the poorest…
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Gender Differences in Depression: The Role of Inflammation
This article is authored by Eva Li, Samantha Eisert, and Danny Rahal and is part of the 2020 pre-graduate spotlight week. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the US affecting 7.1% of the adult population (NIMH, 2017), and it can greatly reduce individuals’…
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The Role of Gratitude in Wellbeing
Unlike earlier psychological work which focused on treating mental illness, positive psychology is a relatively new field that studies the making of a good life building upon the humanistic movement (recall Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs). It officially became a domain of psychology in 1998 when Martin Seligman deemed it the American Psychological Association’s annual theme.…
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Can your microbiome really influence your mental health?
Recently, everyone’s interested in the gut-brain connection and how the gut microbiome may influence mental health. But what do we actually know about links between gut bacteria and depression/anxiety and the pathways through which the bugs in our guts exert their influence?
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Sleep and Inflammation During Adolescence
This article is authored by Brandon Williams and Danny Rahal and is part of the 2020 pre-graduate spotlight week. Adolescence is a period marked by significant biological and social changes, including pubertal changes and greater responsibility. In turn, many adolescents struggle to maintain a regular sleep schedule and do not get the recommended 8 to…
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Hello My Name is L. acidophilus
Did you ever make a decision based on gut feelings? See, you’ve been experiencing the gut-brain connection this entire time!
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Chronotype and Adolescence: Why being an “evening person” as a teenager is disadvantageous
Adolescents who are evening-types tend to report several negative outcomes on a variety of measures compared to their morning-type counterparts.