“Self-fulfilling prophecy” and the “placebo effect” are aspects of the same continuum. Both of these phenomena tap into the notion that if you believe something will happen then you increase the likelihood of it actually happening. It might sound a bit metaphysical but it is actually just the reality of the power of your mind […]

Are you a coffee drinker? In a world that has a million lines of demarcation and separation coffee drinking divides us neatly down the middle; you are either a coffee drinker or you are not (and neither camp really understands the other). Within the coffee drinking fraternity of course, there are further shades of grey […]

How much “comfort” you actually get from comfort food varies with your gender and, if you’re a female, time of the month.

Watch out: watching too much television can distort your view of reality.

Spring is just around the corner and that means birds will be on the wing and snails will be on the thorn and by some estimates, that will mean all will be right with the world unless…you are one of the estimated 26 per cent of Australians who suffer from hay fever. That’s a lot […]

Ginger holds promise for calming bowel inflammation, research shows.

People who help others tend to have more sex.

Having a back-up plan for your goals might not be such a good idea after all.

Cricketers perform better when properly hydrated. Cricket is a largely inexplicable game to the uninitiated. Although the rules and aims of the game remain obscure one thing is clear to even the least cricket-savvy observer; cricket involves lots of standing around, often in the sun. Cricket-philes (self-dubbed “cricket tragic”) will know that fast bowlers who […]

Reading books can extend your lifespan. Do you read? By that I don’t mean do you look at text messages or check out Instagram posts. Rather, do you get yourself a book (not a Kindle, a paper book) and settle in for a session of reading on a regular basis. If you do, and perhaps […]

A Mediterranean style diet can help maintain your memory and cognitive function. Memories can be anything from “misty and water-coloured” to “golden” but whatever hue your memories may be you want to keep them. “Memory” is a term that we use colloquially to represent our cognitive function (because saying, “Oh, my cognitive function just isn’t […]

When women are involved in decisions, compromise is assured.