Casual Sex linked to Depression

Turns out the hook-up culture may have some down-sides to it. Of the 10,000 teenagers interviewed, those that had casual sex were more likely to report depression, and that of that group some would even later consider suicide.

But as the lead of author of this study says, it is a two way street:

"This study provides evidence that poor mental health can lead to casual sex, but also that casual sex leads to additional declines in mental health."

Give the Gift of Time

The Holiday Season is truly upon us. Some people have completed their Christmas shopping, while the rest of us are envious of them. Especially as we spend our precious resource of time waiting in lines buying that 'perfect' gift.

And it is hard not to want to meet the expectations of that perfect gift when we are bombarded with heart-warming, well marketed, videos. Such as the WestJet video where they got their passengers their top wish-list item.

But couldn't that resource that we all have in common, time, be used more efficiently? We are going at frantic pace spending our time here and there, not really investing it anywhere. We should slow down and take our time and invest it around us during the holiday season.

Take time to go carolling.

Take time to visit an elderly individual in a care home.

Take time to volunteer at a soup kitchen or foodbank.

Take time to call family that live far away.

Take time to play with your children.

Take time to help organize and deliver a hamper.

Take time to notice the beautiful season.

Take time to enjoy the sounds of the season.

There is even a movement happening on social media where some parents are encouraging their relatives not to buy gifts for their children, but to take the time to take them to the zoo, a movie, or some sort of other outing.

Research has shown that when it comes to our relationships with our family, that it just isn't about quality time, it is also about quantity time. And not to mention that one of the factors that contributes to well-being is engagement, and being engaged typically leads to meaning. And what a good way that is to invest our time in.

As we take the time to invest our time, we will realize the many ways we can spend our time instead of just trading it in for money and then spending our time in long lines waiting to spend our time-earned money.

Children who were spanked were more likely to break the law

There appears to be more and more research showing that spanking, especially as a form of punishment or correction, is having a negative impact. Especially in this latest study that surveyed 11,400 participants from 15 countries.

But what I found most interesting is the second last paragraph:

“In most of the 15 nations, two-thirds of university students said they were hit when they were age 10, and among those who were hit, they said it typically was between once and twice a week. If university students were hit by only one parent, more often than not the mother was the parent carrying out the punishment.”

First it is sad that by age 10, 66% of children surveyed have been spanked. But secondly, what is more interesting is that mother’s are the likely candidate of lone parenting spanking, which I think goes against the grain of societal perceptions. Which is that dads are more likely to hit. I think that is the bigger deal.

Living arrangement & education levels of parents

Read the full release here.

Consistent Bed time & Wake time tied to Physical Health

This is an interesting study that came out of BYU. Now, I should note that this studies participants were only women aged 17-26, so don’t be too quick to generalize the findings. But the interesting statistic for me was that getting less than 6.5 hours or more than 8.5 hours of sleep was correlated with higher body fat.

“The Whale”–Japanese commercial encouraging imagination

I have always loved this commercial, because I believe it shows how imagination can be limitless. It is unfortunate that when imagination occurs outside of the socially acceptable realm, that we treat people the same way as this boy:

Sometimes knowing the diagnosis is beneficial

I have met people who are adamant in wanting to know “what is wrong” with them, and once they know, they can move on. While for others it doesn’t work out that way. But for Susan Boyle, knowing that she as Aspergers provided great insights for her.