Surfing the internet for long periods of time can cause withdrawal symptoms 'similar to people on a comedown from ecstasy'

• The results showed heavy web users tend to be more depressed and show higher levels of autism traits
• When people come off-line, they suffer increased negative mood - just like people coming off illegal drugs

By Daily Mail Reporter
  17 February 2013 
 
Using the internet for hours on end can result in withdrawal symptoms similar to the ‘comedown’ experienced by drug users, scientists warned yesterday.

Researchers found spending excessive periods of time surfing the internet left people in ‘negative moods’. And, like drug addicts, when heavy internet users go back on the web their negative moods lift.

The research was carried out on 60 volunteers with an average age of 25 at Swansea University’s College of Human and Health Sciences. Scientists say the results could mean society is in for some ‘nasty surprises’ if internet use increases as expected.

Professor Phil Reed, from the university’s psychology department, said: ‘Our results show that around half of the young people we studied spend so much time on the net that it has negative consequences for the rest of their lives.

‘When people come offline, they suffer increased negative mood – just like people coming off illegal drugs like ecstasy. These initial results, and related studies of brain function, suggest that there are some nasty surprises lurking on the net for people’s wellbeing.’

The study, published in the international journal Plus One, is the first of its kind into the immediate negative psychological impacts of internet use.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2280074/Surfing-internet-long-periods-time-cause-withdrawal-symptoms-similar-people-comedown-ecstasy.html#ixzz2LEtuw5Xp
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New study: are we all living in the future now?

New study: are we all living in the future now?

By Jon Rappoport

February 14, 2013

www.nomorefakenews.com

A recent Bonn University study suggests we may all be living in a virtual simulation. If a pixel-lattice that forms the background of this universe is presenting us with an all-encompassing “television picture” of reality, then the whole space-time continuum could be a rigorously designed artifact.

But another study, this one using a small number of meditators, pushes our understanding even further.

Dean Radin, the author of two groundbreaking books on controlled paranormal experiments, The Conscious Universe and Entangled Minds, spoke at a January conference, Electric Universe, in New Mexico. He described his recent pilot study on time and precognition.

http://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/2013/02/15/new-study-are-we-all-living-in-the-future-now/

Can spicy food really give you nightmares?

Curious about the way your body or brain ticks? E-mail The Body Odd or check us out on Facebook and Twitter

By Meghan Holohan

After a restless night of sleep, filled with nightmares where velociraptors and chainsaw-wielding maniacs chase you down, you wake up and wonder what caused such vivid, frightful dreams. Could it have been that spicy Thai food you had before bed?

Actually, there is some evidence that eating a spicy meal shortly before going to sleep can lead to some wacko dreams. In fact, eating anything too close to bedtime can trigger more dreams, because the late night snacks increase the body’s metabolism and temperature, explains Dr. Charles Bae, MD, a sleep medicine doctor at Sleep Disorders Center at the Cleveland Clinic. Heightened metabolism and temperature can lead to more brain activity, prompting more action during rapid eye movement sleep, or REM.

About every 90 minutes people experience rapid eye movement sleep as they cycle through the stages of sleep. In REM, when people dream the most, the body’s muscle tone slackens. During REM the brain becomes active, like it does when awake, and the eyes flutter behind the lids. Nightmares only happen during REM and while nightmares are simply dreams with negative emotions, they stand apart because they rouse the sleeper.

http://bodyodd.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/15/16965956-can-spicy-food-really-give-you-nightmares?ocid=twitter

Skeptics Brains Are Different

Believe It Or Not: Skeptics Brains Are Different

Carrie Steckl, Ph.D. Updated: Nov 30th 2012
 
Do you believe in the supernatural? Or do you think that all-things-ethereal are full of hogwash?
If you're not sure - or if you're on the fence about such touchy matters - a brain scan might be able to help you out.

Researchers from Finland recently explored whether brain activity differed between supernatural believers and skeptics using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).


Read more... http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=49000&cn=21

Science Confirms The Obvious: Not Everyone Can Be Hypnotized

By Clay Dillow Posted 10.04.2012 at 9:51 am 12 Comments

Hypnotic Seance Wikimedia

Hypnosis can be an effective means for treating phobias, managing stress and anxiety, and even for managing pain, but all people are not hypnotized equally. New research from Stanford suggests that about one quarter of people cannot be hypnotized, and using functional and structural MRI scientists there think they’ve figured out why. Those people more apt to be hypnotized show more activity in areas of the brain associated with executive control and attention, while those showing less activity in those areas cannot be put into a hypnotic state.

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-10/not-everyone-can-be-hypnotized