DATE: March 29, 2025 at 12:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------

TITLE: Regular sauna users report better health, more energy, and greater happiness

URL: https://www.psypost.org/regular-sauna-users-report-better-health-more-energy-and-greater-happiness/

People who regularly use saunas in northern Sweden report better overall health, higher energy levels, and greater happiness than those who do not. They also tend to have lower rates of high blood pressure and experience less physical pain. These findings come from a new population-based study published in the International Journal of Circumpolar Health, which compared people who sauna bathe regularly with those who do not.

Most earlier findings on sauna use and health have been based on Finnish populations, where sauna bathing is deeply embedded in the culture. While northern Sweden also has a strong tradition of sauna use, little was known about how sauna habits relate to health in this population. The researchers wanted to understand whether regular sauna use was associated with measurable differences in physical and mental health and whether these associations held true outside of Finland. To do this, the research team used data from the 2022 Northern Sweden MONICA study, a long-running health survey designed to monitor cardiovascular risk factors in the general population.

“I have done a lot of research on nursing in emergency and intensive care, but in recent years, I have developed a growing interest in health and nature,” said study author Åsa Engström, a professor at the Luleå University of Technology. “In connection with that, I have read about the benefits of sauna bathing, such as its positive effects on cardiovascular health. We then had the opportunity to include questions about sauna bathing habits in the Northern Sweden MONICA Study, which allowed us to compare various health parameters between those who used saunas and those who did not.”

In the spring of 2022, a random sample of 1,180 adults aged 25 to 74 from the northern counties of Norrbotten and Västerbotten were invited to participate. Of these, 971 people (about 82 percent) answered questions about their sauna habits. Participants who reported sauna bathing at least once per month were categorized as “sauna bathers,” a group that made up 66 percent of the sample.

The survey collected a wide range of information, including demographic details, health status, lifestyle habits, and mental well-being. It also included specific questions about sauna use, such as how often participants used a sauna, how long they stayed in, the temperature of the sauna, and whether they bathed alone or with others. Other questions assessed participants’ levels of physical activity, smoking and drinking habits, sleep satisfaction, and experience of pain, anxiety, and depression. Participants also rated their general health, energy levels, and happiness on standard scales.

The results showed several significant differences between people who used saunas regularly and those who did not. Sauna bathers were generally younger, more often male, and more likely to be physically active. They also smoked less, although they tended to drink alcohol more frequently—typically two to three times per week. Despite this, they reported better overall health. Compared to non-sauna bathers, they had lower rates of diagnosed high blood pressure and reported experiencing less physical pain.

Mental health outcomes also differed between the two groups. Sauna bathers reported lower levels of anxiety and depression, and higher levels of energy and happiness. They also expressed greater satisfaction with their sleep patterns. Interestingly, these benefits were most noticeable among those who sauna bathed one to four times per month. Bathing more frequently than that did not lead to additional improvements in mental health or energy, and happiness scores were actually lower among those who used the sauna more than four times per month compared to moderate users.

The majority of sauna users in the study followed fairly typical sauna routines. Most stayed in the sauna for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, usually in one or two bouts per session. The temperature ranged between 60 and 80 degrees Celsius for most users, and electric saunas were the most common type. Most people bathed with others rather than alone, but relatively few combined sauna use with cold-water or ice swimming.

The study also found that the association between sauna use and better health was not strongly tied to socioeconomic status. Sauna bathers and non-sauna bathers did not differ significantly in terms of education, income, or where they lived. This suggests that the benefits seen among sauna bathers may not be explained solely by financial resources or living conditions.

While these results are consistent with previous studies suggesting health benefits from sauna use, the researchers caution that the study has limitations. One key limitation is its cross-sectional design, which means the data were collected at a single point in time. This makes it impossible to say whether sauna use causes better health, or whether healthier people are simply more likely to use saunas. Long-term studies or clinical trials would be needed to determine whether sauna use directly leads to health improvements.

Another limitation is that the group of sauna users tended to be younger and included more men, which may have influenced the results. Age and gender can both affect health outcomes independently of sauna use. Although the researchers compared groups statistically, more detailed analysis adjusting for these factors would be needed in future studies.

“We have begun analyzing more of the parameters in the MONICA data,” Engström said. “Our aim is to better understand the health effects of sauna bathing and how factors such as the environment and social context influence the experience. We have now developed a new survey on sauna bathing to help answer our research questions, and so far we have received nearly 400 responses. I am also conducting interviews with people, not only about sauna bathing but also about cold baths and winter bathing.”

The study, “Sauna bathing in northern Sweden: results from the MONICA study 2022,” was authored by Åsa Engström, Hans Hägglund, Earric Lee, Maria Wennberg, Stefan Söderberg, and Maria Andersson.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/regular-sauna-users-report-better-health-more-energy-and-greater-happiness/

-------------------------------------------------

Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org

Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot

NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot

Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: https://www.nationalpsychologist.com

EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: http://subscribe-article-digests.clinicians-exchange.org

READ ONLINE: http://read-the-rss-mega-archive.clinicians-exchange.org

It's primitive... but it works... mostly...

-------------------------------------------------

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist

DATE: March 03, 2025 at 08:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------

TITLE: Harsh parenting in childhood may alter brain development and lead to behavioral issues in girls

URL: https://www.psypost.org/harsh-parenting-in-childhood-may-alter-brain-development-and-lead-to-behavioral-issues-in-girls/

New research suggests a potential biological reason why harsh parenting in early childhood can lead to behavioral problems in girls. Scientists found that girls who experienced harsh parenting showed differences in the development of brain connections involving the amygdala, an area important for emotions, and that these brain differences may help explain the link between early parenting and later behavioral challenges. The findings were published in Psychological Medicine.

It’s increasingly recognized that a child’s early experiences, including parenting styles, play a powerful role in shaping their developing brain and future well-being. Harsh parenting, encompassing actions like physical punishment and frequent displays of anger, is considered a significant source of stress for young children and can disrupt their emotional and social growth, potentially leading to behavioral problems as they mature.

Although earlier research suggested a link between negative early experiences and later difficulties like aggression and rule-breaking, many studies only provided a limited view, either examining the brain at a single point or focusing on older age groups. The new study set out to provide a more complete picture by following brain development across multiple time points in childhood. Recognizing that boys and girls may respond differently to stress, the researchers specifically investigated potential differences in how harsh parenting might affect brain development and behavior in each sex.

For their study, the researchers utilized data from a long-term study called “Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes” (GUSTO). This study has been collecting detailed information on children from birth onwards. For this specific research, they used brain scans taken at four different times as the children grew, starting at age four and a half and continuing until age ten and a half.

This longitudinal approach, with multiple brain scans over time, is significant because it allows researchers to track brain development within each individual child, rather than just comparing different children at different ages. This is especially important in childhood, where brain development can vary greatly from child to child.

The researchers first looked at whether harsh parenting in early childhood, specifically at age four and a half, was associated with behavioral problems at age ten and a half. Because they were interested in understanding the brain basis of these associations, they then investigated whether harsh parenting was related to how the amygdala develops over time. The amygdala is a key area of the brain involved in processing emotions, particularly in response to threats or stressful situations. They focused on two aspects of amygdala development: its size and its functional connectivity, meaning how well it communicates with other brain regions.

To measure harsh parenting, mothers completed a questionnaire when their children were four and a half years old. This questionnaire, called the Parenting Style & Dimensions Questionnaire – Short version, assessed different aspects of parenting. The researchers focused on the subscales related to physical coercion, verbal hostility, and punitive discipline, which together are considered indicators of harsh or authoritarian parenting.

When the children were ten and a half years old, their behavioral problems were assessed using two different methods. Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist, a widely used questionnaire that asks about a range of emotional and behavioral problems in children. This checklist provides scores for both internalizing problems (like anxiety and withdrawal) and externalizing problems (like aggression and rule-breaking). To also get the children’s own perspective, the researchers used the Children’s Depression Inventory 2nd Edition, a self-report questionnaire that measures depressive symptoms in children.

The study’s findings revealed that harsh parenting in early childhood was associated with externalizing problems, such as aggression and rule-breaking, at age ten and a half. However, harsh parenting was not found to be associated with internalizing problems, such as anxiety or depression, at the same age. Interestingly, when the researchers looked at boys and girls separately, they found that the link between harsh parenting and externalizing problems was primarily evident in girls, not in boys.

Regarding brain development, the researchers found that harsh parenting was not directly associated with the size of the amygdala. However, it was linked to the developmental trajectories of functional connectivity between the amygdala and several other brain regions, including the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), orbital frontal cortex, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Specifically, children who experienced higher levels of harsh parenting showed a different pattern of change in these connections over time compared to children who experienced less harsh parenting. Again, these effects appeared to be somewhat different for boys and girls. For example, the association between harsh parenting and the developmental trajectory of amygdala-ACC connectivity was mainly observed in girls.

Importantly, the mediation analysis provided evidence that changes in amygdala-ACC functional connectivity might be a neural mechanism explaining the link between harsh parenting and externalizing problems in girls. The results suggested that girls who experienced harsher parenting showed a faster decrease in amygdala-ACC connectivity over time, and this faster decrease was, in turn, associated with more externalizing problems. This accelerated decrease in connectivity could potentially reflect an accelerated development of this brain circuit in response to early stress.

“The present study provided evidence that harsh parenting in early childhood is prospectively associated with both externalizing behavior and the developmental trajectories of functional connectivity profiles of the amygdala, with some support for sex differences at the behavioral and neurocircuitry levels,” the researchers concluded.

The study, “Harsh parenting, amygdala functional connectivity changes across childhood, and behavioral problems,” was authored by Yuna Koyama, Henning Tiemeier, Pei Huang, Shi Yu Chan, Mioko Sudo, Yena Kyeong, Michael Meane, Peipei Setoh, and Ai Peng Tan.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/harsh-parenting-in-childhood-may-alter-brain-development-and-lead-to-behavioral-issues-in-girls/

-------------------------------------------------

Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org

Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot

NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot

Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: https://www.nationalpsychologist.com

EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: http://subscribe-article-digests.clinicians-exchange.org

READ ONLINE: http://read-the-rss-mega-archive.clinicians-exchange.org

It's primitive... but it works... mostly...

-------------------------------------------------

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist

DATE: February 23, 2025 at 10:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------

TITLE: Non-smokers’ dating profiles are more likely to receive video chat invitations

URL: https://www.psypost.org/non-smokers-dating-profiles-are-more-likely-to-receive-video-chat-invitations/

New research has found that dating profiles indicating that their owners are non-smokers are more likely to receive video chat invitations compared to profiles of smokers. Male participants reported being more likely to send messages (to the owners of the dating profiles they were shown), initiate video chats, propose to meet offline, and make dating decisions than female participants. The paper was published in Telematics and Informatics.

With the advent of the Internet over the past couple of decades, many human activities have gradually moved online. Dating is one of them. Online dating is a method of meeting potential romantic partners through websites or mobile apps, where users create profiles and interact based on shared interests or compatibility algorithms. It has become increasingly popular due to its convenience, accessibility, and the ability to connect with people outside one’s immediate social circle.

The online dating app market generated almost 5 billion dollars in revenue in 2022. It is estimated that more than 300 million people have used dating apps worldwide, with about 20 million paying for premium features. The use of dating apps surged during the COVID-19 pandemic when the number of downloads sharply increased, as did the number of payments for the use of dating sites. However, scientific knowledge about the psychological experiences of dating site users is still insufficiently explored.

Study authors Ruoxu Wang and Jin Yang aimed to examine the effects of gender, smoking, and COVID-19 vaccination status on impressions and dating decisions toward online dating profiles (i.e., toward the people represented by these profiles). They note that people form first impressions about a person in online dating based on cues contained in the dating profiles. These first impressions then shape if and how the relationship will further develop.

They conducted an experiment with 250 Amazon MTurk workers as study participants. The average age was 34 years, 55% were male, 82% had used online dating services before, and 83% reported having dated someone after using an online dating service. On average, participants had used online dating services for 3–4 years.

The authors created a set of simulated dating profiles mimicking the interface of the dating website Match.com. These profiles displayed a profile picture (taken from a database of free pictures and pretested to ensure they were neither too attractive nor too unattractive), as well as the profile owner’s name, age, job, constellation, personality, hobbies, education, body type, height, smoking status, and COVID-19 vaccination status.

The authors were particularly interested in how gender, smoking status, and COVID-19 vaccination status affected participants’ perceptions of the profile. To this end, the profiles differed in these three characteristics, while all the other elements remained identical. Participants were asked to rate the profiles on perceived intelligence, perceived similarity to themselves, and to report their dating decision (whether they would like the profile, send a message to the person, engage in a video chat, meet the person offline, and make a short- or long-term dating decision).

Participants also completed assessments of loneliness (e.g., “How often do you feel that you are not in tune with the people around you?”) and dating anxiety (e.g., “I worry that I may not be attractive to people of the opposite sex”).

The results showed that non-smokers were more likely to receive a video chat invitation than smokers. Male participants were more likely to initiate contact (by sending a message, initiating a video chat, or arranging an offline meeting) and make dating decisions based on the profiles they viewed than female participants. Additionally, COVID-19 vaccinated females and unvaccinated males were more likely to receive offline meeting invitations from study participants. Participants’ perceptions of the profile owners’ intelligence and similarity to themselves varied with the owners’ smoking and vaccination statuses.

“One surprising finding emerging from this study was that smoking status was still an important health cue when it comes to making online dating decisions. However, the COVID-19 vaccination status was not that important, people take profile owner’s gender and smoking status altogether to make online dating decision. It is probably because this study was conducted during the later stage of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the study authors concluded.

The study contributes to the scientific understanding of the way people make decisions in online dating. However, the study was conducted on MTurk workers, a population that might not be fully representative of the general population. Additionally, real life dating decisions are critically shaped by interactions between individuals, while the study only applied ratings of static profiles.

The paper “Displaying health cues on online dating profiles: How do gender, smoking, and COVID-19 vaccination statuses influence impression and dating decision?” was authored by Ruoxu Wang and Jin Yang.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/non-smokers-dating-profiles-are-more-likely-to-receive-video-chat-invitations/

-------------------------------------------------

Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org

Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot

NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot

Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: https://www.nationalpsychologist.com

EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: http://subscribe-article-digests.clinicians-exchange.org

READ ONLINE: http://read-the-rss-mega-archive.clinicians-exchange.org

It's primitive... but it works... mostly...

-------------------------------------------------

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist

DATE: January 23, 2025 at 02:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------

TITLE: Does stress make people more susceptible to conspiracy theories?

URL: https://www.psypost.org/does-stress-make-people-more-susceptible-to-conspiracy-theories/

Researchers have long debated why people believe in conspiracy theories—alternative explanations for events that often challenge the mainstream narrative. These beliefs can shape public opinion on issues ranging from politics to public health, such as vaccine hesitancy and pandemic precautions. A recent study published in Politics and the Life Sciences sought to explore whether stress—a common psychological and physiological response—could heighten an individual’s tendency to believe in conspiracy theories. The study found that while the stress procedure caused significant increases in cortisol levels (a hormone linked to stress), it did not make participants more likely to endorse conspiracy theories or interpret new information in conspiratorial terms.

The idea that stress might influence conspiracy thinking stems from earlier research suggesting that conspiracy beliefs often arise during crises or periods of uncertainty. Stressful situations might encourage people to search for meaning or feel a sense of control, which conspiracy theories could seem to provide. Moreover, psychological studies have linked perceived stress levels to a greater likelihood of endorsing conspiracy theories.

However, the exact mechanisms behind this relationship remain unclear. Could the biological effects of stress, such as the release of cortisol, play a role? The researchers behind this study aimed to address this question by isolating the physiological aspects of stress and testing their effects on conspiracy beliefs in a controlled experimental setting.

“Biological stress primes the body for action and can be measured physiologically, while subjective stress reflects our internal sense of unease,” said study author Vojtěch Pišl of the Department of Psychiatry at Charles University.

“Previous studies show that individuals who report feeling stressed are more likely to endorse conspiracy theories. This could stem from biological stress, which accelerates cognitive processing but increases the number of cognitive errors, or from social factors, where dissatisfaction with society leads people to report stress and endorse conspiracy theories as a form of protest. Our experiment aimed to confirmed the role of the biological effects. At the same time, we wanted to show that conspiracy research may benefit from physiological measurements.

To investigate the relationship between stress and conspiracy thinking, researchers used the Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST), a standardized procedure designed to induce acute stress. The study involved 143 medical students aged 20 to 25. Participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental group, which underwent the stress-inducing version of the MAST, or a control group, which experienced a non-stressful variant of the procedure.

The experimental stress procedure included both physical and social stressors. For example, participants submerged their hands in ice-cold water and were required to solve challenging arithmetic tasks under time pressure while receiving critical feedback. In contrast, the control group performed similar tasks but in less stressful conditions, such as using lukewarm water and receiving polite encouragement instead of criticism.

To measure the participants’ stress response, researchers collected salivary samples at multiple points during the study to assess cortisol levels. These samples were taken before, during, and after the MAST procedure. The participants also completed two types of surveys: one gauging their agreement with existing conspiracy theories (e.g., theories related to geopolitical events) and another measuring their likelihood of adopting conspiratorial interpretations of fictional scenarios.

To ensure accuracy, participants were required to follow specific guidelines before the study, such as avoiding caffeine and alcohol, refraining from smoking, and maintaining a consistent eating schedule. Additionally, the study excluded participants who did not exhibit sufficient cortisol responses to the stress procedure or whose survey responses showed inconsistencies.

The results confirmed that the stress procedure effectively increased cortisol levels in the experimental group, validating the biological impact of the stress induction. However, when comparing the two groups, researchers found no significant differences in their responses to either the survey of existing conspiracy theories or the fictional scenarios. In other words, the acute stress experienced by participants did not increase their likelihood of endorsing conspiracy theories or interpreting novel information in a conspiratorial way.

Exploratory analyses suggested that any potential effects of stress on conspiracy thinking were small or absent. The findings imply that while stress might influence cognition in other ways, it does not appear to play a significant role in shaping conspiracy beliefs—at least not in the short term or under controlled experimental conditions.

“Conspiracy theories might be more deeply tied to social processes and social identity than we often realize,” Pišl told PsyPost. “Moreover, many negative effects of stress could be more closely linked to our subjective interpretation of reality—such as thinking ‘everything is wrong, I feel terrible’—rather than the objective events themselves. Our experiment is just one small piece of the puzzle, but it aligns with a broader body of research showing that our perception that the world is a good place and that we are strong and resilient may be often more relevant that what is actually happening.”

While the study offers valuable insights, it is not without limitations. One key limitation is the sample itself. The participants were medical students—a group likely to possess higher-than-average analytical thinking skills and greater exposure to scientific reasoning. These characteristics might make them less susceptible to conspiracy thinking than the general population, potentially limiting the generalizability of the findings.

Additionally, the study focused on acute stress, measuring its effects within a narrow time frame (roughly 30 minutes after stress induction). Stress responses can vary over time, and it is possible that the effects on conspiracy thinking might emerge in different phases of the stress response, such as in the immediate aftermath or during prolonged stress. Future research could explore how stress affects conspiracy beliefs over longer periods or in real-world contexts.

“Our results were negative; we did not confirm a link between biological stress and the endorsement of conspiracy theories,” Pišl said. “However, this doesn’t imply that the link is nonexistent. Instead, it suggests that the connection is likely weaker than the link between subjectively perceived stress and conspiracy beliefs.”

Understanding the factors that drive conspiracy beliefs remains an important area of inquiry, especially in today’s polarized and misinformation-rich world.

“We plan to continue with EEG studies to explore the brain processes that may underlie the decision to endorse conspiracy theories,” Pišl said. “The study was supported by the American Association for Politics and Life Sciences, along with several Czech and European institutions. I am deeply grateful for this support, which provided not only the necessary funding but also the motivation to pursue these endeavors.”

The study, “The effect of acute stress response on conspiracy theory beliefs,” was authored by Vojtech Pisl, Turkay Nefes, Benjamin Simsa, Daniela Kestlerova, Pavel Kubíček, Vojtech Linka, Tatana Martynova, Rachel Sajdlova, David Sejrek, and Jan Vevera.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/does-stress-make-people-more-susceptible-to-conspiracy-theories/

-------------------------------------------------

Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org

Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot

NYU Information for Practice puts out 400-500 good quality health-related research posts per week but its too much for many people, so that bot is limited to just subscribers. You can read it or subscribe at @PsychResearchBot

Since 1991 The National Psychologist has focused on keeping practicing psychologists current with news, information and items of interest. Check them out for more free articles, resources, and subscription information: https://www.nationalpsychologist.com

EMAIL DAILY DIGEST OF RSS FEEDS -- SUBSCRIBE: http://subscribe-article-digests.clinicians-exchange.org

READ ONLINE: http://read-the-rss-mega-archive.clinicians-exchange.org

It's primitive... but it works... mostly...

-------------------------------------------------

#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist