20 MEN’S FITNESS JULY 2019
■Takingupyoga
andmeditationmay
strengthenyour
cognitiveskillsand
even help to combat
age-related mental
decline, according to
research published
in the Journal of
Alzheimer’s Disease.
Subjects in the study
were split into two
groups: one followed
a 12-week yoga and
meditation program,
while the others did
a dedicated brain-trainingprogram.
Whenscientists
conductedcognitive
testsontheentire
group, they all
experienced an
uplift in their mental
performance, but
only those in the
yoga group got a
mood boost, too. Not
into yoga and find
meditation boring?
Other ways to buffer
your brain include
exercise, a healthy
diet and lots of sleep.Mind
BreakthroughsStretchyourbrain
Peoplewho
experienceanxiety
mightbehelped
byregulatingthe
microorganisms
in theirgutusing
probioticandnon-
probioticfoodsand
supps,suggests
a reviewofstudies
publishedinGeneral
Psychiatry. A Chinese
researchteam
reviewed 21
different studies to
investigate if there
was evidence to
support improvement
of anxiety symptoms
by regulating
intestinal microbiota
and found that that
more than half of
these studies showed
it was possible. So
odds are it could help.■If youwantto
appearmore
dominantina social
situation,tiltyour
headdown.That’s
theadviceofa study
inPsychological
Science,whichfound
it’snotjustfacial
expressionsthatwe
drawinferencesfrom
- it’sthepositionofthe
headitself.“Weshow
thattiltingone’s
headdownward
systematically
changestheway
thefaceis perceived,
suchthata neutral
face– a facewithno
musclemovement
orfacialexpression - appearstobemore
dominantwhenthe
Headsdown
The internet has changed a lot –
online dating means you don’t
have to leave your house to meet
someone; telecommuting lets you work
all day in your PJs; Instagram has given
skinny yogis on juice cleanses a whole
new way to annoy people. But it turns out
the internet could be changing something
far more important – our brains. An
international team of researchers has
found the internet can produce acute
and sustained alterations in specific
areas of learning and understanding,
which may reflect changes in the brain,
affecting attention, memory and social
interactions. For example, endless
notifications from the net means our
attention is often divided, which
decreases our ability to focus. And given
that we now have most of the world’s
information literally at our fingertips, this
has the potential to change the way we
store – even value – facts and knowledge.A tangled web
Tilting your head
down changes
the way your face
is perceived.
Ooh,look- acatvideo!
head is tilted down,”
explain researchers
Zachary Witkower
and Jessica Tracy.
“This effect is caused
by the fact that tilting
the head downward
leads to the artificial
appearance of
lowered and
V-shaped eyebrows- which in turn
elicits perceptions
of aggression,
intimidation
and dominance.”
Rebel
GUT warrior.
FEELING