Australian_Mens_Fitness_2016_08_

Brain

Breakthroughs

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Sleeponit,Baby,Baby(andgive

them an answer in the morning )

A BLONDE’S

FAVOURITE NEW

JOKE: WHY DID

THE REDHEAD

KEEP STARING

AT THE OJ? IT SAID

How many blondes does it take to change “CONCENTRATE”.

alightbulb?Justone—andshe’ssmart

enough to know she doesn’t have to spin

the ladderorthe house to do it. Oregon State

UniresearcherDrJayZagorskycompareddataon

more than 10,000 14–21-year-olds who’d been included

in a Longitudinal Survey and had also taken the Armed

Forces Qualification Test, which measures IQ and lists

raceandhaircolour.

What he found: Among Caucasian women, blondes’

averageIQwasthehighest,at103.2;brunettes

followed at 102.7, with redheads next at 101.2, and

raven-haired women at 100.5. This doesn’t mean that

blonde women, with their 0.5-point lead, are actually

smarter than non-blondes, says Zagorsky, just that

they’re certainly not dumb.

And in case you’re wondering, blond Caucasian

menlosttobrown-hairedmen103.9to104.4—which,

we feel compelled to point out, proves just one thing:

The guys’ IQs were still all higher than the women’s.

Blondes win IQ

contest by a hair

H

Don’t despair: Though things may seem bleak, there’s powerfully effective help out there — and some of it’s even free, fun and

right outside your door. A new batch of studies confirm you can successfully fight depression with:

1)Strenuous aerobic exercise.AsCognition and Emotionreports, 80 subjects took a psychological survey after watching a sad

scene from the ’79 filmThe Champ(“Wake up, Champ! Don’t sleep now; we gotta go home!”), then half did 30 minutes of vigorous

aerobics while the other half just sat and (we assume) sobbed. Afterward, the exercisers had less of an emotional hangover and

felt happier than the idlers. So, when you’re down, go run — or bike, or swim — it off. And for God’s sake, no tearjerkers!

2)Again, exercise.DNA research on 396 adult subjects at the University of Florida revealed that those who had a gene

predisposing them to depression usuallyalsohad a gene that allowed exercise to help or even prevent that depression.

3)Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy(MBCT). If you’re glum, using a combo of cognitive (thinking-related) therapy and

mindfulness training can lift the depression and make it 31% less likely you’ll relapse for a year, saysJAMA Psychiatry.

Three

(Proven!)

Ways to Beat

Depression

■Meat Loaf had the

right idea: Next time

you’ve got a big

decision to make, go to

bed — odds are, you’ll

have a better answer

when you wake up.

Scientists at Bristol

University implanted

electrodes in the

brains of male rats.

After recovering from

the surgery, they (the

rats, not the scientists)

alternated sleeping,

resting and roaming free

while scientists tracked

what info they’d kept or

dumped while asleep.

They (again — and much

to their chagrin — the

rats, not the scientists)

were then euthanised

and their brains probed.

The takeaway:

During sleep, the brain

swiftly sorts the day’s

experiences and files

the meaningful ones to

the memory, essentially

“decluttering” the

mind and allowing it to

focus better on what’s

important — like making

crucial decisions.

—JAMES ROSENTHAL

■Surprise! The

most narcissistic

people watch the

most television —

and, particularly, the

most reality shows,

say US researchers

who monitored the

TV-viewing habits of

565 students, then gave

each the Narcissistic

Personality Inventory.

The study was

Narcissists Take More “Reality” Trips

unable to conclude

whetherpre-existing

narcissism caused the

self-absorbed students

to watch and identify

with the narcissists on

reality TV, or watching

so much narcissistic

behaviourcausedthem

to become narcissistic.

Either way, everyone

in the Kardashian family

wants a copy.

Selfie idolatry.

Egocentric people love

reality TV.

Cover your eyes.

To make better

decisions, go to bed.

30 MEN’S FITNESS AUGUST 2016