It's not often that people wash their brand new clothes before wearing them But one doctor has warned that by not doing so you could be at risk of infection Potential risks include staph infections, allergic reactions and the flu With all the excitement of the January sales, not many people are keen to wait to wash their brand new clothes before wearing them. Instead, it seems much more appealing to simply pop off the tags and step out in style in your latest purchase. However, one doctor has warned that by doing so you are putting yourself at risk…

'Retrieval practice', can protect the memory against the effects of stress Study of students showed they remembered more in stressful situations Students using this method have an advantage over those who simply re-read material in order to memorize it, claims the research Every student who has panicked while reading the same page of a textbook over and over again may suspect this. But stress cramming for an exam does not work, because the facts are likely to be lost from your memory. Instead it is best to learn through practice tests to protect your brain from the effects of stress,…

Those who seem honest aren't always. Within a second (or less) of meeting someone, we're already making judgments about their personality - whether they're nice, smart, or even adventurous. We're especially quick to discern whether that person is trustworthy. Unfortunately, we're usually wrong in that area. Fascinating new research from the University of Southern California and Temple University harnesses the power of computer science to determine what behaviors make someone seem trustworthy and what behaviors indicate that someone really is trustworthy. Spoiler alert: The two sets of behaviors don't match up. For the study, researchers had about 300 participants pair…

Study found adults who recalled incident felt better and more able to deal with it The research involved a trial with patients suffering from clinical depression This reduced symptoms of depression, outperforming the usual treatments While Christmas is a time for fun and celebration, spending so much time with relatives can also spell bitter arguments. And although it’s tempting to brush rows under the carpet and never mention them again, this isn’t the best way to ease stress, according to psychologists. Going over the details of an argument in your head and remembering exactly what happened helps to keep matters…