It can feel like a shameful moment, bracing yourself to hand over a Christmas or birthday gift that’s days or months overdue for one reason or another.
But slackers take heart -- a new study has found that your friend or loved one likely won’t be as upset abo...
Politics, especially the 2024 elections, can quickly turn the family Thanksgiving table into a battleground.
Steering clear of hot-button topics will not only help a big meal go down easier, it has health benefits as well.
Keeping the peace prevents a surge of fig...
In a world where families may be more apt to interact with technology than with one another, some things never change.
Many still struggle to get along. But just what do 21st century families fight about?
A new survey of 593 parents with at least one child between...
Does listening to classical music make you feel sublime?
A new study suggests there might be a scientific reason for that: Researchers discovered that the music lifts a person’s mood by improving connections between brain regions related to both sound and pleasure...
Loneliness has been a major concern in America, particularly in the wake of the social isolation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
But friendships are not in decline in the United S...
When your preschooler pitches a fit, handing them a smartphone or tablet is probably the fastest -- and the worst -- way to stop it, a new study suggests.
"If parents regularly offer a digital device to their child to calm them or to stop a tantrum, the child won't learn...
People largely date and marry people in their own "league,"as far as beauty is concerned, a new review finds.
Men and women are fairly accurate at rating their own physical attractiveness, and they tend to choose mates who have similar views of their own beauty, research...
Materialism could be fueling America's epidemic of loneliness and isolation, a new study claims.
People who spend their money on experiences tend to have stronger feelings of social connection with others than those who purchase belongings, a series of psychological expe...
Feeling angry constricts blood vessels in unhealthy ways and could raise a person's long-term odds for heart disease, new research warns.
"If you're a person who gets angry all the time, you're having chronic injuries to your blood vessels,"said study leader
At what age does loneliness strike adults the hardest?
A new review maps it out, finding that people are more lonely as young adults, grow less lonely as they approach middle age, and then fall back into loneliness in old age, researchers reported April 30 in the journal...
The emotional turmoil caused by a stolen dog is akin to that of a parent losing a child, a new study finds.
The findings support ...
Anne Helms is one busy mom, constantly juggling the demands of working from home with parenting two young children.
Despite that whirl of activity, Helms says she often feels isolated and lonely.
"I work from home full time and I actually have a job where I'm on ca...
For the first time, the United States has fallen out of the top 20 spots on the annual world's happiest nations list.
Americans are...
Grumbling and grousing to others isn't an effective way of reducing rage, a new review shows.
Folks who vent about a source of anger might feel better in the moment, but that won't diminish their ire, researchers found.
Instead, stress-reducing techniques like deep...
Middle-aged Americans are lonelier than ever, with new research showing they are even more isolated than some of their peers in Europe.
That does not bode well for their health.
"Loneliness is gaining attention globally as a public health issue because elevated lon...
After a car crash, women are more likely to go into shock than men, even when their injuries are less severe, new research shows.
"Women are arriving to the trauma bay with signs of shock more often than men, regardless of injury severity," said study leader
Alzheimer's patients are notoriously irritable, agitated and anxious -- and researchers now think they know why.
Brain inflammation appears to influence the mood problems of Alzheimer's patients, rather than traditional markers of the disease like amyloid beta or tau pro...
Good news is fun to share, but you get more of a charge from it if you keep it under your hat for a while, a new study says.
Keeping good news a secret for a bit before telling someone else appears to make people feel more energized and alive, according to findings publi...
It can be hard for new college students, or those returning after summer break, to be away from home.
Homesickness is a normal reaction. About 30% of all students and 70% of first-year students experience it. Though it can happen at any time, it's most common in the firs...
It might seem like sunshine, vacation and time spent with family and friends will bring you happiness this summer.
But sometimes it takes a little more effort, said ...
Cutting back social media to a spare 30 minutes per day could be the key to reducing anxiety, depression, loneliness and feelings of fear of missing out, researchers say.
That was true for college students in a new study who self-limited social media -- often successfull...
There is an epidemic of loneliness and isolation today, and the consequences can be deadly, researchers say.
Folks who reported that they were socially isolated or felt lonely were more likely to die early from all causes including cancer, according to a sweeping review ...
More than 10 million people in the United States are living with bipolar disorder, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illn...
Those TV ads for juicy burgers may trigger your emotions, making you believe you'll be happier if you run out and get one for yourself.
Unfortunately, a similar ad for salad does not appear to have the same emotional impact, according to new research from the University ...
The death of a parent is heartbreaking for a child or teenager, and those who experience it are known to be at an increased risk for depression and other mental health issues later in life.
But a new study finds that children who participated in a bereavement program wit...
Anxiety attacks can seem overwhelming when you're in the middle of one, but with the right coping tools you can come out the other side.
What is an anxiety attack?
It might seem like a move to rural living could bring calm and even happiness, but new research suggests that isn't always so.
A study from the University of Houston found that those living in the country were not more satisfied with their lives than people who lived in...
When expectant or new moms experience depression, known as perinatal depression, loneliness may be a driving factor.
"We found that loneliness was central to the experiences of expectant and new mothers with depression. We know that depression and loneliness are often in...
Primary care doctors are no longer just in the physical health business: Americans are increasingly turning to them for mental health care, too, a new study finds.
Looking at Americans' primary care visits between 2006 and 2018, researchers found a 50% increase in the pr...
When Elizabeth R.'s husband passed away from bone cancer in 2016, she felt grateful that her employer offered generous bereavement leave.
Now 40, she worked in the development department of a large nonprofit cancer group at the time and felt ready to go back when her lea...
Living in tight-knit communities where neighbors are connected to one another helped improve health outcomes for older Chinese Americans, a new study found.
Rutgers University researchers used data from a study of more than 3,100 elderly Chinese people in the Chicago are...
For people with heart disease, new research suggests loneliness, social isolation and living alone can shave years off your life.
This trio puts people with established cardiovascular disease at greater risk of premature death, according to the international study. Card...
Swedish researchers studying anger say it appears there is a pent-up need for anger management and that an internet-based treatment can work.
Scientists from the Centre for Psychiatry Research at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, had to close its recruitmen...
Menopause and the years before it may make you feel like you're losing your mind.
Some of those feelings are changes that occur naturally in this stage of life, but other factors contribute, too, according to the
This season of celebrating also comes with lots of stress for many people.
But despite the long to-do list and mandatory get-togethers, it is possible to maintain a healthy mind, according to experts at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.
"Stress is an inev...
Taking care of a loved one can either be a break from loneliness or help to bring loneliness on, depending on your circumstances, new research shows.
Researchers broadly studied the issue, using data from 28 studies with more than 190,000 participants in 21 countries. Th...
That intense feeling of fear as you watch Jason Voorhees chase his next victim while wearing a hockey mask in "Friday the 13th" might actually be good for you. It also might not be.
Researchers ...
If you're feeling a little low, smile anyway. That alone could shift your mood.
This idea is known as the facial feedback hypothesis, and rese...
If you have dogs, you probably already know that petting them can give you a lift.
Researchers set out to prove that using technology to show what happens in the brain when stroking or sitting next to a dog. They also compared that to petting a stuffed animal.
Th...
Internet hotheads are often literally that, with hateful tweets rising in number as temperatures soar, a new study reports.
Temperatures higher than 86 degrees Fahrenheit are consistently linked to heavy increases in online hate messages, according to a review of more th...
Cancer isn't just a physical struggle but also an emotional one, as patients, survivors and their loved ones experience grief and loss throughout the experience.
Gabrielle Alvarez, a social worker at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, offered some
Social isolation and loneliness put people at a 30% higher risk of heart attack, stroke or death from either, a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) warns.
The statement also highlights the lack of data on interventions that could improve he...
Starting Saturday, if you or someone you know is contemplating suicide or having a mental health crisis, you can dial just three numbers -- 988 -- to get help.
Callers will be connected to a train...
The concept of "hangry" helps sell candy bars, and it's a convenient excuse to snap at someone when you're in a foul mood.
But is hangry -- being angry when you're hungry -- a real thing? Do people really become more irritable when they want food?
"My wife sometime...
Despite the crushing challenges of navigating a worldwide pandemic during the past two years, Americans remain as optimistic as ever, a series of surveys shows.
The surveys were conducted between 2008 and 2020,...