New Study Finds Netflix May Be to Blame for the Falling Fertility Rate in the US

It’s funny, just a few years ago, the term “Netflix and chill” was synonymous with hooking up. Now, it seems Netflix may be to blame for the falling fertility rate in the US. How the tables do turn.

Wall Street Journal conducted a survey for the story, which showed that an incredible 25 percent of respondents have declined sex in favor of binge-watching a show in the last six months.

The problem arises particularly from streaming services; back when regular tv ruled mass entertainment, you could only watch one episode at a time, and each episode was filled with commercial breaks. The reward part of your brain wasn’t nearly so activated.

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“Now, if you’re watching something streaming, the next episode is immediately available, and there are no commercials where you could look over and say, ‘Honey, you look cute tonight,’” explained Jean Twenge, Ph.D., who authored a 2017 study on the topic.

While it is true that Americans are having fewer babies than ever before in history, it’s not entirely clear that Netflix is playing a direct role in the phenomenon. Technology in general, maybe (and like, a thousand other major societal factors). For every couple binging Netflix, there’s another couple scrolling through social media in bed.

“There has never been a time you could feel more alone with your partner right next to you,” clinical psychologist Dr. Megan Fleming said.

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Netflix commented on the study to deny that they’re contributing to the lack of American babies.

“We take pride in being part of the cultural zeitgeist, but getting credit for a decadeslong decline in sex is beyond even our programming abilities,” a spokesperson said.

That’s ok, Netflix spokesperson. It’s good to have goals.

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April 26, 2019

Apparently, Caffeine May Cause Headaches… And Also Help Cure Them

Before you reach for a cup of coffee to alleviate your headache, did you know caffeine could actually make it worse?

Yes, we all want fast relief, but here’s the thing: not all headaches are created equal. Most pain relievers do contain a small dose of caffeine, though, so…where does that leave us, exactly?

Photo Credit: Pexels, Nathan Crowley

Before we dive into how caffeine works, let’s talk about the causes of a headache. A headache is essentially a tightening of blood vessels, muscles, and nerves in the head and neck. This can be caused by stress, high blood pressure, anxiety, and more. Other reasons are generally secondary, such as a concussion or dehydration.

For the run of the mill headaches, caffeine can release this tension and lower inflammation – but when you ingest caffeine in excess (through medication or coffee), those same symptoms can resurface. Here’s the thing: caffeine affects everybody differently. So if even though a cup of coffee cures my headaches toot-sweet, it may make yours even worse.

A high caffeine intake constricts blood vessels, and when the vessels open back up a rebound effect can occur. Or on the flip side, muscles and nerves can over-tighten, leaving the headache worse. It all depends on the unique chemical reactions happening in your body.

Ouch.

So what can you do?

Caffeine is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Each person has a unique chemical makeup and they should be aware of how caffeine interacts with their bodies. According to Kiran Rajneesh, who is the director of the neurological pain division at the Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State University, “Some people are more genetically predisposed to be sensitive to caffeine.”

There are other natural remedies for headaches, such as a cold compress, a nap, or quiet time in a dark room, that can help those with a caffeine sensitivity. You may also want to avoid nicotine, alcohol, and prolonged screen time.

What about those who can fight headaches with caffeinated beverages?

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Great question. First of all, good for you! But there are some caveats…

You should remain cautious of the type of drink you choose and the amount. For example, there’s caffeine in coffee, sodas, and energy drinks – but energy drinks have additional agents called neurostimulants that can wreak more havoc than good.

Rajneesh advises against energy drinks because “neurostimulants…can worsen your headaches.”

Coffee contains around 106 to 164 milligrams of caffeine per 5-ounce cup. Most sodas have less, capping out around 38 to 46 milligrams per 12-ounce can, but are higher in sugars and other chemicals. Coffee or tea seem to be the safest bets if you are trying to help a headache.

The best remedy depends on the person.

So what does all this mean? It means all people are different and what works for one person may not for another. If you track your headaches and find caffeine worsens them, try other forms of medication like ibuprofen or aspirin. If you experience chronic headaches, it’s best to consult with a physician. Don’t forget though – simple things like drinking more water and sticking to a better sleep schedule can alleviate tension headaches as well.

Don’t forget to take care of yourself. It may seem silly, but it is totally possible for headaches to be caused my lifestyle habits rather than medical issues – so a little self-care can go a long way!

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April 24, 2019

A Surprising Number of Parents Are Googling “Is My Son Gay?”

Parents are Googling “is my son gay” 28x more often than “is my son a genius”, and more than twice as often as they’re Googling similar questions about their daughters.

In fact, people Google the same question about their husbands, uncles, fathers, and the other men in their lives way more than they ask about their daughter’s sexuality, according to multiple studies.

Sociologist Tristan Bridges, who studies gender identity, took a deep dive into the historical and social reasons these results may seem surprising, but actually aren’t. Really everyone raising and/or loving a member of the male sex should stop and evaluate their feelings when it comes to male sexuality – cause we’ve got a big ol’ double standard here.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Our society connects gender expression to sexual orientation, and when boys do things outside their gender “norm,” like crossdressing, playing with dolls, or befriending girls more often than boys, more often than not they do actually grow up to be gay or trans.

However, predicting homosexuality is not at all simple, and averages are almost never applicable on the individual level, which means that Googling “is my son gay” when he is young is not only useless but also potentially stigmatizing. Experts maintain that there is only one sign of homosexuality that parents should really be looking out for, and it’s when their child says, “I’m gay.”

Sociologists Monica Caudillo and Emma Mishel told Fatherly that they’d found the same gender gap during their 2016 research.

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“We find that people ask Google whether their sons are gay about twice as commonly as whether their daughters are gay or lesbian. To really understand the patterns in Google search behavior we discovered, you need to understand the ways three interrelated theories of gender and sexual inequality overlap and work together.”

American culture values a strong link between masculinity and heterosexuality that is reinforced by boys calling other boys “gay” when they don’t act “manly” enough as a child. Therefore, masculine conformity is policed from a young age, while anything associated with females or femininity is simultaneously devalued.

Similarly, as a society we tend to question men’s heterosexuality more easily than women’s – females who have same-sex sexual encounters are free to maintain a heterosexual identity without trouble, while men who admit a single same-sex experience may be immediately labeled gay or bi-sexual, even if they don’t identify that way.

The data is pulled from anonymous Google searches, and the fact that researchers have no information on the searchers is both good and bad, scientifically. On the one hand, there’s no way to know if the people Googling are dads or moms, conservatives or liberals, etc. There’s no way to break down the results by demographic.

Image Credit: Pixabay

On the other, no one who’s data was studied knows they’re being studied, either, and there are advantages to that. According to Bridges,

“While people might, for instance, hesitate before checking “yes” on a survey asking whether they have ever questioned their children’s sexualities before, they might not have the same hesitancy in regards to asking Google questions.”

The sociologists all agree on one point, and it’s that the searches don’t necessarily mean parents are homophobic. They should, however, serve as a reminder that we all live in a society more unforgiving of boys who violate masculinity norms. Good parents have a duty to encourage boys as well as girls to be themselves.

Also, remember – Google doesn’t have answers, it only has information. What you choose to do with it is up to you.

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April 22, 2019

Survey Reveals “Most Relaxing Color in the World”

What’s your favorite color, and why? Is it because you look good in clothes of that color, or because you just love the shade, or because the mere sight of it makes you feel calm and relaxed.

I never gave it much thought, but the people running this survey (out of the University of Sussex) have – and now they’re telling us what color is the best one when you want to relax to the max.

Here it is: Navy blue, followed closely by teal (or turquoise), and then pastel pink.

Image Credit: Pixabay

The World’s Favourite Colour Project surveyed 26,586 people from over 100 different countries and aimed to find out about people’s favorite color, along with what sort of associations people have with different colors and why.

Professor Anna Franklin, a leading expert in color psychology, wrote a blog post about their project.

“Many studies have investigated the link between color and emotion. Although not all of these studies agree, some consistent results can be extracted from the literature. First, the more saturated the color is, the more it is associated with excitement and stimulation. Second, the lighter the color, the more it is associated with calmness and relaxation. Many studies have found that blue and green are also associated with calmness and relaxation (fewer studies find no association).”

Orange is most often associated with happiness, pink is sexy, and people associate white, purple, and orange with luxury.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Most people’s favorite colors are shades of green and blue, and the ecological valence theory purports that humans seem to be more fond of those hues because they’re associated with beneficial environmental features like clear skies, clean water, and plants.

Likewise, we dislike brown because it’s associated with feces, dirty water, and disease.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Even though there are broad cross-cultural similarities, the study’s authors are quick to remind us that there also remain differences among cultures.

“Several studies suggest that color associations, particularly abstract concepts, can vary across cultures. For example, whereas white is associated with peace in some cultures, in others it is associated with death.”

As an avid fan of Say Yes to the Dress, I also know that while Western cultures wear white for weddings, Indian cultures prefer bright colors on a bride.

Look at The Learning Channel, living up to its name!

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April 22, 2019

Study Finds Anxiety Makes People More Obsessively Clean

Are you struggling to keep your space clean? It turns out that maybe all you need to clean up your act is a light dose of anxiety.

Researchers at the University of Connecticut presented test participants with a shiny statuette and a list of seven questions to consider about the statue (such as “How old do you think the object is?”). Then, half the participants were told they’d have to present a short speech on the object to an art expert – thereby inducing anxiety.

All the participants were then given a few minutes to ponder the questions, plan their presentation (if they were in that test group), and polish the statuette. The experiment then ended, with the speech-giving group being told they didn’t have to speak after all.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

The results were remarkably consistent across both groups. The “relaxed” group that never believed they had to give a speech tended to clean using pretty varied motions. Meanwhile, participants in the “anxiety” group (the speech-givers) all cleaned with repetitive motions, focusing on smaller areas and cleaning much more meticulously.

Remarkably, even participants who didn’t show any perceptible signs of stress still followed the same pattern of cleaning! The researchers behind this study hypothesize that people might engage in repetitive behaviors during stressful situations because it gives them a sense of control in a time of uncertainty.

So, you know. If you ever feel like your room needs cleaning, you could just stress yourself.

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April 18, 2019

Photo Credit: did you know?

Source 1 Source 2 Source 3

One question: are you able to speak?

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April 18, 2019

There’s a Psychological Reason Why Your Anxiety Gets Worse When Good Things Happen

Anxiety is a funny thing. And by “funny,” I mean “a serious mindf***.”

How else would you explain the fact that your anxiety can actually get WORSE when something good happens to you. Seriously, there’s just no winning with this, is there?

Clinical psychologist Carla Marie Manly explained to HuffPost why this often happens to people with anxiety:

“Anxiety can be a bit tricky, as it’s a primitive response that’s hard-wired into the brain. The brain’s fear circuit works very quickly, and it doesn’t always pause to differentiate between good anxiety and bad.”

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When something good happens, it triggers very similar physical symptoms to those that you associate with panic or fear, Carla said. Excitement and anxiety are very similar, as far as your body is concerned.

Also, the mere sensation of happiness can cause fear if you’re not really used to feeling that way. It’s new and unfamiliar — an anxious person’s worst enemy. Furthermore, many people worry that something good happening MUST mean that something bad is going to happen next.

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It sucks to feel overcome by anxiety when you feel like you should be jumping for joy. But the first key to moving past the feeling is acknowledging and accepting it, Carla explained. Then practice enjoying any little piece of good news that comes your way — and be patient with yourself.

“It’s natural for the psyche to want to go back to old thought patterns, so this new one will take time and patience to become hard-wired into the brain.”

Time and patience – that’s some solid advice.

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April 13, 2019

Viral Chart Explains the Crucial Difference Between REAL Support and “Toxic Positivity”

It’s a daily struggle for many people to try to find a silver lining in their lives. Life can really beat you down, and sometimes you just have to dig deep to find positivity and reassurance in yourself so you can move forward and carry on.

Photo Credit: Flickr,amenclinicsphotos ac

That being said, you can’t always do the same for other people. You can encourage and support someone until you’re blue in the face, and it still might not do them any good at the end of the day. Sometimes, all people really want is for their negative thoughts to be validated.

Bottom line: you can’t force a positive attitude or positive feelings on someone if they don’t have it within themselves.

That’s why this chart from Whitney Hawkins Goodman is so useful. In the chart, she explains the difference between support and toxic positivity.

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Here are some positive sayings I found on Pinterest. Alone, they’re pretty benign. But for someone who is really struggling they can sting. I translated them into some different variations that I think still inspire hope, but are validating. What do you think?

A post shared by Whitney Hawkins Goodman LMFT (@sitwithwhit) on Feb 1, 2019 at 7:55am PST

As you can see, there are major differences between the two approaches. On one side, you’re offering actual helpful, validating advice that may allow someone struggling to move forward in some way.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

On the ‘toxic positivity’ side, you’re offering them a platitudinous one-liner that doesn’t really help and may even make the advisee feel unsafe in expressing their negative thoughts in the future. Toxic positivity can also make people who don’t have “good vibes only” feel like something is wrong with them, that they are choosing to be negative

We all have people in our lives who rely on us because they have a difficult time coping. Or perhaps you are that person. Either way, your friends and loved ones or maybe even YOU can use this chart as a starting point for thinking about things in a different light.

Sometimes you just need a little help to change your perspective.

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April 9, 2019

When Carl Jung and Sigmund…

When Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud met for the first time, they talked for 13 hours straight.

April 7, 2019

According to Stanford psychologists…

According to Stanford psychologists, the the advice “find your passion” could have negative affect on people because it implies that the number of interests a person has is limited. That causes people to narrow their focus and neglect other areas.