When You’re More Likely to Lie

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white lie

There’s a certain time of day that you’re more likely to lie, and it’s not when you first wake up in the morning. Recent research shows that people fibbed more in the afternoon, when offered a reward for being untruthful. The idea is that everyone has a certain reserve of will power. As the day goes on, it becomes depleted as we use bits of it up resisting that doughnut for breakfast or not buying that expensive sweater. When you’re tired, you lose your will power to be truthful, and take the easy way out. If its easier to tell a lie, when it’s afternoon, you’ll definitely be more likely to do it.

Science Proves that Men and Women Think Differently

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brain

If you’ve ever ended a conversation with the opposite sex wondering, “What were they thinking?” now science has an answer for you. Supporting the years –long debate that men and women think differently, is a new study that found real differences in ways the male/female brains are wired. Using MRI brain scans, scientists determined that for women, the fiber pathways that route information around the brain tend to repeatedly zig-zag across both hemispheres of the brain. In normal thought, these highways for information hop back and forth between the left, “logical” side of the brain and the right, “creative” side of the brain. When examining the aggregate scans for men, the fiber pathways tended to run up and down the same hemisphere more, rather than jumping back and forth.

While researchers don’t yet understand how this may impact behavior differences, they believe that men may over-engage one part of the brain, assessing situations very logically, while women may be more able to connecting logical and emotional dots. For example, a man might take action to resolve a situation, while a woman could resolve the situation, and come to the realization that the reason the task isn’t complete originally is because Susan was having a bad day. Additionally, this research supports previous research that indicates women are better at multitasking. So next time you find yourself perplexed with your significant other, take a minute to have a breather – they may just be thinking about things differently than you.

At-Home Yoga for Busy People

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yoga

Are you one of those people who would love to practice yoga, but just can’t manage to find the time? Now there is a site catering especially to people like you. It’s called Dirty Yoga, and it’s for people who make shit happen, but can’t seem to make it to the studio on time for class. The idea is that the people who would benefit the most from yoga’s de-stressing benefits are the ones who aren’t able to fit it into their busy schedules. Now all you need is a mat and a laptop to take a class. Two Brooklyn-based yogis, Susi Rajah and Jess Gronholm created a virtual studio where you can take 20-45 minute courses. There’s also “quickie” 5-8 minutes from when your day is really packed. The goal is to give yoga with flexibility, categorized by length and intensity that let you pick the workout best matching what you’re looking for without chanting, meditating, or exposing those see-through Lululemon pants to a whole room of strangers.

It’s yoga that’s not too expensive, and geared toward exercise for people who want the lean body benefits without the spiritual side. You can try it out for a week for only $10, or hit the mat for a month for $20. Then after you’ve decided if you like it, prices range from $15-$25 depending on how advanced you are. And if it’s not for you? It’s less money down the drain than a round of cocktails. Why not check it out?

Christmas Gifts for Everyone on Your List

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giftPost-thanksgiving, everyone is probably feeling the Christmas shopping crunch. With only 23 days until Santa comes, here’s some ideas to get your shopping started, or give you ideas of what to buy this Cyber Monday for everyone on your list.

With ideas for fashionistas, to extravagant ideas for the person who has everything, these links should have everyone covered.

Optimism = Resilience and Sustainability

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resiliance

Being optimistic is essentially maintaining a positive outlook for longer than a negative outlook. And the key to doing that is being resilient and persevering, according to an interview with Margaret Wheatley for The Intelligent Optimist magazine. Basically in order to be optimistic you need to understand that there will be bad days, experience them, and then bounce back. It’s looking at the annoying bad things that happen, accepting them, and moving along. The sustained frustration at negative things in life is at the basis of pessimism. Instead of getting mad that bad things happen, accept the setback and failure. They are an inescapable part of living. Understanding that bad days will pass and taking the lesson in them for what its worth rather than dwelling on the negative repercussions of the event is the difference between seeing things as glass half empty or glass half full.

Cats and Dogs in Thanksgiving Costumes

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catIt’s Thanksgiving week, and that means that those of us in the United States have lots to look forward to – spending time with relatives, eating loads of delicious food, and relaxing with a few days of work. Then, of course, there is the added bonus of cute animals in Thanksgiving themed costumes. Check out these outfits.

Just another thing to be thankful for!

High Emotional Intelligence=Good Decisions

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decisionPeople tend to make the best decisions when they are calm, cool, and collected. It’s why people often advise you to sleep on major choices, to give the emotions surrounding a big life change a chance to dissipate so you can make a selection unbiased. Now new research published in Psychological Science found that people who have high levels of emotional intelligence might not need to wait to make clear headed decisions. So what does it mean to have emotional intelligence? Psychologists use the term to classify people who are able to identify and control their own and others’ emotions. Basically, they can recognize an emotion, the source, and act appropriately.

For example, a person who hits traffic on the way to work might be pretty pissed about the glitch in the day. If this person has high levels of emotional intelligence, she’ll be able to recognize that she’s mad about the traffic, and not take it out on her coworkers, or make rash decisions in meetings that day because of the emotion. This type of person can separate emotions that relate to the situation at hand, and emotions that don’t. They don’t necessarily make decisions in an emotional vacuum, but are able to only pay attention to the feelings that matter, ignoring what happened earlier that day or later that evening. This leads to better, cooler-headed decision making. And if you’re curious what youre level is, check out an Emotional Intelligence Quiz from Berkeley to find out.

Centenarian Says Do Your Thing Girl

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centThe Atlantic interviewed Marian Cannon Schlesinger, a 101 year old wife, author, and illustrator to hear her recollections of JFK’s assassination, mine her memories, and learn her overall wisdom. There are so many interesting points, I just had to take a moment to summarize my favorites. Among the messages she delivered, one of the main gems was for young women of today, telling them to, “Just go ahead and do your thing no matter what.” This advice is so needed this time of year when people run themselves ragged trying to make it to every holiday dinner, every cookie swap, and every party. It is a gift to be able to celebrate the holidays with friends and family, try to remember it as such, and just do your thing – read:  go to the events you really want to go to, and nothing more.

Another thing to take note of, “It doesn’t really matter if your house is that dirty.” When things are busy, the dust will still be there in the corners waiting when things settle down. Try not to freak out about it. “There have always been strong women.” Feminism wasn’t invented by modern ladies – all of those females on the Oregon trail were pretty powerful too. Her tricks on living to 100 are having a cup of coffee in the morning, and a drink every night. And when you’re having trouble figuring out how to live a full life, “Just keep going.” Such simple words, such true advice.

Take Your Run Outside Even in the Cold

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runOne of my favorite things about crisp fall days is that I can get up and go for a run in the morning before work, logging some outdoor time and getting my workout out of the way before I even really start my day. Since the temps have dropped drastically in the past couple days in NYC, I have been logging more time on the elliptical, and missing jogs along the water. The cold weather has scared me indoors, but with Popsugar Fitness’s tips on running outside (that I read about on Self), I’ll be back out before the end of the week. If you like exercising outdoors, here’s how to do it in the chilly temps.

  • Stock up on warmer gear: I have an adidas fleece lined hoodie, lululemon running tights, earmuffs and gloves that I wear out, with a longsleeved tee layered underneath for really cold days. The muffs keep my ear buds in place, and if it’s really cold, I have fleece lined leggings I put on instead.
  • Motivate with good tunes: If it’s still dark when you get out running, make a get-pumped playlist to blare while you’re getting geared up. I also like to chug a cup of iced coffee to give me a little boost once I get out there.
  • Put out the close you’ll wear before bed: I don’t go as far as sleeping in my running clothes, but I do make a little pile right down to my socks so I can roll out of bed and into the outfit before my snooze alarm goes off again.
  • Heat Up First: Do some light warm-ups inside  before you head out into the chill.
  • Reward yourself with a warm breakfast when you get home: I make mini quiches in my muffin tins that I can pop in the microwave for a fancy meal before work that only takes about a minute to heat up
  • Buddy up: If your friend is waiting for you at the running path, you won’t leave them hanging out there all alone in the cold.

Then just mix this in with your regular gym routine to keep from getting bored all fall/winter long.