Morning Tea – YouBeauty

Depressed Fathers Increase Risk in Children

YouBeauty Editors — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 01:46:17 +0000

The ol’ apple never falls far from the tree—and sadly, that applies to depression too. Studies have long known that a mother’s depression increases the likelihood that her kids will suffer with the same issues, but what about dads? At last, a landmark study reports the mental-health issues that a depressed father may cause in his children. According to the new research, a child’s likelihood of developing emotional issues can rise to 70 percent if their father is depressed (versus about 6 percent for a child with mentally healthy parents). To any dads struggling with depression, it’s a good reminder to seek help if you need it. If not for yourself, than for the little sponge next to you.

MORE: Your Mind: Healthy Approaches for Treating Depression

“Emotional Balance” Ratio Could Predict Divorce

YouBeauty Editors — Sun, 21 Jun 2020 01:25:16 +0000

Surely no one wants to get divorced (well, aside from anyone with a vested interest in the “Kim’s Fairytale Divorce” sequel.) But what if an expert could tell you whether your marriage will last, within a few minutes of meeting you and your beloved? It might be possible. John Gottman—a marriage therapist featured in Macolm Gladwell’s bestselling “Blink”—claims that he can “thin-slice” a couple, predicting the fate of their union with incredible accuracy just by watching them. The secret: Your positive and negative emotional interactions with each other. Do you roll your eyes when he talks? Bad sign. Does he smile when you tell a story? Good sign! It’s all about the right balance. “All couples, happy and unhappy, have conflicts,” Gottman writes, “but the ratio of positive to negative interactions during arguments is a critical factor.” The golden ratio: 5:1. With five being the positives, that is!

QUIZ: What’s Your Relationship Style?

Food Poisoning Vs. The Stomach Flu

YouBeauty Editors — Sat, 20 Jun 2020 01:16:29 +0000

You’ve been up all night, puking your guts out and clinging onto the porcelain throne for dear life. Not pretty. Is it food poisoning? The stomach flu? Does it even matter? Well to your boss tomorrow when you call in—sure, maybe.

So here’s the technical difference, just to store away in your sick-as-a-dog arsenal: The stomach flu can present all sorts of symptoms (vomiting, diarrhea, fever, etc.) and lasts about three to five days, whereas food poisoning typically lasts one or two and rarely involves a fever. Neither are a picnic, but are least you’re informed next time you suffer. Here’s to ginger ale and crackers!

MORE: The Science Behind Foodborne Illness

Heart Attack Risks Can Be Subtle in Women

YouBeauty Editors — Fri, 19 Jun 2020 01:13:08 +0000

Think heart attacks are a men’s issue saved for dramatic golf course scenes? Guess again. Heart disease is the leading cause of women’s death in the U.S., and even scarier, heart attacks are often difficult to detect in women because the early symptoms can be subtle. A new study by the National Institutes of Health—which surveyed pre-attack symptoms in women—reported that 70 percent of women experienced unusual fatigue a month or so before their attack, 48 percent experienced sleep disturbance and 42 percent had shortness of breath. A big key to prevention is remembering that you’re often your best doctor—if you feel “off” or generally unwell, always speak up.

MORE: On the Menu: Heart-Healthy Foods

Men Think They’re Really Funny

YouBeauty Editors — Thu, 18 Jun 2020 00:59:00 +0000

Women may be the fairer sex—but are men the funnier sex? A new study from the University of California reports that, when it comes to cracking jokes, both sexes think men are funnier than women! Researchers asked male and female undergraduates to think up comical lines for the New Yorker cartoon caption contest—hey, no pressure or anything—and then had both groups blindly rate which captions were most humorous. Across the board, both picked males! Was it the joking under pressure? A legitimate gender bias? Something in the air? Researchers aren’t sure. Then again, the men probably weren’t even listening to the jokes in the first place—let’s call the whole thing off.

MORE: Wanting a Partner With a Good Sense of Humor

Friends Are More Attractive Than Strangers

YouBeauty Editors — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 02:54:42 +0000

Next time your wannabe-lover tries to put you in the Friend Zone, this research will cheer you up: In a study about perceived physical attractiveness, subjects played “hot or not” with high-school yearbook photos of either past classmates or strangers. The result? Familiar (and likable) faces were consistently rated as being more attractive than those of strangers. So OK, maybe your friend still doesn’t want to date you—but at least you know he thinks you’re hot. Not too shabby.

COLUMN: Familiarity Breeds Attraction

Women Think Being Skinny Equals Happiness

YouBeauty Editors — Tue, 16 Jun 2020 01:51:35 +0000

What woman hasn’t flipped through fashion magazines, ooh-ing and ahh-ing over some skinny-minny model with a Barbie waist? She must be so blissfully happy, living the dream in her beach mansion, right? Maybe, maybe not—but either way, you’re not alone in assuming that. One study asked undergraduate women to describe three things: America’s “ideal” female body type, how their lives would change if they had it and how they felt about their own bodies generally. Across the board, women picked thinness as the ideal and listed all the confidence/happiness/general magical-ness that would come with it (and sadly, women with the worst body image had even higher hopes for how life could be). If that sounds like you, toss those unrealistic magazines and, instead, start noticing all the gorgeous curvy women out and about in the world—beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, and regardless, happiness has nothing to do with a “look” in the first place.

QUIZ: How Happy Are You?

Laughter Is Great For Romantic Relationships

YouBeauty Editors — Mon, 15 Jun 2020 01:43:03 +0000

Looking for a way to bond with your beloved? Forget the wine and roses for a second. You two need a case of the giggles, stat! Research shows that romantic relationships benefit from a session of hearty, endorphin-boosting laughter. One study asked couples to either recall occasions where they laughed together, or a time when they laughed apart or at something that wasn’t funny. The couples that took a trip down giggly memory lane reported higher relationship satisfaction overall—i.e., the couple that laughs together, stays together!

QUIZ: What Type of Funny Are You?

Materialism May Lead to More Marriage Problems

YouBeauty Editors — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 01:26:23 +0000

Money can’t buy you love or marital bliss it seems. A study of 1,734 married couples revealed that the amount of money you make, and your attitude about the green generally, can have a huge impact on the quality of your relationship. Compared to admittedly materialistic couples, non-materialistic couples scored up to 15 percent higher on various measures of relationship quality. Money-grubbing lovers instead had more fights about money—surprise, surprise—and were more likely to have poor communication and conflict resolution. And if there were two materialistic partners in the marriage? You guessed it—the couple was significantly worse off for that unfortunate pairing. So next time you’re on a date, find a sly way to ask your lover how they feel about money. Their answer may be more telling than you ever realized!

MORE: More Money More Problems

Breakups Inflict Pain Just Like Real Injuries

YouBeauty Editors — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 20:08:04 +0000

To the brokenhearted: Go ahead, cry your eyes out and treat yourself to that Ben and Jerry’s. New research proves that you’re truly in pain! In a study conducted by four top universities, 40 women were asked to view photos of their ex and muse about their breakup (torture), and then had heat applied to their arms (more torture). The fascinating discovery: The social and physical pain activated the exact same regions in the brain! At last, science proves what anyone with an ex already knew—love hurts, literally. The good news is, love is like hot sauce, they say. No matter how burned you got last time, you always go back for more.

MORE: Beauty Your Way Through a Breakup