Brain Trust

Usable tips from today's top scientists

Garth Sundem

17 Tips for a Mindful Family Vacation

For example, make it about people. Rather than thinking of your vacation as a list of places, could you tell the story of your vacation as a series of connections?

Novel by 20-Year-Old Is an Honest Look at Teen Mental Health

"I hope that reading about characters who struggle will help people see that it's okay to struggle," says 20-year-old author Jennifer Yu.

When Is Life No Longer “Life”?

With End-of-Life initiatives on many ballots, here's what "Sister Cities" director, Sean Hanish, has learned about assisted suicide and when "life" is no longer "life".

The 4 Stages of Unplugging a Child's Brain

We've all seen research on kids and screen time. Here's what it really looks like to unplug.

What to Do About Math Anxiety?

Your brain and surroundings can both cause and cure math anxiety.

Are Creativity and Madness Written Together in Your Genes?

A study in Nature Neuroscience shows that creativity and madness may share the same genetic underpinnings.

The Bright Side Of Being Cheated On, Dumped & Replaced

Study of 5,705 women in 96 countries shows that women who are cheated on win in the long run.

Here's How Rewarding Good Behavior Leads to Bad Behavior

Positive reinforcement is a cornerstone of parenting. Unfortunately, a new study shows it can have the opposite effect.

A Surprising Secret of Attraction

Want to be attractive on a first date or on Tinder? "People who are seen in expansive, open nonverbal displays enjoy increases in others’ romantic attraction," writes a new study.

Should You Trust Your Insight?

Without really knowing where an insight solution comes from, can you trust it?

How to Stop Passing Unfairness to Your Partner

When someone treats you unfairly, should you speak up or move on to avoid acting unfairly yourself?

What Kind of Person is Besties With a Narcissist?

It may not be that narcissists seek versions of themselves, but that they can't help but be stuck with themselves.

Why Is Your Child Good (Or Bad...) at Both Math and Reading?

Why do reading and math go together? Is it general intelligence boosting both? Study skills? Tiger parenting? A new study pinpoints this skill...and it's not general intelligence.

Study Fact-Checks Influence of Immigration on Jobs

Research shows that the diversity from immigration leads to wage growth and higher productivity in STEM fields.

Does Creativity Come From Persistence or Flexibility?

If you think broadly, you will find creative ideas among irrelevant ones. If you think deeply, you will eventually dig through mundane ideas and into original ones below.

Should We Protect Our Kids From the Stress of Youth Sports?

Kids sobbed as they exited the climbing competition through what my wife aptly named the “Tunnel of Tears”. And into this mix, we send our kind, humble 9-year-old?

Research Finds Faults in Santa Claus Workplace Safety

Society systematically fails to consider issues of workplace safety that affect Santa Claus and his ungulate co-workers every Christmas Eve. A new paper rights this wrong.

Does Religion Protect Against Holiday Blues?

Study finds that "the Christmas period is related to a decrease in life satisfaction and emotional well-being." But not among very religious Christians...

Online Games Show Player Personality And How To Change It

You bring some of your personality into online games...and soon the game may put a bit of itself into your personality.

Should We Let Kids Study What Interests Them?

Does a child's intrinsic motivation increase math scores? Of course it does! That is, unless you look at the science.

Does Fairness Depend on Kindness or Justice?

Imagine you have to split a plate of cookies. Does the person who baked the cookies get the most or do you split them evenly?

An Optimistic Study of Learning in Older Brains

A Columbia University study shows that the learning of healthy older brains may depend more on motivation than ability.

The Surprising Power of an Uncomfortable Brain

What happens when surroundings don't match your expectations? A new series of experiments shows that this "cultural dysfluency" shocks your brain off autopilot and back into thinking.

Here's How to Finally Love Math With Your Child

How do the words, "The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another" make you feel? A study in the journal Science shows that if you can create the same feeling with your child about math, his or her skills will blossom.

Can Your Child's Friends Affect How Much He or She Learns?

A study in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology explores how friends influence each other's school skills.

The Science of Happiness, Well-Being and Twinkies

As you’re reading this, ask yourself one question: Are you happy? Okay, maybe just one more: Wouldn’t a Twinkie make you happier? The answer depends on how you define happiness.

One Powerful Tool to Help Your Child Learn Math

Executive function, school placement, math identity, reading skills, IQ and more: Here's what matters (and what surprisingly doesn't!) for improving math skills in elementary and middle schools.

How To Manage Situations and Emotions of Acute Stress

The ability to keep stress in a productive “Goldilocks zone” depends less on what you have to deal with and more on how you deal with it. Here's how.

Whether to Wake Up or Snooze, and Why It Matters So Much

To snooze or not to snooze? The answer can determine whether you start the day with energy or insight.

If You Want to be Creative, Keep Trying

Test yourself: how many creative ideas can you generate for things to eat or drink at Thanksgiving dinner? Now, how many more do you think you could come up with if you persisted in trying again? The answer might surprise you.

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