Nicht glauben, sondern wissen
A survey conducted by Harvard University in the United States found that 44 percent of working adults say that their work affects their health. In Germany, Techniker Krankenkasse conducted a survey which revealed that 64 percent of Germans suffer from stress at least occasionally and 26 percent report that they suffer from stress frequently.
A pack of potato chips instead of a bowl of salad – a few hours on the couch instead of at the gym: we constantly break our resolutions and surrender to the commands of a very selfish brain. Yet, anyone can beat laziness. What slows us down, what keeps us going? How can we overcome the motivation killers in our heads?
Whether it’s pester power strategies, signs with short-term offers or special scents in the air: by now we are all familiar with the trickery that supermarkets use to get us to buy. But why do we fall for them again and again?
Some pills consist only of sugar and starch – and can still make you healthy. How can the placebo effect be explained? Researchers suspect that the body heals itself in many cases of illness.
Some people can memorize hundreds of faces or phone numbers in a matter of minutes. Everyone is capable of such feats of memory.
Neuroscientists can peer into our brains and read what we are thinking. There are also less chilling possibilities, such as prosthetics that can be controlled by the power of thought.
Soldiers in crisis areas or aid workers on disaster relief missions often have traumatic experiences. The images, sounds and smells remain with some people for the rest of their lives. What happens in our brain? And can trauma be healed?
Many people find it unbearable to watch another person suffer. Physical mishaps make them uncomfortable, physical violence in movies is almost unbearable. But what is really going on inside us when this happens?
Left- and right-handed people differ in their dominant side of their bodies. Scientists have been able to find out why these differences exist in humans and animals and where they come from.
Some people look and act like everyone else. But suddenly their limbs start twitching, they start screaming, they start shouting profanities – without ever meaning to. This is what it feels like to have Tourette Syndrome.
