Mental

Breadcrumb Trail Links Life Eating & Drinking Culture Books 'Sometimes the easiest thing is just to talk about your own shortcomings, and have that be a stepping stone for others,' says Chang Publishing date: Sep 11, 2020  •  September 11, 2020  •  7 minute read  •  Join the conversation In his new memoir, Eat a Peach, chef and restaurateur David Chang grapples with success and fights the stigma of mental illness. Photo by Andrew Bezek Reviews and recommendations are…

New findings show a troubling lack of diversity—in participants and geography—in a fast-growing scientific field exploring nature’s effects on mental health. Credit: Joshua Brown/UVM New research shows that a rapidly-growing environmental science field—which measures nature's effects on human well-being—has a diversity problem that threatens its ability to make universal scientific claims.…

Sleep – a lot like eating food – is one of those things we need to live, but seemingly there are plenty of ways to do it wrong.  A new study has weighed into the debate. Looking at UK Biobank data from almost 500,000 adults, researchers conclude that seven hours of sleep per night is the optimal amount for good mental health, wellbeing and cognitive performance, for people in their late 30s to early 70s.  "We identified a nonlinear association between sleep, with approximately seven hours as the optimal sleep duration,…

We all know that COVID-19 can lead to lingering fatigue and brain fog. But one of the most rigorous examinations to date of the long-term cognitive impacts of severe infection has just yielded some pretty unsettling results.  In a study comparing 46 severe COVID-19 patients with 460 matched controls, researchers found the mental impacts of severe COVID-19 six months later can be the equivalent to aging 20 years – going from 50 to 70 years old – or losing 10 IQ points.The specific mental changes were also distinct to…

In the world of mental health apps, privacy scandals have become almost routine. Every few months, reporting or research uncovers unscrupulous-seeming data sharing practices at apps like the Crisis Text Line, Talkspace, BetterHelp, and others: people gave information to those apps in hopes of feeling better, then it turns out their data was used in ways that help companies make money (and don’t help them). It seems to me like a twisted game of whack-a-mole. When under scrutiny, the apps often change or adjust their…

Mental health and prayer apps have failed at maintaining privacy and data security of their users, researchers at Mozilla found as a result of a rigorous study. The researchers said that 29 of the 32 popular mental health and prayer apps including Talkspace, Better Health, and Calm have indicated strong concerns over user privacy and data management. As many as 25 apps also failed to have standards such as requiring strong passwords and managing security updates and vulnerabilities.Mozilla's latest '*Privacy Not Included'…

As a category, mental health apps have worse privacy protections for users than most other types of apps, according to a new analysis from researchers at Mozilla. Prayer apps also had poor privacy standards, the team found. “The vast majority of mental health and prayer apps are exceptionally creepy,” Jen Caltrider, the Mozilla *Privacy Not Included guide lead, said in a statement. “They track, share, and capitalize on users’ most intimate personal thoughts and feelings, like moods, mental state, and biometric data.”…

There is a small video-game parlour of modest origins tucked in a small alley of a mohalla in Allahabad. The entire place comprises of just two dingily lit small rooms, mouldy furniture, four second-hand gaming consoles and mostly pirated CDs.Outside, a flock of young boys always cower at the entrance, excitedly waiting their turn. Inside, about 5-6 young boys sit transfixed to the screen, playing, twitching and punching the air as they furiously press buttons on their controllers.“The only time I am not here playing a…