The acronym ASMR refers to specific sounds that many perceive as calming and pleasant. Some people even report states of trance or a tingling sensation in the head when exposed to ASMR sounds. What the hype about soothing sounds on social media is all about.
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Science is now convinced that swimming makes you smarter. Not only does aquatic exercise strengthen the cardiovascular system, build muscle, and reduce stress. Our brain also benefits.
Unpleasant sounds can cause physical reactions. In some cases, this is a remnant of human evolution. In other cases, it is a disorder.
Dolphins are very intelligent. They have self-awareness, personality, and empathy. Their social behavior is very complex. They use tools, give themselves individual names, mourn their dead, can imitate behaviors even across species – including humans – and pass on what they have learned to their offspring, thus developing their own culture.
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?
Our brain decides which pain stimuli it processes and which it does not. Can we actively control this process?
Childbirth pain is considered to be the most intense there is. A scratch, on the other hand, is hardly felt: the brain is quickly signaled that the injury is not life-threatening. But how far can pain go?
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?
In traffic, at a soccer game, or on the Internet – we encounter advertising messages everywhere. Can they seduce us without us noticing, and can our brains be influenced by neuromarketing?
Anyone who has ever been tickled for longer than a few seconds knows that it can be real torture – our body compels us to laugh as a reflex. However, anyone who tries to tickle themselves will invariably fail. Why is that?