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4 stories · Studies worth a segment, explained like a human.
Researchers tracked heart rate and behaviour in dogs while their owners watched sad, happy and neutral videos. The dogs consistently moved closer, made more eye contact and mirrored stress responses when their owners were upset, even when the owner tried to hide it. The study suggests dogs read chemical and micro-expression cues far faster than most humans do.
A trial in which musicians played in hospital wards twice a week found patients needed less pain medication and were discharged, on average, a day earlier. Staff turnover on the participating wards also dropped. The hospital has since hired a resident musician.
Psychologists reviewing decades of research say speaking to yourself out loud improves focus, memory and emotional regulation, especially when you use your own name. The effect is strongest under pressure. The stigma, they argue, is entirely social.
Data from sleep trackers compared with self-reported sleep shows most people overstate their sleep by more than an hour a night. The gap is largest among people who describe themselves as morning people. Sleep researchers say the real number for most adults is closer to six hours than the eight they claim.