Vitality Vixens

Yet another reason to stay hydrated: it lowers the risk of disease and faster aging
The results are based on data collected over 25 years.
The researchers collected over 25 years of data from more than 11,000 adults in the US who attended medical visits at ages 45 to 66 and then returned to follow-ups at ages 70 to 90. The researchers looked at sodium levels in their blood as a proxy for hydration. Higher concentrations are a sign they weren’t consuming enough fluids — they weren’t hydrated enough.

All participants had blood-sodium levels in the normal range (135-146 milliequivalents per liter). But the findings showed that people at the higher end of that range (above 144) were 50% more likely to show signs of physical aging beyond what would be expected for their age. They also had a 20% higher risk of dying early.

Even participants with blood-sodium levels above 142 had a higher risk of developing chronic diseases such as stroke, atrial fibrillation, chronic lung disease, diabetes, heart failure, and dementia. They also had a 10% to 15% higher chance of aging earlier. Meanwhile, those in the 138-140 range had the lowest risk of developing diseases.

“The results suggest that proper hydration may slow down aging and prolong a disease-free life,” study author Natalia Dmitrieva, a researcher in the Laboratory of Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a division of NIH, said in a statement. “On the global level, this can have a big impact.”

Hydration and health
Just like proper nutrition and regular physical activity are considered important elements of a healthy lifestyle, evidence from this and other studies show consistent and good hydration can also make a difference, the researchers said. But they warned more research is still needed to better determine the health effects of good hydration. Similar studies on a broader population sample would also be useful to see how other aspects (like genetic makeup or age) tie into the process.

The findings of the study also don’t prove a causal effect — researchers observed a correlation but did not establish a cause-effect. Randomized and controlled trials will be necessary to establish whether optimal hydration promotes healthy aging, prevents disease, and leads to a longer life. However, the association can still guide personal health behavior, the researchers said, increasing fluid intake if necessary.

Over half of the people worldwide don’t meet recommendations for daily total water intake, according to studies the authors of the new research cited. The National Academies of Medicine suggests women consume around 6-9 cups (1.5-2.2 liters) of fluids daily and for men, 8-12 cups (2-3 liters). This includes all fluids and water-rich food.

Empathy gap: study shows women are more attuned to others’ feelings
Men, you need to do better.
Researchers from the University of Cambridge found that women score higher than men on the widely used “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” test, which measures “theory or mind” (also known as cognitive empathy). This was seen across all ages and in most countries. The research is the largest study of the theory of mind to be done so far.

Cognitive empathy is the ability to understand and process other people’s perspectives or mental states — what they might be feeling or thinking. It makes us able to feel other person’s feelings and use that knowledge to predict how they will react. Researchers have studied for decades the development of cognitive empathy, from infancy to old age.

One of the most used tests to study the concept is the “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” Test, which asks participants to pick which word best describes what the person in a photo is thinking or feeling. While studies have found females on average scored higher than males, most had relatively small samples without much diversity in age and geography.

To address these gaps, a team of multidisciplinary researchers led by Cambridge University and with collaborators in Bar-Ilan, Harvard, Washington, and Haifa Universities, as well as IMT Lucca, have merged massive samples from online platforms to analyze data from over 305,000 participants across a total of 57 very diverse countries.

“Our results provide some of the first evidence that the well-known phenomenon – that females are on average more empathic than males – is present in wide range of countries across the globe. It’s only by using very large data sets that we can say this with confidence,” David Greenberg, the lead author on the study, said in a statement.

More empathy
The study showed women scored significantly higher in cognitive empathy than men in 35 countries, on average. Women and men also scored equally in 21 of the countries. In fact, there wasn’t a single country where men outperformed women, and the findings were consistent across eight languages and across the lifespan, from 16 to 70 years old.

The researchers found a decline in women’s empathy after the age of 50, which they believe could be related to hormonal changes linked to menopause – although more research is needed to understand if it actually has a role in the process. Meanwhile, men’s empathy, based on the test results, starts to decline after the age of 58.

Having a better understanding of the s*x differences in empathy could help researchers in getting a grasp on why certain mental health problems affect men more than women, the researchers argued. They believe their latest study could also help scientists to develop better support for people who struggle to read facial expressions.

“This study clearly demonstrates a largely consistent s*x difference across countries, languages, and ages. This raises new questions for future research about the social and biological factors that may contribute to the observed on-average s*x difference in cognitive empathy,” Carrie Allison, a study author, said in a statement.

Maladaptive daydreaming: when fantasies become too addictive they consume your thoughts
Maladaptive daydreaming affects about 2.5% of people.
Despite what we’re often taught to believe, daydreaming can be immensely useful. Not only can it be a source of pleasure and a way to relieve boredom, research shows that our ability to mentally escape the present can also boost creativity, problem-solving and planning, and provide an antidote to loneliness.

Daydreaming, when defined as thoughts that aren’t tied to what you’re currently doing, occupies a good chunk of our waking lives – an average of around 30% of the time if you randomly probe people. It’s part of our everyday conscious experience. You might even think of it as our default mode which we return to, especially when doing things that don’t require a lot of brain power, such as mundane tasks like hanging out washing.

But it’s estimated 2.5% of adults experience a type of excessive daydreaming which is defined as the disorder “maladaptive daydreaming”. So-called maladaptive daydreamers compulsively engage in vivid fantasies and daydreaming plots so excessively that it interferes with their ability to function in daily life.

What is maladaptive daydreaming?
Maladaptive daydreaming differs from typical daydreaming in several ways.

Unlike typical daydreams which can be fleeting (lasting seconds), maladaptive daydreamers can spend several hours at a time in a single daydream. According to one study, maladaptive daydreamers spent an average of at least half their waking hours immersed in deliberately constructed fantasy worlds. These invented worlds are often rich and fantastical, with complex plots and intricate storylines that evolve over many years.

Maladaptive daydreamers’ fantasy worlds are vivid and rewarding, and the need to continue the fantasy can be compulsive and addictive. With maladaptive daydreaming, there’s a strong urge to daydream and annoyance when this is not possible or interrupted. Most also find it difficult to stop or even reduce the amount of time they spend daydreaming.

But prioritising spending time in alternative, imagined realities at the expense of physical and social needs can create problems at work, at school and in maintaining close relationships. Many people with maladaptive daydreaming report experiencing psychological distress, difficulty sleeping and feelings of shame about their daydreaming activity – something that they may hide from others.

It’s important to note that immersive daydreaming and vivid fantasy activity isn’t by default maladaptive. What makes daydreaming “maladaptive” is when it becomes difficult to control, when time to daydream takes precedence over real life, and when the compulsion to daydream interferes with important life goals and relationships.

Why does it happen?
Researchers suspect that people who struggle with maladaptive daydreaming may have an innate ability for immersive imaginative fantasies. Many discover this ability early on in childhood, realising fantasy and daydreams can be used to regulate distress. By creating an inner world of comfort, they’re able to escape from reality.

Some – but not all – maladaptive daydreamers may use daydreaming as a coping strategy. For example, daydreaming activity can distract from an unpleasant reality which may help to cope with trauma, difficult life events or social isolation. But doing so can lead to a vicious cycle of compulsive fantasy, where using fantasy to avoid negative emotions exacerbates the urge to daydream.

In many ways, daydreaming becomes an addictive behaviour that fuels the very problems it was intended to alleviate. Perhaps unsurprisingly, maladaptive daydreaming tends to occur alongside other disorders, the most common being ADHD, anxiety, depression and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

There seems to be a strong relationship between OCD and maladaptive daydreaming. One study found that over half of participants with maladaptive daydreaming also exhibited signs of OCD. This may suggest possible shared mechanisms between the two disorders, including intrusive thoughts, dissociation and a lack of cognitive control.

Though maladaptive daydreaming has been garnering an increasing amount of attention online and through social media, it’s not yet formally recognised in psychiatric diagnostic manuals.

This means many health professionals may be unaware of the condition, leading to misdiagnosis or dismissal of symptoms, creating further distress, isolation, and shame for maladaptive daydreamers. Many instead turn to online forums for peer support and recognition.

The fact that maladaptive daydreaming is not recognised as a psychiatric condition also means we know little about treatment options. There is one documented case study published in a peer-reviewed journal showing a 25-year-old man was able to cut the time he spent daydreaming in half – from nearly three hours daily to under an hour and a half. This was done over the course of six months using a combination of psychological treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy and mindfulness.