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Having a job over 50 for those who want one can boost overall wellbeing. The University of Michigan’s National Poll on Healthy Aging found that more than two thirds of people who work after 50 say it helps their physical and mental health. [More]

A new study published in Nursing in Critical Care looked at building evidence-based interventions to improve staff well-being in paediatric critical care using the behaviour change wheel. “The study aimed to explore what wellbeing means to staff who work in paediatric intensive care settings,” study author Rachel Shaw told us. “We wanted to explore what challenged their wellbeing and what might help to improve it. After that, we planned to develop interventions that would help staff to prioritize and even improve their wellbeing at work.” [More]

A Mediterranean diet can reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety. Nuts, legumes and limiting consumption of sugar sweetened beverages were found to be important factors in reducing the severity of stress and anxiety. [More]

Children who read for pleasure experience better mental health during adolescence as well as superior performance in cognitive tests. Research published in Psychological Medicine found that roughly 12 hours of reading per week was the perfect amount associated with an improvement in brain structure. [More]

Ever heard that laughter is the best medicine? Now science backs it up. Researchers at the University of Warwick in the UK have found that both laughter and humor are important tools that can impact wellbeing, particularly in the workplace and in health related settings. [More]

Enjoying time in nature close to home is associated with a greater sense of wellbeing compared with longer and more intense nature excursions. Research published in People and Nature found that nearby nature engagement had greater positive outcomes overall compared to experiencing nature second hand through media or through more strenuous excursions in nature. [More]

A new study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology looked at the mechanisms underlying childhood exposure to blue spaces and adult subjective well-being. “Our study is about the benefits of childhood contact with blue spaces, a collective name to indicate all the areas with waterbodies or watercourses, such as the sea, lakes and rivers,” study author Valeria Vitale told us. “We were hoping to find a positive link between the exposure to blue spaces during childhood and adult well-being and explore potential pathways that may explain this relationship.” [More]

A new study published in JAMA looked at exposure to family member incarceration and adult wellbeing in the United States. “Our study investigated how the incarceration of a family member is associated with wellbeing and life expectancy,” study author Dr. Ram Sundaresh told us. “We suspected that having a family member incarcerated would be associated with lower wellbeing and life expectancy.” [More]

Lab based studies of emotional and wellbeing may be missing real world anxiety. A study from Duke published in PLOS One found that the background level of anxiety a person may normally experience could change how they behave in a lab setting. This could have important implications for research into wellbeing and emotional health. [More]

When it comes to overall wellbeing, how a person uses social media could have a significant impact. In a study from The University of British Columbia, Derrick Wirtz, an associate professor of teaching in psychology examined the use of three popular social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, to see how the use of the platforms impacted the overall wellbeing of a person. [More]