Madam Lichtenstein's Cosmic World

Smile to Reduce Stress

It is amazing what scientists are finding about the power of positive thinking... or at least a good smile.

According to Cool News, there are researchers who say that "wearing a smile" can slow down the heart and reduce stress. But to some, it has to be a full and genuine smile which can impact the body in positive ways. However other studies indicate that even a polite smile may be beneficial.

A study recently published in Psychological Science "involved 170 participants," and induced them to "smile unknowingly by making them hold a pair of chopsticks in three different ways in their mouth. One way forced people to maintain a neutral expression, another prompted a polite smile, and a third resulted in a full smile that uses the muscles around the mouth and the eyes." The smilers had slower heart rates and "faster physiological stress recovery," and the full smilers "performed better than the polite-smile group," although "the difference wasn't statistically significant."

Sarah Pressman, co-author of the study, explains: "We smile because we feel not threatened," and this signals safety to the brain. And research from UCLA's Brain Mapping Center find that simply seeing someone who is smiling triggers "mirror neurons" in the brain that "evoke a similar response as if they were smiling themselves."

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Happy New Year to All!

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Enjoy some artistic tranquility today.

Yogurt Reduces Stress

The Wall Street Journal reported that Yogurt and other good things helps us reduce stress. You decide for yourself:

They say that the microbes in our bellies and palpitations in our hearts have an influence on our minds.  And a new study of probiotic bacteria says that the microorganisms typically found in yogurt and dairy products suggest that higher levels of probiotics in the stomach reduces stress.

This study was conducted with probiotic-rich rats, who released fewer stress hormones when "dropped into a pool of water." When the nerve connecting the gut and brain was severed, "these neural changes disappeared." Scientists have also shown "that the presence of gut bacteria shapes the development of the mouse brain."

In tests on humans treated "with large doses of probiotics for 30 days," the result was also reduced psychological distress. "There's nothing metaphorical about 'gut feelings,' for what happens in the gut really does influence how we feel." Antonio Damasio, a neuroscientist, meanwhile "has shown that neurological patients who are unable to detect changes in their own bodies, like an increased heart rate or sweaty palms, are also unable to make effective decisions ... Because they can't experience the fleshy symptoms of fear, they never learn from their mistakes."

All of this means to me is that if we eat good things we create a more mellow body and one that is better able to reduce stress. Does that mean I should give up pizza....?

 

Manhattanhenge

I bet you have heard of Stonehenge but have you heard about Manhattanhenge?

According ot wikipedia, Manhattanhenge is the name given to the phenomenon that occurs when the setting sun aligns precisely with Manhattan's cross streets. It is sometimes referred to as the Manhattan Solstice – a twice-a-year occurrence during which the setting sun aligns with the east–west streets of the main street grid in the borough of Manhattan in New York City.The name is derived from Stonehenge, where the sun aligns with the stones on the solstices with a similarly dramatic effect.

Manhattanhenge was popularized in 2002 by Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History. The term applies to those streets that follow the Commissioners' Plan of 1811, which are laid out in a grid offset 29.0 degrees from true east–west. (The 29.0 degrees should be added to true east and west, making the western bearing approximately 299.0 degrees.)

During Manhattanhenge, an observer on one of the gridded east-west streets will see the sun setting over New Jersey directly opposite, from the street, along its centerline. The dates of Manhattanhenge usually occur around May 28 and July 12 or July 13 – spaced evenly around summer solstice.

This year it occurs tonight - Thursday July 12th at 8:25 p.m. (half sun) at sunset.

Solstices are times of renewal. celebration and rejuvenation. In ancient China, the summer solstice hearkened in the feminine energies while the winter solstice welcomed the male energies. Can we say the same thing about the solstice effects of Manhattanhenge? I say yes. Let's renew ourselves as we see the sun set over the Manhattan grid tonight. So get off your couch, New Yorkers, and get into the streets tonight to see Manhattanhenge.