 More Power To Your Naps
SCIENCE is again making great leaps towards catching up with common sense. The June 1 issue of Science News featured an article on an experiment into daytime snoozing and mental function which asked students to detect slight changes in an image. Those who dozed showed better task-learning capability than non-nappers, with improved sustained performance. Seems like the Uncommon Knowledge Peaceful Moments tape could be in great demand soon! Among experiment participants anyway. Happily, that's a topical opportunity to tell you about our new 'Power Nap' downloads. Read all about them on our self hypnosis site's self hypnosis downloads page. :-) Website Update Clinical-Depression.co.uk Launches DEPRESSION sufferers can now use Uncommon Knowledge’s new website to get a thorough understanding of their condition. The website, over a year in the making, was finally launched this May and includes the ‘Learning Path’, a complete educational program for those suffering from depression. The ‘Path’ covers everything from what depression is through efficacy of drug and therapy treatments to self help approaches. There is still much misunderstanding, misinformation and lack of knowledge around clinical depression, even amongst the medical establishment. The hope is that depressed people will use it to get a complete understanding of depression and will therefore be well-placed to choose the best treatment for themselves. We are already receiving positive feedback from users. Click here to go to Clinical-Depression.co.uk Stimulating Psychology Snippets The Uncommon Knowledge homepage (www.uncommon-knowledge.co.uk) has got a brand new psychology ‘news feed’. Updated daily, the newsfeed carries magazine and newspaper articles from around the World. Recent topics have included; ‘Inside the (Twisted) Mind of the Average Consumer’, ‘Hungry for the Next Fix’ (about the misguided search for a medical addiction cure) and ‘Birdbrain Breakthrough’ (evidence that the human brain can grow new nerves). So, if you’d like to start your day with a fascinating psychology snippet, hop over now and click on the link to make it your homepage! Top Tip Warm Up to Chill Out IF YOU ever have trouble sleeping or want to ‘go out like a light’, consider warming up your feet! Wearing socks in bed or having a hot water bottle nestling by your toes may not do wonders for your love life but could very well get you a priority passport into the land of nod! According to recent research in Switzerland, which looked at many different methods of inducing sleep including taking melatonin supplements, the most reliable predictor of sleep is a drop in the core body temperature. Dropping core body temperature is best done by warming the hands and feet in bed, as this will shunt heat away from the body core. So, get those mittens and socks on! We also know that hypnotically imagining a raise in the temperature of the hands and feet can actually change the temperature. So perhaps you can keep your ‘bed cred’ and ditch the socks!  Startling Statistic The Value of Jealousy IN A RECENT study, a group of dating men and women were asked to complete a jealousy test. Seven years later they were contacted to see which dating pairs had actually married. Scoring higher on the jealousy test dramatically increased your chances of getting married years later. Cynics among us might say that all that proves is that jealous people are more likely to feel the need to ‘secure’ their relationship through marriage. However, another study by Dr David Buss at the University of Texas suggests that a lack of jealousy in a relationship may signal a level of indifference that could mean things aren’t going as well as they could! So, jealousy can be seen as a mechanism that has evolved to help us be alert to possible competitors. As well as a green-eyed monster. | |  Success Story
IF you attended the recent storytelling workshop by Rob Parkinson, you won’t need us to tell you what a great day it was! But if you haven’t been yet, we thought you might like to hear what people have been saying about the day. You can read their comments on the Storytelling Workshop Page. ...or contact the office for details. The storytelling workshop next runs in Brighton on October 26th, 2002 and Richmond on November 16th, 2002 and costs £59. To book your place, call us on 01273 557799. Teaching Tale Know Your Strengths Once upon a time there was a young man who laboured every day in a quarry, breaking stones with his pickaxe. As chance would have it, one bright hot morning, the King passed by on his way to a neighbouring land. He had his servants fetch him some water to drink from a nearby well. The young stonebreaker looked at the King and marvelled at his power to command all these men. But then he thought about it, "He cannot be all-powerful because the Sun made him thirsty", he pondered. "How I wish I could be as strong as the Sun". In less time than it takes to tell, everything went dark and the labourer heard a tremendous whooshing sound. A distant but powerful voice intoned, "Let it be so!" And before he could think he found himself up in the sky, shining down with all his might. Excited by his new power, he looked down on the World and caused rich and powerful people to become thirsty and weak. He caused great rivers to run dry, majestic trees to shrivel and powerful beasts to fall with his fierce heat. As he was revelling in his new ability, he suddenly found his energy being blocked by a gigantic cloud. Try as he might he could not penetrate the cloud which poured rain down below it. The Sun who had been the man became despondent: "What is this? The Sun is stronger than the King but this cloud is stronger even than the Sun. I want to be the strongest of all. How I wish I was that cloud." Once again, all went dark and again he heard the great voice. When he came round he realised he was a vast cloud hovering above the earth. Testing his new abilities, he revelled in producing downpours and creating floods. Such was his power, he found he could sweep away whole kingdoms with the strength of his rain. He almost forgot who he had originally been such was the intoxicating effect of his lofty position. Then he turned his attentions to a large rock standing in the midst of one of his floods. But try as he might he could not make the slightest dent in the rock. "How can this be?" he reflected bitterly. "Is this something more powerful than a cloud? I wish I could be that rock which is surely strongest of all." Again things changed and quicker almost than time itself he became transformed into the rock. Now he was satisfied: "At last! I am all powerful, for what could possibly have power over me who can command the cloud and the Sun and the King?" It was just as he was reflecting in this way that he became aware of a lowly stone breaker beginning to work away at him with a pick axe. And with that, there was an almighty flash and he became himself again - the strong young stonebreaker. Competition Win the Top Book! ANSWERS as usual by post or email to: competition@uncommon-knowledge.co.uk Remember to include your postal address in case you win! Here’s the question: Is the ‘Tipping Point’; a) A threshold that, once reached, causes an idea to ‘take off’?
b) A marketing term for the end of a product’s useful life?
c) After the waiter brings the bill? If you look carefully, you may find a hint in our review of 'The Tipping Point'. The first three correct answers drawn on Sept 1st will win a copy of this issue’s top book ‘The Tipping Point’. The 3 lucky winners of ‘Staying Sane’ from last issue were Mark Bajer (East London), Chris McCarthy (York) and Mrs S Woodward-Clarke (Birmingham).  Top Book The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell. Click here to read review. |
| Uncommon Quotes "I once listed all the good things I did over the past year, and then turned them into resolution form and backdated them. That was a good feeling." Robert Fulghum, 20th Century minister and author "Don’t have a wishbone where your backbone should be." Anon The first quote made me laugh out loud. But I think it says something interesting too. These days, we are bombarded with ideas about planning, organisation and structure. But have you ever had the feeling that you have to do something now, or it will never get done? Spontaneity can be a wonderful (and dangerous!) thing and I know that I have done a lot of work I am proud of in the day or night following the moment I had an idea. In fact, I typically do things at the last moment - I never miss deadlines, but I do leave it late very often. This used to really stress me out, and I spent years on and off trying to do things ahead of time. Then I thought ‘Hold on’, this is working! Now I just do what Robert Fulghum says and congratulate myself for my organisation and follow-through after I’ve done something. Q: I know ‘Just do it’ is a cliché, but why shouldn’t you? |
Inbox Insights Inspirational Quotes, is a new, free, bimonthly email service from Uncommon Knowledge. Each ‘Insight’ contains a classic quote with a brief discussion of it. The Insights are designed to be uplifting, motivational, inspirational and fun. And contain some interesting ideas (we hope!). If you want to sign up, click here.