Stress

Exeter researchers find that stress makes snails forgetful

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Thu, 11/07/2013 - 1:39pm

New research on pond snails has revealed that high levels of stress can block memory processes.

Researchers from the University of Exeter and the University of Calgary trained snails and found that when they were exposed to multiple stressful events they were unable remember what they had learned. Previous research has shown that stress also affects human ability to remember. This study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, found that experiencing multiple stressful events simultaneously has a cumulative detrimental effect on memory. Dr Sarah Dalesman, a Leverhulme Trust Early Career...

Study links chemicals in our body with income

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Fri, 08/02/2013 - 11:25am

A new study published this week has found that the build-up of harmful chemicals in the body is affecting people of all social standings - not just those from economically deprived backgrounds as previously thought.

The research has been led by Dr Jessica Tyrrell from the University of Exeter Medical School’s European Centre for Environment & Human Health, in Truro, Cornwall.

Using data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the team analysed possible links between a person’s socioeconomic status and the prevalence of chemicals in their body....

Enjoying The Great Outdoors - nature's own stress buster

Nature has beneficial effects that help us cope with stress at work, according to new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). The research, conducted by Dr Valerie Gladwell at the University of Essex, highlights the power of the 'great outdoors' to improve both physiological and psychological wellbeing.

"The modern era has brought a decline in levels of physical activity, accompanied by huge increases in physical disability and diseases, as well as an increase in cases of mental ill-health," says Dr Gladwell. "Today, not only are rates of obesity,...

Employers who Ignore Workplace Stress could be Liable

Authored by JAMIII
Posted: Sun, 06/02/2013 - 11:11am

All businesses in the UK are legally required to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees. This includes a duty to control workplace stress: if an employee develops a stress-related illness as a result of a 'reasonably foreseeable incident', the employer may be held liable. ‘Foreseeability’ depends on what the employer knows (or reasonably ought to know) about the member of staff. While the onus is on the employee to bring matters to the employer's attention, employers themselves will be in breach of duty if they have failed to take the steps which are considered reasonable...

Feeling stressed after a tough week? Exeter academic's book may offer answers

Today, many people consider stress to be part of life, yet most of us have little understanding of what the concept means or where it comes from.

In his new book The Age of Stress, University of Exeter historian Professor Mark Jackson explores the history of scientific studies of stress and how stress became a buzzword of the modern world.

The Age of Stress reveals how the science of stress and our experiences of stressful life events have both been shaped by a wide range of socio-political and cultural, as well as biological, factors.

The book provides a history of...

Half a million South West workers give bosses £4,500 for free, says TUC

Half a million people in the South West last year gave their employers £4,500 worth of work for free, according to a TUC survey released today, the ninth annual Work Your Proper Hours Day.

The study of official figures shows that 447,063 workers in the region regularly put in six and a half hours a week more than their contracted hours without getting paid for it.

Nigel Costley, regional secretary of the South West TUC, said: “Thousands of South West workers go above and beyond the call of duty each year to ensure their businesses and organisations stay afloat.

“...

How does our brain “learn” from stressful events?

A study that aims to investigate how the brain processes stress and creates memories of psychologically stressful events will begin shortly thanks to funding of £758,000 from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

Researchers from the Universities of Bristol and Exeter, led by Professor Hans Reul, aim to investigate the role molecular processes, known as “epigenetic modifications”, play in the regulation of expression of genes required to cope with stress. At present it is unclear how the healthy brain adapts to and learns from stressful events.

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A 7 step Guide to creating Your Ideal Life Balance

Especially for Fellow Mums working, in business or Fulltime Mummys looking to go back to work. I am not going to keep this from you as I want you all to know that what I am telling you I speak from experience and I want to share with you my tips and techniques that helped me dramatically to get my ideal balance when my business took over my life a couple of years ago.

I am not afraid to tell you that two years ago I thought I was running a successful business and nothing else should matter. I thought as long as I did the VAT returns, logged the accounts, looked after my...

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