Music has always been considered as something that can help us perform better and we often tend to play some music while studying or working on something. However, a recent study reveals that this might not be a very good idea. After studying for some time with music playing in the background, when you try to recall facts, events, numbers etc you might realize that you don’t remember them too well.

The study was conducted in the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, UK on 25 participants and they were asked to memorize information and recall them later. The tests were taken under different hearing conditions, with their favorite music on, with music they didn’t like or without any music. The results showed that the participants performed worst when music was on, irrespective of whether or not they liked the music. The best performance was when there was no music or any other noise.

Music harms the cognitive abilities and when you try to memorize something the constantly changing words and notes in the music being played affects the memorizing ability and thus hampers your studies.

There are studies which have proved that music is good for studying but it is true only when you listen to music before studying and not while studying. It isn’t that music doesn’t have any benefit at all. Many researchers found that music can enhance your ability to perform better, but the only thing to be kept in mind is that listening to music while studying will only harm you.  

This is not just restricted to food. Even smoking, taking vitamin or flu shots is contagious. A recent study has revealed that having a friend who likes to gorge on food increases the chances of you doing the same by 57%. It is not that they force you to do it; it is something you end up doing subconsciously.

Another habit that has major influence from friends is drinking. It is highly possible that if your friend circle is full of drinkers, you would end up drinking more than you did. This can have adverse affect on your weight, so watch out who you go out to eat with.

However, getting influenced by friends isn’t always bad. It has been proved that you are as likely to pick up the good habits from your friends as the bad habits. So, if you are in a mood to order some fries and you see your friends ordering salad, you are expected to follow suit. 

So, basically we can conclude that we should be careful while being with friends and need to be strong and have your own set of agenda.

As an employee, you should not be intimidated and must take the right steps so that you can deal with such a situation as and when it occurs. The most important thing about dealing with harassment is ascertaining the fact that the action that you are focusing on is indeed harassment. Ignoring these actions is not going to help you in anyway, so the best thing is to find out a solution to it as soon as possible.

You must ensure that the other person gets a fair knowledge of your discomfort by letting him know that you do not appreciate his actions. You must raise your voice against it if the actions continue; the reason being keeping quiet will only make you feel like a victim. You should have a good knowledge about the policies of your company on such matter and should make your concern known to the authorities.

You must document the provocation of your harasser and present it to your employer so that they are aware of what you are going through. This would certainly put an end to the harassment and if you feel the internal procedure has not been up to its task, you can always approach the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

There have been various instances in life when we allow negativity to take the better of us. A good number of people have lived in negativity for some part of their life or still continue to do so. There is an inherent feeling of negativity among all human beings which makes them afraid of expressing themselves for the fear of getting negative response.

The way you feel inside shows in the people around you and you would find the world happier only if you are happy yourself. The outcome of every situation in your life is dependent on you and affects you in some way or the other. So you must make a special effort to turn all your negative thoughts in a positive direction.

You should be able to alter your behavior to seek happiness and get rid of something that does bother you. Another way of keeping the negative feelings out of bay is to set goals and put in your best effort to achieve those goals. This would not only help you realize your dreams but would also make you happier.

Being open to others and taking their advice which may be helpful to you will also hold you in good stead in your life. Positive thinking is the key to a happier life and you must seize the moment and look to maximize the situation which makes you feel happy. It may seem important to please others but you must make sure that you are not doing that at the expense of your own happiness.

There has been a steady increase in the number of adults who are suffering from some sort of depression. The list also includes parents who are finding it real hard to function in life. Because there is a definite connection between the parental depression and childhood problems, the number of children who are finding it hard to keep up with the basic demands of the school have also risen a great deal. The depression of the parents somehow rubs on to the children.

Parents may blame their child as the main reason for their distress but a child is merely reacting to the depression of his parent. Many parents take the help of private schools and close relatives to stop their child from troublemaking. However, it does not quite work out as parents on numerous occasions have found out the next child also is no less in troublemaking. Parents who pay attention to their children and set limits by being firm and consistent will definitely have well behaved children. Researches have proved that substance abuse and harmful activities are very common in children who have depressed parents.

Depressed mothers find it tough to pay due attention to their children who in turn become unhappy and feel isolated. Children of depressed parents often begin harbouring destructive ideas in later stages of their lives and because of their inadequacy to get attention from others in positive way, they often resort to troublemaking. So, it is the responsibility of the parents not to blame the child entirely for making trouble but be proactive to get themselves evaluated for depression.

The finding of a recent study has revealed that religion can have a very profound influence in the life of an individual. It has been noted that people with religious beliefs are far more contended in their lives and have much better control over their lives compared to their counterparts. Religion can, at times, protect people from the shocks and disappointments of the daily lives. The people with religious beliefs are also at a lesser risk of suffering from psychological harms than the non-religious ones.

It has been observed that people with religious beliefs are much happier and seem to derive substantial psychological benefits in their lives. They have a sense of purpose in their lives which is not felt by the nonbelievers. There is also a school of thought which opines that religion can damage people, however, the findings compared with other studies indicate that religion has a positive effect which can be channelized by the individuals for their own good and also for the betterment of the society.

According to Terry Sanderson, who is a renowned UK secularist, there is absolutely no correlation between religion and happiness. He is of the opinion that happiness depends on the individual and to some extent to his genetic predispositions.  A sound explanation about why people believe in God may satisfy the non-believers whereas a scientific documentation to prove that we are divinely designed to believe in the Almighty may satisfy the believers.

Work etiquette is all about dealing with people within and outside the organization on the basis of the guidelines and rules that have been set forth by the organization. It includes different manners and behaviours that you exhibit in your work dealings. Etiquettes though are not fixed and vary from one organization to the other. They are even more different when it comes to dealing with an overseas organization.

There are rules established within an organization as to how you should behave and what the acceptable manners are but at the end of it all, it invariably comes down to creating the right impression with the people who are on the other side of the table. A good impression can certainly create a profitable situation for you and your company.

The important thing to keep in mind though is that it takes time to learn the etiquettes of a workplace. So, it is important on your part to observe the behaviour of others and learn the acceptable behaviour as fast as possible so that you don’t feel out of place. It is necessary that you learn things like the dress code, the way the seniors are addressed in the organization and the ground rules when it comes to lunch or tea break.

You must realize that it would take some time for you to learn all the etiquettes of a workplace, so must not get too caught up with the work etiquettes. The best thing for you is to behave with decency and common sense and if you falter by any chance, your colleagues would certainly bail you out.

Sports have been existing in our society since time immemorial. They have evolved over the years and will, without a doubt, always continue to be a part of society. Sports have always had a positive effect on the society. Although, the professionalism in sports has brought along some negative effect recently but they in no way would be able to overshadow the positive impact which sports has in our society.

One of the most obvious positives of sports is the bonding that it creates among people. Sports has the ability to connect team members, fans which have the same favorites and also people with distinct backgrounds who have the same objective. The proof lies in the fact that even in ancient times, sports and stadiums formed the centre of cultural point of different cities and countries. Regardless of the era, sports has not lost its charm and can still unite people easily.

Apart from bonding people, sports also offers great social and physical benefit to the society. The zeal to win and do well in sports creates a set of strong value and attitudes in people which is also reflected in other aspects of their lives. Sports help in the development of a strong social environment which motivates people to constantly perform to the best of their abilities. Another positive aspect of sports is that it helps to build one’s self identity. The ability to get along with different people and performing to your best of abilities give you a sense of recognition in the society.

Our past experiences help us to understand the intentions of others in a better way and analyze them so that we know how he would react to a certain situation. So, when you see somebody driving very fast you automatically assume that he may switch lanes and must be in a hurry to reach somewhere. People also behave or portray themselves in the way they think the others think of them.

You always come across something new everyday and the way you deal with it adds to your experience which eventually decides the way you react to it the next time you are encountered with it. The way people are nurtured and brought up also has a deep affect on their personalities. This is because of the fact that different classes of society raise their children in a different way.

During the adolescent years people are more connected with their peer group as they consider themselves as adults and this is also the time when the parents are really worried about who their children hang around with as the learning and experience of these years have a great influence on the rest of their lives.

Music is a very powerful means by which we can express our state of mind. Most of us listen to our favourite songs everyday in our leisure time and feel relaxed by doing so. It also has a great influence on our mood in a way that it can make our mind and body do impulsive things regardless of the fact whether they are good or bad. Music can influence an individual mentally as well as physically depending on how he/she takes the music.

To better understand their influences on individuals’ actions and determining whether the actions would be negative or positive, music can be divided into two parts melody and harmony. Melody makes the music stand out and very memorable, without it, music is directionless. Again harmony that is soothing to the ears can make an individual feel cheerful, lyrical and upbeat or otherwise. Harmony that is not pleasant to the ear irritates an individual and has a number of negative results on the mood of the listener.

Rhythm is also a very influential element of music along with tempo. They together have a strong influence on the body of the listener. Experiments have proved that the heart rate is certainly increased by music with a fast tempo. The lovers of rock music get a real kick because of the rhythm and tempo and are greatly influenced by it.

Music in a way helps to vent out the pent up emotions in an individual and can realize its influence on their thought and actions as they think about it.