There's an old English saying: When the wind is in the east, ‘tis
good for neither man nor beast. Whether you believe in folklore
or not, this one’s got a grain of truth in it. Winds have been
associated with a rise in the levels of serotonin, a compound
which occurs in the brain and which controls mood, sleep and
blood circulation. This rise in serotonin has been found to occur
in the Swiss population during a Fohn wind. The Fohn is said to
be responsible for traffic accidents rising by fifty per cent anda
rise in industrial injuries by twenty per cent.
It’s not only the Swiss who suffer. Los Angeles is occasionally
buffeted by the Santa Ana, a hot dry wind named after the
canyon it sometimes blows through. One study found that
murders rose by up to a half during a Santa Ana, no matter
if it blew during winter or summer. In California's early days,
defendants in crimes of passion were able to plead for leniency,
citing the wind as an extenuating circumstance.
The quality of the air can be a force for good, however. The
Victorians especially prized sea air for its health-giving properties.
Sea air is charged with negative ions which makes it feel
invigorating. To get a similar effect you can stand next toa
waterfall, or even under a domestic shower.| people are always asking me how I came up with my
| ideas and how I made money from them. I feel some
of these people might be too focused on the second
part of the question! Because I've got to say that, in
my case at least, there were loads of ideas that went
nowhere. But thinking about it, there are a couple of
_ tips I can pass on. One is about spotting problems. I’m
the kind of person who tries to find better ways of doing
things. So when I got frustrated buying something
: online, I asked myself if I could do it better. That’s
how one of my most successful apps came about.
So frustration can end up being pretty productive!
| Ana then, there’s a trick I use, which is to not think
about things. I know, it sounds a bit weird. But I've
had most of my best ideas when I was out running
or driving. You're not really thinking about work, but
Your mind is free to make random associations. Once,
I was flying off on holiday, dreaming about lying on
the beach, and an idea for a flight-checking app just
et tate my head. So my ideas came from being
Curious and distracted, I think.Liston to musie, play musie a \
and impreve your lifo! It's truo, br
Music is moro than just pleasant
songs and lunes, Sclentific research
has shown that il can affoct our
lives in ways that will surprise you.
Read on to find out more about tha
amazing power of musle.
Lat's starl with your brain power,
There's a lol of scientific evidence
to show thal playing a musical Instrument can make you
starter, That's because when you practise an instrument,
your brain develops; Il becomes ‘filter’, the sama way an
athlete becomes fitter when they train.
Bul you don't need lo be a musician to anjay the benefits
of music. Just listening to music can also ba good for the
brain. Classical music, In particular, can improve memory.
It dees this by activating the left ane! right brain al the
same time, which helps you to learn and lo remember
Information batter,
Tho music you IIko also says a lot about your personally,
That's bocause different personality types are altraclad to
different music, Here Is what tests have shown aboul some
different music fans.
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