Emotions are the backbone of our relationships and our survival. Without them, we’d fail to connect with those closest to us and lack the fight-or-flight impulses to act when in peril. But when emotions unduly influence our decisions, it can lead to harmful outcomes and evoke beliefs where evidence does not exist. “The orator persuades his hearers when they are roused to emotion,” wrote Aristotle in Rhetoric,“For the judgments we deliver are not the same when we are influenced by joy or sorrow, love or hate.”

The Skeptic's Guide to Sports Science BOOK: https://www.nbtiller.com

Skeptical Inquirer magazine: https://www.skepticalinquirer.org

Original article & references: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/dont-react-reflect-how-mindfulness-can-make-you-a-better-skeptic/

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Hippocrates was soaking in the Grecian hot baths and advocating their health benefits about 2,500 years before scientists began studying heat therapy in the lab. In the last few decades, the body of evidence has grown exponentially, with dozens of reviews and meta-analyses agreeing that saunas, in particular, confer cardiovascular and molecular benefits. In this month’s column, I won’t dispute the abundance of studies on the health benefits of saunas, nor will I debunk the commercial claims; there are too many of both. Instead, I’ll draw attention to a problematic subset of the literature that may be biasing the conclusions and undermining the belief that saunas are good for one’s health. I’ll also provide some much-needed context on the benefits of sauna, context that’s conspicuously absent from the mainstream coverage.

The Skeptic's Guide to Sports Science BOOK: https://www.nbtiller.com

Skeptical Inquirer magazine: https://www.skepticalinquirer.org

Original article & references: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/are-saunas-good-for-you-yes-but/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I dislocated my shoulder during wrestling practice in 2015. The nature of this type of injury leaves an indelible mark, and I can still recall it vividly nearly a decade later. I’d toppled backward, arm outstretched and externally rotated to break my fall—an amateur mistake. The pain was instant and searing. I felt a “fizzing” sensation up and down my arm from the nerve damage, and my ligaments screamed at being forced beyond their natural range of motion. My shoulder felt “out of place.” Because it was. Despite it being my first dislocation, I knew immediately what I’d done.

“Can someone find me a doctor,” I said calmly, as though asking to borrow a pen, “and tell them I’ve dislocated my shoulder.” I lay motionless until the paramedics arrived, fearing that any movement would distend my shoulder from its socket like a life-size Stretch Armstrong.

Most traumatic musculoskeletal injuries can be described with similar precision. But if you ask someone with a concussion to recall their experiences, you get something less exact. Some American football players describe how the world was spinning, like being drunk but without the fun part. Others report seeing stars, feeling like their legs were “independent of their bodies,” or feeling “distant” and watching the remainder of the game through a dense, unrelenting fog.

The Skeptic's Guide to Sports Science BOOK: https://www.nbtiller.com

Skeptical Inquirer magazine: https://www.skepticalinquirer.org

Original article & references: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/woodpeckers-dont-play-football-the-concussion-repercussion/

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