Believe it or Not: 3 Weird Health Studies
We all know about the more well-known health studies like how it’s beneficial to stretch when exercising. But every once in a while, an odd one catches our eye. Here are three weird health studies that will blow your mind:
Exercise Makes You Want to Drink Beer
Do you find yourself having a bottle of beer after an especially long exercise session? There may be a reason for that. A health study determined that drinking stimulated the reward center of the brain, similar to the way it responds after we exercise. Researchers speculate that many people drink after exercising in order to extend the feel-good buzz working out brings. Don’t worry about exercise turning you into a heavy drinker though–there’s no indication that exercise will make you drink more than usual.
Just remember that beer is not a viable after-exercise drink. Alcohol is dehydrating and after a long workout, it’ll do little to replenish the nutrients and water you lost. If you do drink, make sure that you’re also drinking plenty of water.
Swearing Relieves Pain
After years of scolding by our mothers, it turns out that swearing is actually good for us and can help relieve pain. In a health study published in 2009, researchers found that people who were exposed to pain and swore experienced less pain and could endure longer. The reason why is unclear, but researchers who study swearing speculate that it gives us a safe outlet to express our frustration or anger.
Of course, if you’ve injured yourself, you shouldn’t swear with the intention to “man up” and push through a workout. While swearing can help relieve the pain, it does nothing to help the injury. If you hurt yourself during a workout, stop immediately and call your doctor.
Caffeine May Help with Memory Loss
Can’t remember where you put your keys? Try drinking a cup of coffee. A 2009 health study found that when given caffeine, mice were “protected from development of otherwise certain cognitive impairment.” In other words, caffeine helped prevent memory loss.
The only downside? You’d have to drink about five cups of coffee a day to get the same effect and consuming that much caffeine in a day can be dehydrating and bad for your heart. Our advice to keep your mind sharp? Get the blood pumping to your brain by exercising regularly and challenge your brain by learning a new skill or play a memory game.