Procrastination: The inner battle that shapes our actions

Procrastination: The inner battle that shapes our actions

Time slips away, elusive. The task at hand patiently waits, yet we find countless ways to avoid it. A coffee break, a trivial video, compulsively checking emails, an illusion of movement that masks inaction. But why do we delay so many things, sometimes at the expense of our own peace of mind? Is procrastination merely…

Burnout: When work pushes us to the edge

Burnout: When work pushes us to the edge

We often assume that certain health or societal issues are confined to specific regions or affect only a limited group of people. However, burnout is an increasingly prevalent phenomenon that has caught the attention of researchers and experts worldwide. Though invisible to many, its repercussions extend far beyond the individual, impacting quality of life, economic…

Subjective age: When the mirror and the mind disagree

Subjective age: When the mirror and the mind disagree

Isn’t it strange how we are relentlessly confronted with our date of birth? That unchanging number, returning each year with stubborn regularity, seems ironically indifferent to the transformations time has etched into our being. It rings like a reminder: we are moving, unavoidably, toward a horizon where frailty will have the final say. We begin…

Bīmāristāns: When medicine and compassion transformed history

Bīmāristāns: When medicine and compassion transformed history

The common perception of medieval hospitals is often bleak, unsanitary places offering only rudimentary care. However, this view, largely shaped by misconceptions, overlooks a far more nuanced reality, particularly within the Muslim world. Contrary to simplistic portrayals of the Middle Ages, Islamic civilization experienced an era of remarkable medical advancements, embodied by the Bīmāristāns, sophisticated…

The mystery of Alcohol Blackouts: Understanding memory disruption

The mystery of Alcohol Blackouts: Understanding memory disruption

There are times in life when we wish we could erase certain memories, painful or burdensome recollections that loom over our everyday lives. However, forgetfulness, a process that may seem passive, remains one of the most enigmatic functions of the brain. This mystery grows even deeper when forgetting becomes sudden, severe, and utterly uncontrollable. Such…

Ester Kleitman: The girl who illuminated the science of sleep

Ester Kleitman: The girl who illuminated the science of sleep

In the dim light of a Chicago laboratory, a young girl was sleeping peacefully. Her name was Ester Kleitman, and although she had no idea, she was about to help her father make one of the most significant discoveries in the science of sleep. Her father, Nathaniel Kleitman, was a passionate scientist driven by a…

Depression: The silent collapse of a society in crisis

Depression: The silent collapse of a society in crisis

Amid the deafening clamor of an ever-accelerating modern world, depression emerges as the shattered mirror of a society in crisis. It is not merely a chemical imbalance in our brains but the melancholic lament of a humanity subjected to relentless demands for performance, deepening inequalities, and creeping precarity. Behind every diagnosis lies the story of…

The Hypocrite’s memory: unveiling the science of acting and recall 

The Hypocrite’s memory: unveiling the science of acting and recall 

Imagine yourself standing on a stage, illuminated by dozens of spotlights, facing an audience hanging on your every word, keenly attuned to even the slightest misstep. And yet, each line, each phrase flows effortlessly from your lips, as if it were etched into your mind. How do theater actors manage to memorize entire pages of…

Unlocking the brain’s potential: How fasting shapes cognition and longevity

Unlocking the brain’s potential: How fasting shapes cognition and longevity

For decades, scientists have been investigating the effects of fasting on physical health. It is now well established that calorie restriction and various forms of fasting can lead to weight loss, improve insulin sensitivity, reduce inflammation, and even extend lifespan. By stimulating autophagy, a cellular recycling and repair process, fasting appears to play a crucial…