Happiness = 'closed for siesta'

Meditation can cut heart attack and stroke by 50%. Beat that with drugs if you can.

Some of us knew this... and now science does too. By Richard Alleyne The Telegraph. 

The practice, which involves the continual repeating of a mantra, was found to reduce high blood pressure, cholesterol and thickening of the arteries. It is also protects against diabetes.

"This is a seminal finding," said Dr Norman Rosenthal of the American government's National Institute of Mental Health. (Forgive my little rant here, but I really do marvel at how long science can insist on looking in the wrong direction - and spend a lot of money in the process.)

"The prevention of heart attack and stroke and actual lengthening of lifespan by an alternative treatment method is exceedingly rare, if not unprecedented. If Transcendental Meditation were a drug conferring so many benefits, it would be a billion-dollar blockbuster." Exactly. Take note. Pills are not the long term answer, not are they the most effective. Health is happiness-shaped

Bored to death?

Told you so - Do more of what you like and less of what you don't! 

People working in administrative and service roles are most likely to be bored in their jobs according to research reported by Stephen Adams, Medical Correspondent in The Telegraph today.

"Underchallenged" employees who end up finding they simply cannot take any more of the "monotonous and unstimulating" tasks that they are expected to perform. A study categorised two other types of burn-out: 'frenetic', in which the employee works "increasingly harder to the point of exhaustion"; and 'worn-out', where workers "give up when faced with stress or lack of gratification".Longer-serving employees were more likely to be "worn-out", with those clocking-up more than 16 years' service most at risk."The longer the service, the greater the likelihood of having this burn-out," found the author. These people find a way of getting through the day -  "a passive coping strategy" but become ineffective in the process.