Why too much choice is stressing us out
From jeans to dating partners and TV subscriptions to schools, we think the more choices we have the better. But too many options create anxiety. Could one answer lie in a return to state monopolies?
The Book of Human Emotions by Tiffany Watt Smith review – a thought-provoking tour around our feelings
This compendium of emotions from around the world makes you feel we need more words for our feelings, not fewer
Can you shop your way to happiness?
‘That Smeg fridge expresses something about who you want to be. So you buy it’
Why I still drink eight glasses of water a day
‘I know I’m courting fury by revealing that I still follow the rule and that I think you should, too. Come at me, debunkers’
The more you pursue happiness, the faster it runs from you
Research shows that focusing on the attainment of happiness is actually self-defeating
Why don’t we take our own advice?
‘There’s a huge gulf between grasping something intellectually and really feeling it in your bones’
Do lung cancer scans deter smokers from giving up?
Getting the ‘all clear’ can provide false reassurance – meanwhile, positive results can lead to needless investigations
If I don’t see it, why should I clean it?
‘To feel motivated to clean something, you’ve first got to notice – and care – that it’s dirty’
Oliver Sacks obituary
Neurologist and writer best known for his books The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Awakenings
How hard work cures all illness
Dean Burnett: Iain Duncan Smith claimed that hard work helps treat illness. Scientifically speaking, he’s right. Sort of. Well, not quite.