In 1940, American chemist Roger Adams isolated and identified CBD. Since then,  scientists discovered that CBD is not psychoactive and have investigated CBS’s potential health and medical benefits. In recent years, this natural remedy has become increasingly popular as a sleep treatment. While the exact mechanism of how CBD works is still being studied, it’s likely that it leads to better sleep by addressing conditions that adversely affect sleep. What Is CBD?Cannabidiol, colloquially know ...read more

In 1998, the Internet was in its infancy but growing fast. So, too was a mental health phenomenon called hikikomori — a name for extreme social withdrawal and isolation — that the rise of the Internet may well have helped feed. That same year, Tamaki Saito coined the term from the Japanese “hiki,” which means pulling inward or withdrawing, and “komori,” which means being confined or being inside. Saito first applied it to a patient who had socially withdrawn for six months, then popu ...read more

A new fossil find pushes back both the age and the size of the ancestors of the so-called Hobbits. Bones from the diminutive protohumans named Homo floresiensis were first found in a cave on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003 and dated back about 50,000 years. Researchers now report in Nature Communications finding similar fossils on the island — but at an open-air site 46 miles from the cave — dating back 700,000 years. The findings include the smallest ever human arm bone.“This very ...read more

From the CIA’s secret mind control program, MK Ultra, to the stuttering “Monster” study, American researchers have a long history of engaging in human experiments. The studies have helped us better understand ourselves and why we do certain things. These four experiments did just this and helped us better understand human behavior. However, some of them would be considered unethical today due to either lack of informed consent or the mental and/or emotional damage they caused.1. Cognitive ...read more

Worms wriggling around in your brain — it’s a particularly gruesome image that sounds like it came straight from a B horror movie. But several parasites can and do infect the central nervous system. The most common of these is Taenia solium, aka the pork tapeworm. Gross as it sounds, infection with a pork tapeworm usually doesn’t cause much harm. Tapeworms get into the intestines when people eat undercooked pork that is contaminated with the larvae of the tapeworm. While in the intestinal ...read more

Magnesium is an important element for the body’s basic functioning. Its effects are broad and numerous, including helping with blood pressure control, bone growth, and heart rhythm regulation. The element is also key to blood sugar control and to the production of DNA and protein. It’s particularly important for those who struggle with poor sleep and mental health disorders like anxiety and depression because magnesium plays an important role in brain health. Here’s a closer look at why m ...read more

An ancient Peruvian temple discovered under a sand dune is rewriting what we know about civilizations that lived up to 3,500 years before the Inca.The temple reveals the early emergence of institutional religion — and possibly human sacrifice — in the Initial Period of Andean Civilization. This period goes from roughly 2000 B.C. to the rise of Chavín de Huántar and the Early Horizon period in roughly 900 B.C. Ceramic pottery and the spread of a number of temples characterized this period.� ...read more

There are more than 500 species of sharks in the world’s oceans, from the 7-inch dwarf lantern shark to whale sharks that can grow to over 35 feet long. They’re found from polar waters to the equator, at the water’s surface and miles deep, in the open ocean, along coasts, and even in some coastal rivers.With such diversity, it’s no surprise that sharks serve many ecological functions. For example, the largest individuals of some big predatory species, such as tiger and white sharks, can ...read more

In recent years, younger people have shared photos online of their older relatives from back in the day and questioned, did past generations age faster?Why did 19-year-olds at Woodstock in 1969, for example, look a decade older than most 19-year-olds today? Or why did couples heading to their senior prom in 1988 look old enough for their 10-year reunion?Plenty of answers have surfaced — people smoked more in the past, didn’t use sunblock, and sometimes chose hairstyles or clothing that seeme ...read more

An operations manager finds relief from her depression with the help of psilocybin, the primary psychoactive component of “magic mushrooms.” A veteran conquers his post-traumatic stress disorder through therapy using MDMA, a synthetic compound known on the street as “ecstasy” or “molly.” A stay-at-home mom tries LSD, otherwise known as acid, for her anxiety.Nearly every day, such stories appear about the healing potential of psychedelic drugs.These stories reflect a so-called “psyc ...read more