TIME is reporting that self-control is not a fixed trait and that people can take steps to improve it. In a new essay for the outlet, trauma psychologist Joan M. Cook wrote that the ability to manage thoughts, regulate emotions and restrain impulses is key to a happy and healthy life. It said people with good self-control tend to have higher psychological well-being, more academic and on-the-job achievements, and healthier relationships, while low self-control is a core contributing factor to problems including substance abuse and impulsive buying. TIME said most people can learn to think before they act and to exercise self-restraint in high-stress situations, though it can be harder for those who were not taught to practice self-control early in life. The essay cited psychologist Walter Mischel, who taught at Stanford and Columbia and conducted famous studies on delaying gratification in the late 1960s and 1970s, later publishing a book titled "The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control." TIME said the original study presented children ages 3 to 5 with a marshmallow and told them they could eat it immediately or wait 20 minutes and receive two.
Separately, TIME reported on how a physical therapist sets up her home office. It said Christine Annie began mirroring her laptop's display on a larger monitor directly in front of her after noticing an ache from turning between the two screens. She positions the monitor so her eyes are an inch or two below its top edge, and uses an adjustable chair set so her feet rest on the floor and her knees sit slightly below her hips. TIME said she switches between sitting and standing, walks around during phone calls, and gets on the rug about once a day to stretch or do exercises such as bridges and pelvic tilts, sometimes squeezing in squats beside her desk.
TIME also noted that the Guardian is reporting on a rare condition that can turn ice cream, air conditioning and winter weather into health hazards, in a piece by Shauna Castaner.