Most of the tips we’ll talk about are software-related, but not all of them. Do note that we’ve prepared 10 tips to share with you, even though there’s probably more you can do in the process, so if you can think of more of them, by all means, add some of your suggestions into the mix. 1. Check for updates 1. Check for updates The very first thing that comes to mind is making sure your phone is up to date....

Why would anyone want a smart thermostat? Well, one of the big reasons is the ability to control it from your phone or with your voice. It’s not only good for those that are too lazy to get up and change the thermostat, but also good for those that might be handicapped. That’s one less thing they need to get up for. But more importantly, you can change the thermostat when you are not home....

There’s an arsenal of treatments at hand, including talk therapy and antidepressant medications, but what’s depressing in itself is that they don’t work for every patient. “Many people don’t respond to the frontline interventions,” said Benjamin Shapero, an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and a psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital’s (MGH) Depression Clinical and Research Program. “Individual cognitive behavioral therapy is helpful for many people; antidepressant medications help many people....

Scientists compared the genetic makeup of deceased human brains with and without major depression. What they found in the brains of individuals with depressive disorders was more limited and fragmented abilities to process information. This is due to a genetic transcription factor, or “switch,” that, when activated, can turn genes on or off. The transcription factor is known as GATA1, and it switches off the activity of key genes that form synaptic connections between the brain and neurons....

Now imagine trying mindfulness meditation, and having that probe touch your skin again. Painful, you’d think. Not as much. Researchers at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center found that the brains of meditators respond differently to pain—a huge finding, given the continued skepticism regarding the benefits of mindfulness meditation as an effective treatment for pain with unique mechanisms above and beyond providing a placebo effect. The research is even more poignant given that pain is one of the most pervasive, debilitating, and expensive health problems faced by approximately 100 million Americans....