DATE: April 22, 2025 at 08:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

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TITLE: Brain endurance training improves cognitive and physical performance of healthy older women

URL: https://www.psypost.org/brain-endurance-training-improves-cognitive-and-physical-performance-of-healthy-older-women/

A recent study of healthy older women with sedentary lifestyles found that brain endurance training—combining cognitive tasks with physical exercise—improved both cognitive and physical performance. Participants who underwent this training outperformed a control group that received no intervention, both when they were well-rested and when mentally fatigued. The study was published in Psychology of Sport & Exercise.

As people age, their cognitive and physical abilities tend to decline. Processing speed slows down, making it take longer to complete tasks or respond to new information. Working memory—the ability to hold and manipulate information temporarily—also tends to deteriorate. Some aspects of episodic memory, such as recalling specific events or names, may become less reliable. In contrast, semantic memory (general knowledge and vocabulary) often remains stable or even improves with age. Older adults frequently compensate for cognitive decline by relying more on experience, routines, and learned strategies.

Mental fatigue—a psychological state resulting from prolonged and demanding cognitive activity—can worsen age-related cognitive impairments. Some studies suggest it may also diminish physical performance in older adults.

Study author Jesús Díaz-García and his colleagues set out to examine whether brain endurance training could improve the cognitive and physical performance of older adults more effectively than physical exercise alone or no training at all. They also investigated whether participants who completed brain endurance training would be more resilient to the effects of mental fatigue.

The study involved 24 healthy older women between the ages of 65 and 78, all living in a rural town in Spain. None of the participants reported engaging in regular physical activity. The researchers randomly assigned the participants to one of three groups: a brain endurance training group, a physical exercise group, and a control group that received no intervention.

The brain endurance training group completed 20 minutes of cognitive tasks, followed by 20 minutes of resistance exercises and 25 minutes of endurance exercise. The physical exercise group completed the same physical exercises but without the cognitive tasks. Both groups trained three times per week for eight weeks.

Participants completed assessments of physical performance (including the chair-stand test, arm-curl test, and walk test) and cognitive performance (using the Brief Stroop task and Brief Psychomotor Vigilance task) at four time points: the start of the study, after four weeks, after eight weeks (the end of training), and after twelve weeks. Each assessment was conducted twice—once when participants were fresh, and once after they were mentally fatigued. To induce mental fatigue, participants completed a 30-minute incongruent Stroop test before the assessments.

Results showed that both exercise groups outperformed the control group on physical and cognitive tasks at weeks 4 and 8. These improvements were evident both when participants were fresh and when they were fatigued. Notably, the brain endurance training group performed better than the physical exercise group only in the mentally fatigued condition.

“The present study demonstrated that BET [brain endurance training], which combines cognitive and exercise training, enhanced cognitive and physical performance in older adults. These enhancements were observed for attention and executive function cognitive operations as well as endurance and resistance exercise activities,” the study authors wrote.

“Importantly, these BET-related enhanced performances were seen relative to both no training (mostly) and exercise training (sometimes). Finally, we confirmed that BET developed resilience to mental fatigue and recalibrated the relationship between exercise and perceived effort.”

The study sheds light on the effects of brain endurance training. However, it should be noted that the study was conducted on a very small group of older women living sedentary lifestyles. Results on other demographic groups might not be identical.

The paper, “Brain endurance training improves sedentary older adults’ cognitive and physical performance when fresh and fatigued,” was authored by Jesús Díaz-García, Tomás García-Calvo, and Christopher Ring.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/brain-endurance-training-improves-cognitive-and-physical-performance-of-healthy-older-women/

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DATE: April 21, 2025 at 02:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

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TITLE: Nightly CBD linked to better morning mood but no changes in cognitive function

URL: https://www.psypost.org/nightly-cbd-linked-to-better-morning-mood-but-no-changes-in-cognitive-function/

A new study published in the journal Psychopharmacology found that taking cannabidiol (CBD) nightly for two weeks did not impair thinking, memory, or reaction time in people with insomnia. Participants who took CBD reported feeling calmer, clearer-headed, and more coordinated the following morning compared to those who took a placebo. However, their performance on computerized tests of cognitive functioning remained unchanged.

Cannabidiol, often known as CBD, is a compound derived from cannabis that has gained popularity for its potential therapeutic benefits, including reducing anxiety and improving sleep. Unlike tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), another compound found in cannabis, CBD is not intoxicating.

In recent years, CBD has been widely marketed as a natural sleep aid, especially in regions like Australia where it is available over the counter. Despite its growing use, there is limited research on whether CBD affects how people think and function during the day, particularly for those with sleep difficulties.

“Cannabis has been used medicinally for centuries for the treatment of numerous conditions. There have also been a lot of anecdotal claims about the sleep- and mood-enhancing effects of CBD and other cannabinoids,” said study author Andrea J. Narayan, a PhD candidate at Swinburne University of Technology.

“At the time of the study, Australia had legalized the sale of a maximum dose of 150 mg CBD in pharmacies without a prescription. Very few studies have specifically looked at the direct effects on sleep and any potential indirect effects of this specific dose following its night-time consumption, so this topic was important to study—and personally quite exciting.”

The researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial involving 30 adults with moderate to severe insomnia symptoms. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 150 milligrams of CBD or a placebo every night for two weeks. Before the two-week trial began, all participants completed a one-week placebo run-in period to identify those who might respond to placebo alone. Anyone who showed marked improvement in sleep during this week was excluded from the study.

The trial was designed to minimize bias. Participants, researchers, and staff were unaware of who received CBD or placebo, and both treatments looked and smelled the same. Each night, participants took their assigned oil dose under the tongue about an hour before going to bed. They also wore wrist devices to monitor sleep and kept daily logs of their mood and any side effects.

Cognitive functioning was tested using a computerized system called CogPro. These tests assessed attention, memory, reasoning, and reaction time. Participants completed these tasks at the beginning of the study, after one week of dosing, and again at the end of the two-week period. The cognitive tests were scheduled in the morning, more than eight hours after the previous night’s dose, to simulate the typical time people might go about their daily activities.

The study found no significant differences in cognitive performance between the CBD and placebo groups. Across a wide range of tests—including memory recall, working memory, and attention—both groups performed similarly. The only change observed was a small improvement in simple reaction time across the whole sample, which may have been due to participants becoming more familiar with the tasks rather than a treatment effect.

While cognitive performance did not improve, participants in the CBD group reported more favorable mood states compared to those on placebo. They consistently rated themselves as feeling calmer, more clear-headed, better coordinated, and more alert across the two-week period.

These effects were statistically significant and sustained throughout the trial. Those in the CBD group also reported feeling slightly more energetic and happier than those taking the placebo. Notably, these mood changes did not coincide with increases in drowsiness, lethargy, or sadness, suggesting that CBD had a mildly positive effect on morning well-being.

“People taking CBD reported feeling more calm, clear-headed, and coordinated in the mornings than those who took placebo,” Narayan told PsyPost. “We explored sleep in the same population and did not see any notable changes to night-time sleep. This could mean that CBD may improve some subjective states, which could suggest it has other secondary mood effects at these doses when taken for sleep.”

As for side effects, dry mouth was the most commonly reported issue among those who took CBD, although it was generally mild. Other side effects like nausea, dizziness, and light-headedness were rare and not significantly different from those in the placebo group. Only a small number of participants withdrew due to discomfort, and these symptoms resolved quickly.

The researchers emphasized that although the study did not find measurable changes in cognitive function, it also did not detect any impairing effects of CBD on thinking or attention. This contrasts with many common sleep medications, such as benzodiazepines, which are known to cause daytime grogginess, memory problems, and reduced concentration.

“There weren’t any noted positive or negative changes to daytime neurocognitive performance, but we still aren’t sure how this will relate to daily, real-life tasks such as driving, considering neurocognitive performance was measured using computerized tasks in our lab,” Narayan noted.

The researchers cautioned against drawing firm conclusions from this study alone. The trial included a relatively small number of participants and focused on a short, two-week dosing period. The 150-milligram dose used in this study is within the range available over the counter in some countries, but may not be high enough to fully assess CBD’s potential therapeutic effects.

“Though the results seem promising, we had a very small sample with a specific clinical condition,” Narayan explained. “We also explored the effects of only one dose of a cannabis isolate for a short period of time. This means that we can’t confirm these results to be true for other clinical populations, or for different doses of CBD, or other cannabinoid treatments.

“Until more studies explore and observe similar outcomes for daytime neurocognitive performance, it is also difficult to confirm that there are no hazards or strong benefits of CBD from this study alone.”

Overall, this study suggests that taking 150 milligrams of CBD each night for two weeks may help people with insomnia feel calmer and more clear-headed in the morning without impairing their ability to think or remember. While these results are encouraging, especially compared to more sedating sleep medications, more research is needed.

“In terms of road safety, the Drugs and Driving Research Unit at Swinburne University of Technology is already conducting a world-first study looking into the effects of medical cannabis on driving performance in patients with medical cannabis prescriptions,” Narayan said. “This is an incredibly important study for the safety of patients and overall road users in general.”

“In terms of the efficacy of medicinal cannabis, deeper exploration into the effects of different doses and ratios of cannabinoids on mood and sleep in different clinical populations is incredibly necessary.”

“I am particularly curious about the possibility of using current cannabinoid isolates such as CBD together with other known treatments to safely enhance therapeutic benefits in the treatment of mood and sleep conditions,” Narayan added.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/nightly-cbd-linked-to-better-morning-mood-but-no-changes-in-cognitive-function/

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DATE: April 21, 2025 at 12:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG

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TITLE: Narcissistic people are more likely to feel ostracized and misread social cues

URL: https://www.psypost.org/narcissistic-people-are-more-likely-to-feel-ostracized-and-misread-social-cues/

Despite exuding confidence, narcissistic people relentlessly crave admiration. In other words, they are unable to convince themselves of their own brilliance.

Growing research shows the gap between perception and reality for narcissistic people goes far deeper than their inflated views about their appearance, accomplishments and abilities.

Narcissism is a personality trait that exists along a spectrum, where the lower end reflects a healthy balance of self-esteem and confidence. At the extreme end of the spectrum, however, narcissism is considered a personality disorder which affects 1-2% of the population. Most of us manifest narcissistic traits to varying degrees, but the more elevated the features are, the wider the gap between perception and reality.

Narcissistic people with elevated features frequently belittle anyone who fails to provide them with the special treatment they feel entitled to. Ironically, they continuously undermine the false self they are trying to build and maintain.

They can be quick to respond with anger and aggression to criticism, in an attempt to protect their grandiose yet fragile sense of self. A 2021 UK study found they experience more paranoia, even when there is no evidence of people meaning to harm them, compared with people with lower levels of narcissism.

Similarly, recent research by US psychologists found that narcissistic people experienced heightened fear of being left out, and accused others of deliberately ostracising them when there was no evidence to support their belief.

The study found that participants high in narcissistic traits were more likely to interpret ambiguous social cues as rejection (for instance, a delayed text message). This suggests their perceptions of social behaviour may be distorted.

Narcissism and ostracism fuel one another

Narcissism can be expressed in “vulnerable” features (socially-inhibited and neurotic) as well as “grandiose” features (dominant and extroverted). People with more grandiose features are overtly assertive and self-promoting. People with more vulnerable features tend to be outwardly distressed, hypersensitive and inhibited.

Although these are separate forms of narcissism, they share a core of entitlement and an antagonistic character style. And just like we all exhibit varying degrees of narcissistic traits, we also fluctuate between these two expressions of narcissism.

The US researchers chose to focus on grandiose narcissism only. The study differentiated between two facets of grandiose narcissism: narcissistic admiration (the ability to charm and manipulate people) and narcissistic rivalry, which includes devaluing and acting aggressively towards others.

The research team analysed data for more than 77,000 participants from a series of seven studies by other scientists spanning 2009-2022. The first two studies investigated the relationship between narcissism and ostracism using surveys and experience sampling (a method used to investigate participants’ cognition and behaviour outside the lab – for example, using participants’ smartphones to track their behaviour).

The first study found people who reported higher narcissism levels said they experienced significantly more ostracism, compared with other participants. This was backed up by the second study, in which participants completed the narcissism assessments then reported feelings of ostracism within a 14-day period, using a mobile app.

The remaining experiments examined how people with higher levels of narcissism perceive ambiguous social interactions, and how others respond to narcissistic traits. After a group task, people with higher traits in narcissistic rivalry were more likely ostracised, even when other participants weren’t told the target had elevated levels of narcissism.

This supports the findings of a 2017 meta-study showing that people high in narcissistic rivalry may provoke direct conflict through their behaviour, and perceive others more negatively.

The US researchers concluded that, while narcissistic features can fuel social exclusion, ostracism itself can, over time, contribute to pronounced narcissistic traits. It appears that ostracism can make people already high in narcissism even higher in these traits.

Other research has similarly shown disparity between the narcissistic self and reality, and the role paranoia plays in this relationship. For instance, a 2015 study found that elevated levels of narcissism are associated with belief in conspiracy theories. This association was driven by paranoid thought.

These findings are concerning given the harmful consequences of conspiracy theories for society. They can fuel violence, climate denial and vaccine hesitancy.

Narcissistic personality features also tend to be higher among political leaders than the general population. Conspiracy theories may be appealing to politicians – particularly during times that challenge their entitled need for superiority and power.

The ideal self and the actual self

The US study’s findings carry practical implications for interventions aimed at people with high levels of narcissism. The researchers said interventions should not only try to improve relationships by identifying personality risk factors (in this instance, the rivalry component of narcissism), but also consider the perceptions of the person involved.

Narcissistic personality disorder comes with a higher risk of suicide and mental health difficulties, and treatment rarely makes much difference. This is partly because of patients’ resistance to abandoning the “ideal self”, leading to frustration, anger and conflict with their therapist.

But some interventions could target the cognitive distortions of narcissistic people that hamper their ability to function in society. For example, psychological therapies could aim to help them process the defensive mechanisms (overvaluing themselves) that mask underlying feelings of vulnerability.

Helping narcissistic people develop greater insights into their habitual reactions – such as responding aggressively to self-esteem threats and feelings of social exclusion – could help them foster skills that reshape their cognitive distortions. This could ameliorate distress, anger and hostility for narcissistic people – and the people around them.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

URL: https://www.psypost.org/narcissistic-people-are-more-likely-to-feel-ostracized-and-misread-social-cues/

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