Smorgasbord of topics: Stress-free retirement, bullying, watching TV and picking your nose

Today I am going to serve up a smorgasbord of fascinating health research on retirement, bullying, reading versus watching television, and even picking your nose.

Retirement can be as stressful as having a job, according to British research that measured the cortisol levels of the subjects. For lower ranking employees it was much the same whether they retired or were heading to a job every morning. The stress of trying to make ends meet financially basically wiped out any joy of retirement. The research was published in the Journal of Gerontology.

Those who have endured bullying in childhood could experience health consequences later in life. The victims of bullying are less likely to succeed in life and they are probably going to have more stress as adults, research in the U.S. has revealed. Men who were subjected to bullying typically also have lower incomes in their working years. In the research, 500 people who had been in school between 1987 and 1988 at the age of about 10 or 12 were recruited. Information from them, their parents, and teachers was accumulated. The individuals, now in their early 30s, were questioned about how often they felt and feel stressed. The data revealed those that had been bullied felt more stressed. They felt others were not treating them fairly and they experienced more financial challenges. Those who had been bullies themselves were still at it almost two decades later. The research was published in the journal Psychological Science.

Picking your nose is one of those anti-social behaviours that parents are challenged to get children to stop doing. Some research at the University of Saskatchewan has revealed it may actually be good for our health, especially if we eat it. Bacteria in the nose may improve your immune system if you eat what you picked from your nose, the researchers say. Another research project in Europe declared people who pick their noses were healthier and happier. I am not aware of any research on the impact of watching people pick their noses.

Now for a much more pleasant subject. If you want to be a nicer person should you read or watch television? Reading may seem like a solitary pursuit while watching television can be done with others. A British study found, however, that keen readers were more likely to behave more sociably and television watchers were not as friendly. The subjects were questioned about their choice of reading material and favourite television viewing. All were tested on their skills in interacting with people and whether they cared about the feelings of others. They found readers scored highest and those who enjoyed fiction books had the best social behaviour. People who read were more empathetic and had the ability to understand things from another person’s point of view. The researchers noted that reading may result in people being more empathetic or it could be that people like that are attracted to reading.

So this summer spend some time reading, work on a plan for retirement that will not have you stressing about finances, make a move to see bullying halted, and forget about your nose unless you are in the bathroom on your own.

Here’s to the joy of summer and here’s To Your Health.

To Your Health is a weekly column by Gillian Slade, health reporter for the News, bringing you news on health issues and research from around the world. You can reach her by email on call 403-528-8635.