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Home > UC Science Today > A holiday-themed week ahead
Podcast: UC Science Today
Episode:

A holiday-themed week ahead
Category: Science & Medicine
Duration: 00:01:45
Publish Date: 2016-12-12 18:00:00
Description: As we head off for a bit of a holiday break, here are a few stories to go with the season. First, not to put a damper on things – but in case you decide to channel your inner Bob Cratchit and “make rather merry” – you may want to take it a bit easy. Cardiologist Gregory Marcus of the University of California, San Francisco says that’s because tis the season for ‘holiday heart syndrome’. Marcus explains that this term was coined in the 1970s to describe patients who experience a common and potentially dangerous form of heart palpitation. This happens after excessive drinking and it usually occurs around the winter holiday season. "Patients would present with their first episode of atrial fibrillation and these patients had no known underlying heart disease and it turned out that on further questioning, that they had quite a bit to drink prior to just coming in and prior to developing their palpitations." So, if you’re planning to raise a glass, keep it in moderation. And what about those who have a more ‘bah humbug’ feeling around the holidays – or any day? Are some people just born to be happier than others? Psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky of UC Riverside says even if there are genetic influences on happiness, that does not mean people can’t change. "If we can’t really change our happiness set point, I believe you can change your happiness level. So, people can, with a lot of effort, become happier. And when it comes to something like slowing down adaptation – why is that hard? Well, probably because adaptation is so hardwired. It’s evolutionarily adaptive. It’s just something that all human beings experience and it’s hard to kind of fight a natural process." Listen these and other episodes – including one from UCLA about the science of your pie crust. Tune into Science Today on iTunes or Stitcher. And check us out on Facebook, too. I’m Larissa Branin – have a safe and happy holiday season. Subscribe to Science Today: iTunes: apple.co/1TQBewD Stitcher: www.stitcher.com/podcast/science-today Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ucsciencetoday Stories mentioned in this roundup: https://soundcloud.com/sciencetoday/holiday_heart https://soundcloud.com/sciencetoday/happiness_setpoint https://soundcloud.com/sciencetoday/piemaking
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