Brain-Training Games Make You Better at Brain-Training Games.
Do brain training games work? Seven researchers read the whole literature. Gains on the trained task are real and reliable. Almost nothing carries into everyday thinking.
Hormone Therapy and Memory: What Three Trials Measured, Two Decades Apart
Does HRT help brain fog? Three randomised trials measured cognition in more than 5,000 women. None of them found a cognitive benefit, and none of them measured the symptom women actually describe.
Sleep Trackers: What Seven Devices Got Right, and What They Got Wrong
Are sleep trackers accurate? Tested against laboratory polysomnography, seven devices did well at telling sleep from wake and poorly at telling one stage from another. The distinction decides what the number is worth.
Gratitude Journals: What Two Meta-Analyses Measured, and Against What
Do gratitude journals work? Two independent meta-analyses covering more than 5,000 participants agree the effect is real and small, and that it shrinks when compared against any other activity rather than against nothing.
Adrenal Fatigue: What 58 Studies Measured, and What They Found
Is adrenal fatigue real? A systematic review screened 3,470 papers, assessed 58, and concluded the condition has no substantiation. An evidence review of what was tested, and what exhaustion still deserves.
Cortisol Tests for Burnout: What They Can and Cannot Tell You
A cortisol test for burnout is sold as the answer the blood panel missed. Seven studies point in three directions, and the assay itself is validated for a disease affecting 40 to 70 people per million. An evidence review.
The Scans Found Less Fuel Going to Your Brain. They Also Found the Recovery.
Why does menopause cause brain fog? Imaging at Weill Cornell measured brain glucose metabolism falling across the transition — and, on two-year follow-up scans, a partial recovery that age-matched men did not show. What the scans measured, and what they did not.
Ashwagandha for Stress: What the Trials Measured, and What They Missed
Does ashwagandha work for stress? Two 2025 meta-analyses agree it lowers a hormone and disagree about whether anyone feels different. The one trial run on women your age found no effect on stress at all. An evidence review, including the liver question.
ADHD Diagnosed Later in Life in Women: What the Register Data Actually Shows
ADHD diagnosed later in life in women is not a trend story. A Swedish register of 85,330 diagnoses found women identified roughly four years after men, with symptoms starting at the same age. What the numbers show, and the large limitation nobody mentions.
Is Trauma Stored in the Body? What the Evidence Supports, and What It Does Not
Is trauma stored in the body? The phrase comes from a book that has sold millions of copies. A 2025 evaluation in the BJPsych Bulletin tested its central claims against the evidence. What holds, what does not, and why the practices can still be worth doing.
