Happiful January 2020

SCIENCE
Connection between learning a new
skill and reduced stress is revealed
What could rats driving tiny cars teach us about alternative
mental illness treatments?
It may seem like a far-out link, but
US researchers at the University
of Richmond have had promising
results from a recent study that put
rats behind the wheel.
Dr Kelly Lambert revealed that a
group of 17 rats were taught how to
drive tiny plastic cars, in exchange for
pieces of cereal, with the results going
on to indicate that the rats felt more
relaxed while completing the task.
The study looked at a mixture of labraised
rats and those that lived in a
more natural habitat, or an ‘enriched
environment’. Rats raised in these
more natural environments proved to
be significantly better drivers.
Following the trials, researchers
examined the rat’s faeces to test
stress hormone levels, as well as to
check for the anti-stress hormone,
dehydroepiandrosterone. All test
subjects were shown to have higher
levels of the anti-stress hormone,
which researchers believe may
be linked to the satisfaction of
learning a new skill, leading them
to suggest that this could be a step
towards helping develop nonpharmaceutical
treatments for
mental illness.
While Dr Lambert points out that
more research needs to be done
to explore the effect in different
animals, this discovery could make
waves in mental health treatment,
and we’re along for the ride!
Writing | Bonnie Evie Gifford
COMMUNITY
‘Happy to chat’
bench tackles
loneliness
A simple ‘happy to chat’ sign on
benches is helping communities
tackle loneliness. The idea is the
brainchild of Allison Owen-Jones,
from Cardiff, who spotted an elderly
man sitting alone on a bench,
wanted to say hello, but realised he
might not want to be disturbed.
“I came up with the idea of tying a
sign that would open the avenues for
people,” Allison told the BBC.
The idea quickly snowballed,
leading the Bristol-based Senior
Citizen Liaison Team to set up
partnerships with local police to
create permanent ‘chat benches’.
It’s estimated that there are more
than a million chronically lonely
older people in the UK, with half
a million going at least five days a
week without speaking to anyone.
Talking to Happiful about the
success of the chat bench initiative,
co-founder Detective Sergeant
Ash Jones said: “The initiative has
had a fantastic response from the
community, with hundreds – if not
thousands – of chat benches now
around the world. This is beyond my
wildest aspirations, and I hope that
awareness of the impact of chronic
loneliness on the elder community
will be its lasting legacy.”
A simple way to get involved, Ash
explains, is to download the sign
from their website, sclt.us/chatbench,
and adopt a local bench. “It’s
successful because it’s that simple!”
Writing | Kat Nicholls
January 2020 • happiful.com • 9