On sabbatical

“Enjoying your vacation?”, my friends and relations ask me, knowing I’m ‘on sabbatical’. At home the word sabbatical triggers a knowing grin; I’m working as much as ever. But my stress levels are lower, and I come back from work happy each day.

Naomi Ellemers • August 03, 2015

The Psychology of Putin

Whether in politics or in daily life, we all encounter conflicts: between colleagues, relations, or neighbours. Often these seems to stem from conflicting interests or the allocation of scarce resources.

Naomi Ellemers • March 09, 2015

When what’s under the surface makes you sick

You may not always be aware that something is bothering you, but this can be detrimental to your health. Does unconscious stress make us sick?

Melanie van der Ploeg • September 02, 2014

Learning is a series of sprints, not a marathon

Many students (and people in general) like to mass their efforts to boost short-term performance when an important exam or deadline is approaching. Scientific research points to a more functional and efficient long-term strategy to raise performance.

• October 28, 2013

Bad hair day? What strands of hair can tell us about stress

Hair analysis has been used for decades to detect drug abuse. However, recent studies suggest that hair also contains levels of the stress hormone cortisol. This yields unique retrospective information about stress exposure.

Jiska Peper • October 09, 2013

Can you ‘pose’ your way to success?

Have you ever wondered why is it that sometimes you perform extremely well at presentations or job interviews while at other times your brain seems to freeze? Your performance in such tasks depends on the levels of two hormones: testosterone and cortisol.

Tina van Dam • June 03, 2013

Brain scars

Abuse or neglect as a child may lead to the development of anxiety or depression related symptoms years later. Are traces of childhood adversities also visible in our brain? And if so, what does this mean?

Bernet Elzinga • April 16, 2013

leidenpsychologyblog

stress

Blogs