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Thought-provoking culture, insightful science and inspirational snippets to bring you up to date on all things uplifting, hopeful and happy-making

Sweet dreams lead to happy days

Getting a good night's sleep doesn't just give you more energy - it can also boost your brain's ability to banish negative and intrusive thoughts.

University of York scientists say a lack of rest interferes with the prefrontal area's ability to restrict retrieval of memories that would otherwise be suppressed.

They made the discovery after using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans to investigate the brain activity of 85 healthy adults, half who'd slept well in a lab and half who'd stayed awake all night.

Dr Scott Cairney from the University of York's Department of Psychology, said: 'Memories of unpleasant experiences often intrude into our conscious mind in response to reminders, but tend to be fleeting and can be put out of the mind again, but we have previously shown that the brain's ability to suppress such intrusive memories is contingent on obtaining restful sleep.**

We'll drink to that!

Not only does a morning coffee get your engine running for the day it might lower your risk of heart disease.

A study of 40,000 Americans found that people who only enjoy a caffeine fix first thing were 31 per cent less likely to die of cardiovascular disease than those who drank no coffee at all or who drank it all day.

They were also 16 per cent less likely to die earlier of any cause than either of those groups.