Seasonal Stress Management Blog
Hi! I’m Dr. Franssen. Or maybe you should call me Catherine, because in my blogs, you’ll get to know me a bit better.
Anyone who’s ever been cornered by me at a cocktail party can attest to the fact that I am utterly fascinated with the science behind stress, seasons, parenting, productivity, and pretty much everything that makes life interesting. In this blog I answer questions, reflect on personal and professional challenges, and share insights from my expertise. In short, this is neuroscience for everyday life.
If I haven’t written about something you care about yet, please reach out! I love answering questions.
Athletes’ 4 most common mental health concerns
Mental health support isn’t just for those who are dealing with crises and diagnosable disorders. Student-athletes deal with incredible challenges and need help navigating their mental burdens in approachable ways.
Insomnia
While many people acknowledge a bit of missed sleep or tiredness, few realize how much sleep they are missing and how big a problem it may be. Insomnia may be affecting every part of your life, whether or not you know it.
Dark Chocolate Health Benefits
Between National Dark Chocolate Day and the Valentine candy displays, the temptation is real. Let’s indulge in a bit of science about the health benefits of chocolate, and then wrap up with a few thoughts on how to manage those chocolate cravings in a healthy way!
Puzzles for your brain
Puzzles affect your cognitive abilities, but they also build resilience and promote relaxation.
Stress Eating Science
Stress happens. Eating may be a coping mechanism you use regularly. But it can get in the way of your overall health and wellness goals. Why do we overeat, and make unhealthy choices, when stressed? How do we overcome this biological tendance?
How to sleep better: 5 unexpected tips
Sleep is critical to managing our stress and improving our daily lives. But getting more and better sleep can seem impossible. After years of teaching and researching sleep (and fighting my own battles with insomnia!), I’m sharing five unusual tips to improve your sleep.
The Ultimate Sleep Challenge
I love trying new things, experimenting, and I find the challenges to be a fun way to get me excited about new approaches. I know that these things are essentially “tricks” to get me to change my behavior. But frankly, I’m ok with that. I want to trick myself into doing the new behaviors. So how do we use neuroscience to sleep better? I present to you… a challenge.
Sleep as stress relief
While it’s not an active stress management strategy, sleep can actually be good for stress relief. After all, a lack of sleep leads to many stressful situations in the first place. Here we explore a bit of neuroscience behind how sleep deprivation results in increased stress.
Loneliness and the Stress of Being Alone
Winter is a time of increased social isolation and loneliness. Travel barriers from weather and illness increase our isolation this season. And even those of us who typically enjoy being alone feel the absence of others more acutely after the intense social connections of the holiday season. Why is isolation a stressor for us? What is loneliness?
Yoga for Stress Reduction- A Scientific Analysis
Thinking about stress management as part of your New Year’s resolutions? Curious about whether yoga might be for you? Yoga is fantastic for your mind and body, and there’s some great research that backs it up.
Binge Watching and the Netflix Addiction
Like many people, I take time at New Years to think about my behaviors and what I might like to change about myself. I wrote a piece for HuffPost (years ago when streaming services were still new) about the neuroscience of how our brains respond to binge-watching like other addictions. This New Years, as I evaluate my addictive behaviors toward things like cheese and social media, I’ll also be thinking about the addiction to consuming shows.
The Neuroscience of Tidying Up
With the holidays winding down and a new year looming, many of us are in a transitional mode. As we begin to take down the holiday decorations and assess where to put our new gifts, we consider that we might need to tidy up in some significant ways.
Everyday STEM for the Family!
To kick off this holiday week at home with family, I’m reposting an article I wrote two years ago with loads of ideas on how we can integrate STEM learning into our daily activities to supplement kids’ education. Check it out!
The Soothing Neuroscience of Coloring Swear Words
Sitting at the kids table this holiday season? You might find yourself spending some time coloring… and you might find it surprisingly soothing! I wrote this piece about the neuroscience behind the adult coloring book fad back in 2016. And yes, I definitely referred to those that include swear words! Hey, whether you’re stressed out or overexcited, you might find yourself using a few choice words this holiday season. Grab a crayon and settle down a bit!