New brain findings

[The Medici Effect](http://books.google.com/books?id=RNiFM9br5PwC&pg=PP1&dq=medici+effect&ei=MVk-R6_SH6butAPY5vmvAg&sig=13bKqiqAfZLPqqZ03IVms35d9Ck) tipped me off to the benefit of [reading magazines from other fields during plane flights](http://books.google.com/books?id=RNiFM9br5PwC&pg=PP1&dq=flight&ei=MVk-R6_SH6butAPY5vmvAg&sig=13bKqiqAfZLPqqZ03IVms35d9Ck#PPA86,M1). Several things I picked up from an issue of Psychology Today picked up for my plane trip yesterday (not online so I can’t link to it directly):

* Dreams may be a way for our minds to [practice important situations before we encounter them in real life](http://www.bbsonline.org/Preprints/OldArchive/bbs.revonsuo.html). Ever wonder why you have so many scary dreams?

* Simply thinking faster [makes us feel happier and more creative](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060926171045.htm), no matter what we are thinking about.

* Jasmine scent can make us sleep better.

* [Yawning cools the brain](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070621161826.htm) to help us think better, and its contagious nature could be linked to better group survival when everyone did it.