Are you lying down?

Perhaps bedtime really is the best opportunity to broach an inflammatory subject with your partner. A new study shows that people handle anger better while lying down. Researchers found that university students whose blood began to boil while sitting exhibited a brain function linked to the desire to approach and explore. As Eddie Harmon-Jones, a cognitive scientist at Texas A&M University in College Station, explains, "In the upright or leaning forward state one might be more likely to attack." Equally interesting is how the scientists managed to make their test subjects angry: they had them write essays and then insulted their intellect. The notion that body position affects brain function could also have implications for tests like MRI studies, for which subjects usually lie down.

New Scientist