Why Yoga Reduces Depression, Why Plastic Bag Fees Work So Well, and How Bumblebees Can Carry So Much

Learn about why plastic bag fees have such a big influence on your behavior; how bumblebees are able to fly around while carrying up to 80 percent of their own body weight; and the neuroscience behind why yoga reduces depression.

How plastic bag and coffee cup surcharges go beyond money to influence your decisions by Kelsey Donk

• Environment, U. (2018). Legal limits on single-use plastics and microplastics. UNEP - UN Environment Programme. https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/legal-limits-single-use-plastics-and-microplastics
• Research: Why We’re Incentivized by Discounts and Surcharges. (2020, February 13). Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/02/research-why-were-incentivized-by-discounts-and-surcharges
• Lieberman, A., Duke, K. E., & Amir, O. (2019). How incentive framing can harness the power of social norms. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 151, 118–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2018.12.001

Bumblebees are more efficient the heavier they are by Grant Currin

• Bumblebees carry heavy loads in economy mode. (2020). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/uoc--bch020420.php
• Combes, S. A., Gagliardi, S. F., Switzer, C. M., & Dillon, M. E. (2020). Kinematic flexibility allows bumblebees to increase energetic efficiency when carrying heavy loads. Science Advances, 6(6), eaay3115. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aay3115

Why does yoga reduce depression? Researchers say GABA might be the link by Grant Currin

• Cramer, H., Anheyer, D., Lauche, R., & Dobos, G. (2017). A systematic review of yoga for major depressive disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders, 213, 70–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.02.006
• Researchers identify link between decreased depressive symptoms, yoga and the neurotransmitter GABA. (2020). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/buso-ril020320.php
• Streeter, C. C., Gerbarg, P. L., Brown, R. P., Scott, T. M., Nielsen, G. H., Owen, L., Sakai, O., Sneider, J. T., Nyer, M. B., & Silveri, M. M. (2020). Thalamic Gamma Aminobutyric Acid Level Changes in Major Depressive Disorder After a 12-Week Iyengar Yoga and Coherent Breathing Intervention. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2019.0234

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Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/why-yoga-reduces-depression-why-plastic-bag-fees-work-so-well-and-how-bumblebees-can-carry-so-much

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