This week’s must-reads: Relieve your anxiety by taking a worry break

In my work as a behavioral designer, I come across important stories on how psychology influences our behavior. Every week, I share my round-up of the most important stories at the intersection of psychology, technology and business. I hope you enjoy them!

The Most Powerful Way to Release Worry and Anxiety (Medium) There’s one technique that helps you snap out of the destructive cycle of rumination time and time again, and that is taking a worry break.

Brainstorming: The Ultimate Guide (Shane Snow) Why brainstorming doesn’t usually work and how to really unlock the creativity in a group of people.

Why Doing Good Makes It Easier to Be Bad (Nautilus) What makes people who seem so good in public act so bad in private?

The maddening saga of how an Alzheimer’s ‘cabal’ thwarted progress toward a cure for decades (Stat) The most influential researchers have long believed so dogmatically in one theory of Alzheimer’s that they systemically thwarted alternative approaches.

How the smartphone has changed our world (for better or worse) (Financial Review) In a little more than a decade, the smartphone has become a ubiquitous presence in our lives in ways that were predictable, and in ways that nobody saw coming.

The Broccoli Test: How to Stop Emotional Eating (My Body Tutor) Emotional eating is never about the food we’re craving. It’s about what the food allows us to avoid.

Happy reading!

- Nir