Success

Success Breakthroughs

Whip this out to keep her smiling

■ Just a simple “thank you” — said sincerely and regularly — can keep your partner happy and your relationship healthy. In fact, how often you express gratitude to each other can even determine how long you’ll stay together.

That’s the news from US researchers at Georgia University who surveyed 468 married individuals and found that spouses who felt appreciated were more respectful toward each other and better at working through relationship difficulties.

Saying “thank you” was especially helpful during tough times — such as when couples were having money difficulties — the study found, because it helped them avoid the feelings of anger, unhappiness and withdrawal that so often lead to breakups.

“Every couple has challenging times and disagrees on issues,” says study author Dr Allen Barton. “The negative effects come from how you handle them. Saying ‘thank you’, making sure your partner feels appreciated, and keeping a sense of humour can reduce the negatives and help make a partnership thrive.”

Tell her about it.

■ Grow up speaking two languages? You must be enjoying the extra cash. Speak just one? You’re heading for mediocrity.

According to a new, “conventional wisdom”-defying report by UCLA in the US, children who speak both English and another language at home — even if the English is learnt as a second language in school — get better jobs and make up to $2,800 more a year than onelanguage kids.

Makes sense. Scientists at Northwestern Uni in the US recently found that bilinguals solve problems and process info more efficiently, as juggling two languages constantly “exercises” the brain’s grey matter.

Benefits could be seen after subjects had studied a new language for even just a short time, proving that it’s never too late to pick up a life skill or two.

BEI NG H EA D OV ER H EELS FOR YOU R JOB DOES WON DERS FOR YOU R H EA LT H.

Gluten-hating may be doing nothing for your health.

■ Have you thought about ditching gluten because, well, everyone says you should? Time to think again.

New research from the University of Tasmania reports that athletes who self-diagnose and follow a gluten-free diet are often lacking in calories and gain no benefit.

The study tracked 13 cyclists for two weeks and found no di erence in performance between those who included gluten in their diet and those who didn’t.

Head researcher Dana Lis said the gluten-free fad meant athletes were stressing unnecessarily about their diets instead of focusing on fuelling up and eating healthily. She hoped the research would make people more objective when making dietary choices.

Love your job, ■ You’ve heard it a millionlove your life times: choose a career you love, something that interests you. Well, turns out it’s great advice. New research shows that if you’re emotionally attached to your job, you’ll perform better, feel more satisfied and be healthier all around.

The study, in the Journal Of Occupational And Environmental Medicine, split almost 5,000 Danish elder-care workers into 300 groups for 18 months and found that employees who were devoted to their jobs weren’t just more committed as a group, they were also physically and psychologically healthier, sleeping more soundly than workers who couldn’t really give a rat’s.

Do you count the seconds till you can escape your desk? Fantasise about winning the lotto so you can tell them all where to go? Science says get out and find something you truly enjoy. To put it another way: do what you want. And how often in life do you hear that? — J A M E S R O S E N T H A L

Put your tongue to work!