In 1995, Janice Kiecolt-Glaser made a tiny standardized wound on the arm of 13 women caring for a relative with dementia, and of 13 women of the same age. In the caregivers, the wound took about nine days longer to close on average. Chronic stress disrupts the immune signals the body needs for repair. A 2009 meta-analysis confirmed the link between psychological stress and slower healing.
Remembering is not replaying a recording — it is rebuilding. Each time you recall a memory, it becomes temporarily malleable and can be altered before being stored again. That is why two people can sincerely remember the same event… differently.
In 2003, Johnson and Goldstein compared European countries. Where you must tick a box to become a donor, consent rates ranged from 4% to 28%. Where you're a donor by default unless you opt out, they topped 85%. People aren't more generous on one side; most simply stick with whatever option was chosen for them.