One day, when Sergio was a teenager, he realized that his mother had aged. He hadn't seen those wrinkles on her face before. Time passed inexorably, without him being able to do anything to prevent it. For the first time, the idea that time in this world was finite struck him forcefully, even though his friends hadn't even bothered to think about it. When you are young, time seems static and infinite.Since that day, Sergio C. Fanjul (Oviedo, 1980) suffers from what is known as chronophobia, the fear of the passage of time. An experience that this astrophysics and journalism graduate has captured in essay form in the book Cronofobia (Arpa, 2025), in which he also explores a society that he believes suffers from the same ailment as him: “There are many problems, not only in dealing with dying, but with aging and the fear of the future. The acceleration of time makes us become patients of nostalgia,” he assures.If we stop to think about it, there are billions of people who have preceded us and nothing remains of their passage on earth. Fortunately, we know some names that have achieved something important, but not much more. There are even figures like Shakespeare or Cervantes, who are often little more than a name, perhaps even a pseudonym of another person.This feeling, according to Fanjul, makes many people uncomfortable. “We are very hungry for transcendence and to overcome death compared to previous societies”, he assures. The author believes that societies used to be more communal and more connected with their town and family, so when you died they knew they would live on in others. On the other hand, today's individualistic society makes us feel that if we die, the world ends.The fear of death is inherent to the human condition. “That is why a large part of our culture is related to beliefs and religions that help us understand why on earth we are here for such a limited time,” Fanjul continues. During his research, he has even met people who cannot bear the idea of not having existed before being born.In fact, chronophobia is not easy to digest. He himself admits that he spends every day calculating the years lived and those that, if all goes well, he has left until he reaches death. Even when he goes on vacation, he spends his time calculating how much time has passed and how much is left to finish them. “The idea often strikes me that time has slipped through my fingers, this feeling of 'that's it, this party or dinner is over,' and I think that when I die I will have the same feeling after a lifetime,” he reflects.'Tempus fugit'

But, what is time really? Augustine of Hippo said that he knew what time was, but that if you asked him, he couldn't explain it. "This is the feeling we all have: we function with time, we make an appointment with someone, days and weeks pass, but no one can explain to you what it is," says Fanjul. Many theories have been developed, and the author explores them throughout the essay. Those he likes best are the externalist ones, that is, those that say that past and future are real at the same time, that everything is happening at the same moment. “We are a consciousness that goes through different moments and now we perceive what we live in this moment in time, but at the same time we are being born, living our childhood, old age, and even dying,” he continues. For him, this theory comforts him: “It means that, even if you die, your whole life will be happening and will be eternal, happening all at once,” he clarifies.Be that as it may, as we get older, time passes by faster and faster, and it seems we can do nothing to prevent it. Many studies have been done on this and it is known that for children and young people everything is new, and therefore their brain must always be processing information. This is how time passes more slowly for them. As one stops learning new things and being surprised by things, time begins to accelerate. “If you notice, when you travel the first few days pass slowly, because you have to explore the city. On the other hand, the last ones, when you already know everything, start to get faster and faster,” he points out.However, many people live trapped by nostalgia for the past. For Fanjul, this feeling is very characteristic of our times, when future prospects are very unpredictable. “Between totalitarianism, the climate crisis, and the advance of technology, young people do not see a clear future and look back,” he considers. In fact, the author believes that we live in a society that is both youth-loving and youth-hating: “Youth is idolized and desired, but young people are also considered “useless” and things are not made easy for them,” he criticizes. Finally, the author points out that many philosophers, like the Stoics, have preached that happiness is neither in the past nor in the future, but in the present. Therefore, the ideal way to learn to live in a world where time slips through our fingers is to seize the moment and have a life rich in experiences. "But not the ones they sell now, which are going to a trendy restaurant, but small, enriching everyday things, like being with the people you love, walking, resting, eating well, and taking care of yourself. This makes life more pleasant and time slows down a bit more," he concludes.

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We live in an era marked by immediacy. We answer messages while walking, constantly check notifications, and often end the day feeling like we've been busy all the time without really connecting with ourselves. Speed, hyperproductivity, and the need to always respond immediately are part of a culture that leaves less and less room for emotional rest. Gaby Hostnik, a specialist and trainer in applied neuroscience and emotional intelligence, author of the book The future is what you do today (Bruguera, 2026), talks about this contemporary malaise.

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Aesthetic pressure and fatphobia are conditioning our relationship with food, and this leads to an increase in body dissatisfaction, a decrease in self-esteem, an increased probability of suffering from eating disorders, not to mention that it promotes unnecessary cosmetic surgeries and touch-ups and makes bodies that do not meet standards invisible. All situations that provoke self-censorship and generate constant comparisons, leading many people to forget the need to maintain a healthy relationship with food. Based on this premise, pharmacist and dietitian-nutritionist Julia Palacios, specializing in eating behavior, has poured all her knowledge into the book Mucho más que pechuga y lechuga (Bruguera) with the aim of offering a new perspective on the relationship we have with food. A book that talks about fatphobia, biology, privilege, pleasure, and guilt, but above all about the importance of context and other topics rarely found in a nutrition book. "I would love for people, by reading the book, to shed their guilt. I would also like us to accept that body diversity exists and that it is beautiful that it exists. And that we learn to claim pleasure. Women have been deprived of pleasure in many aspects of our lives, not just in food. And I think it is revolutionary to verbalize it, right? 'I like this,' 'I prefer this,' also having a voice and vote on the subject of food,"' explains the author.

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It seems difficult to imagine that a book about human anatomy can be entertaining, passionate, exciting, and educational, but Gabriel Weston, a British surgeon, writer, and communicator, has achieved it with Con vida, published by Salamandra. The book begins with a detailed narration of an autopsy that immediately alerts us to everything we can discover during the reading, and the author's statement of intent arrives very soon: she explains that science only makes sense if it can be linked to something personal. In this regard, she states that the body cannot be viewed as a purely mechanical entity, but must be looked at from a more human perspective. Weston is a woman of letters who came to the world of medicine almost by chance and explains that she decided to write the book about 10 years ago. "Initially, I wanted to write it as a surgeon who had realized that much of the anatomy we used and that was still taught in medical school was outdated," she says. And she adds: "As a person with an artistic background, I also wanted to write a book that would bridge the gap between the arts and sciences. I wanted to look at the body through this dual lens."

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40% of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed with good prevention from an early age. This is stated by David Pérez Martínez, a neurologist with extensive professional experience focused on the study of cognitive decline and Alzheimer's, who assures that it is never too late (or too early) to start taking care of our brain. The neurologist recently published the book Cuida tu salud cerebral" (Alienta Editorial), a guide with which he aims to offer a practical approach that brings readers closer to the importance of having information at hand to adopt preventive measures. Prevention that we must carry out throughout our lives, which is why, in the book, he proposes a personal action plan suitable for all audiences. He states, emphatically, that the challenge, beyond having information and knowledge, is deciding to act. As Pérez explains, "for ten or fifteen years we have known that diseases like Alzheimer's do not begin when the symptoms start, but rather much earlier, probably fifteen or twenty years earlier. Therefore, if we intervene early with preventive measures, we could try to slow down the course of these types of diseases or delay their onset".

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Why is it so hard for us to stop eating processed foods, scrolling on our phones, or binge-watching series all night? Around the world, there's an epidemic of problems related to mental health and addiction, especially among young people, and they don't seem to be related. But nothing could be further from the truth: it all stems from superstimuli.

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Scents have the power to transform atmospheres, modulate behaviors, and can seduce, comfort, or heal. The sense of smell is the mirror of a society and also a historical portrait. This is stated by Dr. in neurosciences and research professor at CSIC, Laura López-Mascaraque, in her book El fascinante universo del olfato, published by geoPlaneta. A volume that aims to highlight the sense of smell, probably the greatly forgotten one, as priority has always been given to what we see and hear, when, in reality, smell is the gateway to memory and emotions and a way to explore the world.

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We've seen it in countless movies: "Hello, my name is so-and-so and I'm an alcoholic." We know the acronym Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and what it represents. But what we might not know is that behind these initials –and this recurring phrase– lies a twelve-step therapeutic method created by two men from Ohio in 1935, which has since helped millions of people worldwide. This method is now applied in 68 countries, including Spain, where there are up to 586 active Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) groups. A study by Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital concluded in 2020 that this AA twelve-step therapy "is more effective than other established treatments for increasing abstinence" and improves outcomes, especially "in the long term," helping people stay sober for longer. The survival and constant global expansion of this system for nearly a century also attest to its effectiveness.

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Three-year-old children plugged into a mobile phone screen to distract them (and not bother anyone), eight-year-old children who already carry a smart device in their pocket to which they dedicate hours, teenagers who have made the smartphone another appendage of their body, adults abducted by an infinite scroll watching short videos for hours that, to put it elegantly, offer content of dubious intellectualism. Most of us can identify with some of these profiles, images that have contributed to demonizing smartphones. But, are they really as harmful as they say? Is the problem the screens or the content? Is our brain prepared to respond to all the stimuli that come from the screen? Aarón Fernández del Olmo, a clinical neuropsychologist, doctor of psychology, and philosophy graduate, has thoroughly studied this issue. In his book "El cerebro hackeado" (Editorial Kailas), he proposes to break some myths about the consequences of using smartphones and to offer some tools for healthier use.

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Perhaps without realizing it, we spend half our lives surrounded by people with narcissistic behavior, people who are always able to get what they want thanks to their mastery of the art of persuasion, a skill that often makes them irresistible but especially manipulative. This is the profile discussed in his latest book, written in his characteristic irreverent yet precise and reflective style, by psychologist Víctor Amat, who, in The 10 laws to be fucking irresistible (Vergara) aims to give readers the tools to combat narcissists with their own weapons. Amat explains that the book stems from his professional experience as a professor of persuasion techniques for healthcare professionals and from the demands of patients who come to his practice complaining that they have encountered a narcissist at work or in their personal lives. His goal, he states, is for them to understand and apply persuasion in everyday life, but above all, "how to use it for good." And here he wants to differentiate "the narcissist from what would be a malicious narcissist": "I think we all have a touch of narcissism; therefore, the important thing is to distinguish the person's intention," he says. He asserts that the key is to learn from these people to protect ourselves and improve, and he sees persuasion as both a shield and a weapon. Because we have all been deceived by charming people at some point in our lives.

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It has just arrived in bookstores I'll prescribe a cat.by the writer Syou Ishida, published by Columna Ediciones. It is a literary phenomenon in Japan and is part of what are known as healing booksOr, healing fiction books, which come mainly from Asian authors and present plots with very common problems and conflicts that are always resolved in the end. They are comforting, unhurried stories with endearing characters. In this case... best-seller In Syou Ishida's work, the solution to the problems presented in the various stories—whether work stress, family conflicts, or personal matters—is cats, but this could be extended to any pet, whose presence has a positive and healing emotional impact on all the characters in the book. According to the review made by New York Journal of Books, It's an "absolutely charming celebration of the healing power of pets." But is that really the case? Do animals have the healing power the book describes? We interviewed psychologists and veterinarians to find out if you can really "prescribe" a cat to cure some of the ills of modern society.

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Adriana Jarrín was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when she was only 26. Luckily, it was detected early and chemotherapy saved her life, but both the shock of the diagnosis and the entire process had a profound emotional impact, in addition to significant physical weakness, she recounts. "A cousin recommended I start doing yoga, and it was truly an incredible encouragement and helped me tremendously." "Above all, the feeling of doing something for myself helped me cope better with the illness," she explains. That was in 2005, and today Jarrín dedicates her life to helping other cancer patients. She not only offers oncology yoga in several hospitals, but also trains teachers of this type of yoga at the Radika Foundation and has written a book. Yoga in times of cancer (Editorial Platform).

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The Christmas Lottery, the jackpot, the Epiphany... At this time of year, more than ever, we gamble with chance, if it truly exists, and test our luck. And more than ever, we also ask ourselves—or often answer—whether we are lucky people or if we always fall butter-side down. Well, it turns out that being very lucky or being a harbinger of doom is something that psychology has also studied. The conclusion? It depends primarily on ourselves. Not on supernatural forces moving the pieces around us for or against us, but on our attitude towards life.

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What happens inside the brain of a person who creates music? And when they play their instrument or go on stage? Or even more: how can they use their neurobiology to enhance attention and interpretive freedom? Giulia Valle, composer, jazz bassist, teacher, and author of the book, discusses all of this. Brain as a team: neuroscience for performance and motivation in music (and other arts) (Editorial Versos & Reversos, 2025).

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Christmas is just around the corner, and most people already know what they'll be doing on Christmas Eve, December 25th, Boxing Day, New Year's Day, and even Three Kings' Day. These are dates filled with parties, celebrations, and rituals that are repeated year after year, shared with family and friends. What we eat, with whom, how, and where we eat it is all part of the ritual. And so are the small details: the sprig of mistletoe that's said to bring good luck, decorating the Christmas tree, bringing out Grandma's china that we only use for these holidays, eating grapes to ring in the New Year, the same menu that's been on the menu for decades... all these small gestures carry a strong symbolic weight of community among those who participate. But is this accumulation of rituals in so few days a positive thing, or do we end up overwhelmed by so much excess?

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It is said that in current times there is a A veritable "epidemic" of sleep problemsScreens, stress, anxiety... Falling asleep has become a true act of resistance. However, sleep has been an essential act in the evolution ofHomo sapiens Since the dawn of humanity, only during these hours of deep rest can we repair the brain, consolidate memory, or reorganize our emotional circuits.

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Complex and mysterious, consciousness is that state of mind we have when we are not asleep or under anesthesia. All the rest of the time we are conscious. But what exactly is consciousness? Scientifically, there are still many unanswered questions. For now, it can only be stated that it has a series of characteristics, being a personal and subjective state: your consciousness is solely yours, and no one else can enter it, nor can you enter the consciousness of others. That is why it is such a unique element for each individual.

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"This doesn't concern me," "I have more serious problems," "everyone should sort out their own issues," "I don't want to watch the news," "I don't want to know anything." It seems we live in a world where we care less and less about what happens to others and focus only on our own well-being and that of our closest circle. Pope Francis spoke about this phenomenon during his first Mass in Lampedusa following the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean. He said that the world is suffering from the globalization of indifference, a message that was very well received, and not only within the religious world. In fact, historians and sociologists such as Christopher Lasch and Gilles Lipovetsky had already spoken about this global trend toward narcissism long before. "They said that we have moved toward a type of society where people only worry about themselves: their work, their apartment, their leisure time... And at most, their partner, children, and parents," explains Professor and philosopher Francesc Torralba.

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One summer day, Elsa found a small sparrow in front of her house that had just fallen from its nest. Despite its fragility, the bird displayed a strength and a natural instinct for survival that moved her deeply. She, who was also going through a period of transition and recovery, decided to care for it until it could fend for itself.

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Can we learn to think better? This is the challenge posed by philosopher Javier López Alós and physicist Vicent Botella y Soler in their new book. Why do we think what we think? (Arpa, 2025), a more complete version of its predecessor in Catalan, Why do we think what we think? (Printed Letter, 2024). According to these two writers, just as someone who practices yoga learns to pay more attention to their breathing or someone who goes running can improve their technique, one can also learn to think and make decisions "more consciously and less automatically."

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