A roundup of new and noteworthy insights from the week’s most talked-about studies:
1 FORGETTING THINGS CAN MAKE YOU SMARTER
A scientific paper in Neuron argued that forgetting outdated memories lets the brain clear out details that don’t matter so people can adapt to newer information and make more intelligent decisions.
2 LIGHT-ROAST COFFEE MAY BE BETTER FOR YOU THAN DARK ROAST
A study in the Journal of Medicinal Food found that lighter coffee roasts had higher levels of chlorogenic acid–which acts as an antioxidant–than darker coffee roasts, and that light-roast extract was better at protecting human cells against inflammation and damage.
3 TEENS ARE AS INACTIVE AS OLDER PEOPLE
A study in Preventive Medicine found that adolescents grew less active throughout their teen years, with 19-year-olds spending as much time being sedentary as 60-year-olds. Half of teenage boys and 75% of teenage girls did not meet exercise recommendations of an hour of moderate-to-vigorous activity a day.
–J.Z.
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Write to Julia Zorthian at julia.zorthian@time.com