Stress Fighters

10 Natural Ways to Ease Depression

If you are suffering from depression or seasonal depression, there are many natural options that can help. Of course, you should always see a doctor as well.

1. Supplement with Vitamin D

This vitamin, which is more accurately termed a hormone, has been recently found to play a role in the number of depressive symptoms experienced. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts studied a group of post-menopausal women for a possible correlation between vitamin D and the symptoms of depression. They found that the lower the levels of vitamin D the women had, the more likely they were to experience symptoms of depression.

2. Eat Complex Carbs

If you’re eating a high protein diet or if your diet lacks whole grains, you may be deficient in the building blocks to make important the important neurotransmitter serotonin in your brain—a natural chemical that helps regulate mood. Add fruits and vegetables, beans, and whole grains to your diet.

3. Skip the Caffeine

Research links caffeinated beverages with suppression of serotonin. By skipping the coffee or tea, you’ll give your brain a better chance to make sufficient serotonin to maintain balanced moods.

4. Boost Your Omega 3s

Finnish researchers found that people who ate fish less than once a week had a 31 percent increase in incidence of mild to moderate depression compared to those who ate fish more often than that. Wild salmon and sardines are good sources of Omega 3s. Excellent vegetarian options include: raw walnuts, walnut oil, ground flaxseeds, and flaxseed oil.

5. Eliminate Alcohol

Alcohol is a depressant. If you’re suffering from depression or prone to this disorder, skip the alcoholic beverage.

6. Take St. John’s Wort

The powerful herb frequently gets a bad rap in the media, largely because pharmaceutical drugs interact with it. Whenever that happens the natural, more cost-effective, and lower-side-effect herb is blamed. But, this herb has been found in numerous studies to be effective against mild to moderate depression. Follow the instructions on the package. And, if you’re taking any pharmaceutical drugs, consult your pharmacist or nutritionist before taking St. John’s Wort. A typical dose for depression is 300 mg three times daily.

7. Add SAM-e

Pronounced “Sammy,” this supplement is widely prescribed for depression in Europe. SAM-e is a naturally-occurring substance found in all living cells. Low levels can play a role in depression. Dozens of animal studies found that SAM-e caused significant results in only a few weeks of supplementation, due to its ability to boost three neurotransmitters: serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine—all of which are involved in mood regulation. A typical dose for depression is 1600 milligrams daily.

8. Get Adequate Magnesium

Magnesium is critical for the production and function of mood-regulating serotonin, yet experts estimate that approximately 80 percent of the population is deficient. Leafy greens and raw, unsalted almonds are good sources of magnesium. Supplementing with 800 mg daily is common for depression.

9. To B or Not to B

When it comes to depression, consider adding a B-complex supplement to your daily diet. Make sure you choose a natural supplement free of artificial colors, flavors, or fillers. A 100 milligram supplement is a commonly prescribed dose for depression sufferers (with 100 MICROgrams of folate and B12).

10. Walk it Off

Research links insufficient exercise with depressive symptoms. While it can be difficult to get motivated to get outdoors during the winter months, it is a valuable mood booster. Try to go for a brisk walk at least three or four times a week.

Source: care2

Daily routines may influence sleep quality, quantity

Maintaining a consistent daily routine may be linked to better sleep, according to a small new study.

Young adults who went to work and ate dinner around the same time every day typically slept better and woke up fewer times during the night. They also fell asleep more quickly at bedtime.

Yet the exact time people performed daily activities—say, eating dinner at 6 p.m. versus 8 p.m. —had little bearing on how well they slept.

“For the majority of sleep outcomes, we found that completing activities at a regular time better predicted sleep outcomes than the actual time of day that activities were completed,” Natalie Dautovich, a psychologist at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, said. She led the study, which was published in the Journals of Gerontology: Series B.

“For example, people reported better sleep quality and fewer awakenings at night when they were consistent in the time they first went outside,” Dautovich told Reuters Health in an email.

On the other hand, for older adults, inconsistent daily schedules were sometimes linked with better sleep, the researchers found.

For instance, older people whose dinnertime varied tended to sleep longer at night. And those who started home activities or began work at different times each day fell asleep more quickly.

The study included 50 adults between the ages of 18 and 30 and another 50 between 60 and 95. Participants kept a diary of when they performed regular activities and how well they slept at night for two weeks.

Instead of opening the door to new recommendations or sleep treatments, the authors said the study best serves to create questions for future research.

Those questions include whether older adults who have more variation in their daily schedules are already healthier and more socially active—or whether it’s the variety in one’s everyday schedule that provides the activity and stimulation that help ensure good sleep, according to Dautovich.

“We know that good sleep at night is dependent in part on our drive to sleep, which is based on how active and alert we are during the day,” she said.

For that reason, being out and about during the day remains one of the best ways to maximize the chances of a solid night of shut-eye.

“Greater activity and levels of alertness during the day increase our need to sleep at night,” Dautovich said.

Source: GMA network

Stress in job linked to later health problems

More strain at work might mean more illness in old age, according to a new study from Finland. The study found both physical and mental job strain were tied to hospital stays later in life.

Mental job strain can come from tight deadlines, high demands and having little control over one’s work. Physical strain includes sweating, breathlessness and muscle strain.

“Job strain is something that is individually perceived, so persons working in similar jobs can report different amounts of job strain,” lead researcher Mikaela von Bonsdorff said. “When talking about job strain it is important to remember that occasional feelings of job strain are not necessarily a bad thing, but persistent high job strain has been identified as a health hazard.”

Recent studies have linked long-term job strain to lower functioning that lasts into old age, added von Bonsdorff. She is a gerontology researcher at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland.

The new findings come from a study of more than 5,000 middle-aged Finnish public sector employees who were initially surveyed about stress at work in 1981.

The researchers combined that information with data from national hospital records spanning the next 28 years.

With higher strain in midlife, days in the hospital tended to increase, especially for physical strain.

For instance, for every 1,000 men with low physical job strain, about eight days were spent in inpatient hospital care every year, on average. That compared to almost 13 days for every 1,000 men with high physical job strain, according to findings published in Age and Ageing.

“What was interesting was that these associations were clear also when we looked at hospital care that took place after the individuals had turned 65, indicating that these associations were also robust in older age and not that the association was due to hospital care that took place immediately after the baseline assessment of job strain,” von Bonsdorff said.

For both men and women, hospital days increased as physical strain increased. But for mental strain, the link was only clear among men.

“Job strain of some sort can occur in basically any type of employment,” Loretta Platts told Reuters Health.

“Although physical job strain is confined to certain sorts of occupations, such as manual occupations or low-level service occupations like being an electrician, caretaker, driver, builder, cleaner, waiter, waitress, cook or shop assistant,” she said.

Platts is a doctoral candidate at Imperial College London. She studies how various factors influence quality of life after retirement and was not involved in the new research.

“The mechanism might be the development of musculoskeletal disorders from high physical strain jobs, which are often irreversible and painful, and can lead to osteoarthritis, a leading cause of hospital admissions in older people,” Platts said. “In addition, immobility can be related to weight gain, which in turn leads to heart failure, high blood pressure and diabetes.”

Mental strain has been linked to heart disease, another cause of hospital stays.

Still, the study can’t prove that job strain causes poor health and more hospital stays, Platts pointed out.

High-strain jobs might be undesirable for many people, so it’s possible people working those kinds of jobs were unable to get less stressful jobs for an unknown, but relevant, reason. That reason could also be connected to their healthcare use.

It’s also possible that 28 years later, the people spending the most time in hospitals happened to think more negatively about their work in 1981, she said.

“This study was only of public sector employees and came from a country with a very developed welfare state. The consequences for people working in the private sector and in countries with less generous welfare states are likely to be worse,” Platts said. “The public sector in Finland is probably a best-case scenario.

Source: GMA News

How torture affects pain perception

Israeli soldiers captured during the 1973 Yom Kippur War were subjected to brutal torture in Egypt and Syria. Held alone in tiny, filthy spaces for weeks or months, sometimes handcuffed and blindfolded, they suffered severe beatings, burns, electric shocks, starvation, and worse. And rather than receiving treatment, additional torture was inflicted on existing wounds.

Forty years later, research by Prof. Ruth Defrin of the Department of Physical Therapy in the Sackler Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University shows that the ex-prisoners of war (POWs), continue to suffer from dysfunctional pain perception and regulation, likely as a result of their torture. The study—conducted in collaboration with Prof. Zahava Solomon and Prof. Karni Ginzburg of TAU’s Bob Shapell School of Social Work and Prof. Mario Mikulincer of the School of Psychology at the Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya—was published in the European Journal of Pain.

“The human body’s pain system can either inhibit or excite pain. It’s two sides of the same coin,” says Prof. Defrin. “Usually, when it does more of one, it does less of the other. But in Israeli ex-POWs, torture appears to have caused dysfunction in both directions. Our findings emphasize that tissue damage can have long-term systemic effects and needs to be treated immediately.”

A painful legacy

The study focused on 104 combat veterans of the Yom Kippur War. Sixty of the men were taken prisoner during the war, and 44 of them were not. In the study, all were put through a battery of psychophysical pain tests—applying a heating device to one arm, submerging the other arm in a hot water bath, and pressing a nylon fiber into a middle finger. They also filled out psychological questionnaires.

The ex-POWs exhibited diminished pain inhibition (the degree to which the body eases one pain in response to another) and heightened pain excitation (the degree to which repeated exposure to the same sensation heightens the resulting pain). Based on these novel findings, the researchers conclude that the torture survivors’ bodies now regulate pain in a dysfunctional way.

It is not entirely clear whether the dysfunction is the result of years of chronic pain or of the original torture itself. But the ex-POWs exhibited worse pain regulation than the non-POW chronic pain sufferers in the study. And a statistical analysis of the test data also suggested that being tortured had a direct effect on their ability to regulate pain.

Head games

The researchers say non-physical torture may have also contributed to the ex-POWs’ chronic pain. Among other forms of oppression and humiliation, the ex-POWs were not allowed to use the toilet, cursed at and threatened, told demoralizing misinformation about their loved ones, and exposed to mock executions. In the later stages of captivity, most of the POWs were transferred to a group cell, where social isolation was replaced by intense friction, crowding, and loss of privacy.

“We think psychological torture also affects the physiological pain system,” says Prof. Defrin. “We still have to fully analyze the data, but preliminary analysis suggests there is a connection.”

Source: Medical Xpress

Depression: The Second Leading Cause of Disability

A new study points to growing concern about the impact of depression on quality of life around the world.

Depression can have a profound impact on a person’s life, work, and relationships. But a new study shows the true toll of mental health conditions on a global scale.

New research led by Alize Ferrari from the University of Queensland and the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research in Australia found that depression is the second leading cause of the global disability burden.

Depression, defined as a persistent state of sadness or disinterest in things once found pleasurable, is one of the most common mental disorders.

The World Health Organization states that approximately 350 million people worldwide have depression, or about four percent of the world’s population.

Meet the Famous Faces of Depression »

Rob Dobrenski, a psychologist in New York City and author of Crazy: Notes On and Off the Couch, said more than half of his practice centers around depression.

“While many people have chronic depression that ultimately leads to a disability, it’s common for it to become debilitating immediately. It’s not necessarily something that builds and becomes worse over time,” Dobrenski, who was not involved in the study, said. “Unfortunately, the system moves very slowly so it can take a long time for someone to become qualified [for mental health care], even though they are ‘eligible’ within days.”

However, he added, some types of depression can fade away just as quickly, so it’s sometimes a disservice to designate someone as disabled so quickly.

Depression Around the World

The new study, appearing in the journal PLOS Medicine, shows that rates of major depressive disorder (MDD) vary by country and region, but are highest in Central America and Central and Southeast Asia.

Afghanistan, which has seen political turmoil and war since long before the U.S. occupation began 2001, leads the world in rates of depression, the researchers discovered. Japan, on the other hand, has the lowest rate of depression disability worldwide.

To reach their conclusions, researchers scoured published studies on MDD, or clinical depression, and dysthymia, which is a milder form of depression. They assessed the diseases’ impact on the number of years people lived with disability, and substituted “reasonable estimates” for poorer countries on which few studies have been published.

While the numbers showed that major depression ranked high among the causes of global disability in 2010, depression also contributes to deaths from other conditions, especially suicide and heart disease.

Eat This: 10 Foods to Help Ease the Winter Blues  »

In the U.S., depression is considered a psychiatric disability and is covered under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

The Queensland researchers say their results “not only highlight the fact that depressive disorders are a global health priority, but also that it is important to understand variations in burden by disorder, country, region, age, sex, and year when setting global health objectives.”

It appears that no one is immune to depression. While it most often affects women, men can also get depression, and symptoms in children can appear when they are as young as three years old.

A major hurdle in battling depression worldwide is that it rarely travels alone.

“It can be a stand alone condition or easily mixed with other mental or physical issues,” Dobrenski said. “Depression and anxiety are often paired together, and depression and pain issues are also common.”

Getting Help for Depression

The cause of depression is still unknown, but most current research points to a chemical imbalance in the brain, making it a physical disease that someone cannot simply “snap out of.”

Though there is no cure, depression is a highly treatable disease. Therapy with a mental health professional, medications, and lifestyle changes, including a healthy diet and exercise, have all been shown to successfully improve the quality of life for someone with depression.

“Depression is a treatable condition that I recommend be treated quickly,” Dobrenski said. “Very mild depression can often resolve with cardiovascular exercise and a good support system. Failing that, seeking out a therapist and possibly medication is a smart move, as both of these have a good track record for depression.”

Source: Healthline.com

 

Long-term use of painkillers can lead to depression

Researchers have found that people who have been using pain-relieving medications, like Opioid analgesics, for a longtime are at higher risk of developing depression.

The study analyzed medical record data of about 50,000 veterans, who had no history of opioid use or depression, and were subsequently prescribed opioid pain killers.

According to the findings, patients who started and remained on opioids for 180 days or longer were at a 53 percent increased risk of developing a new episode of depression, and those using opioids for 90-180 days were at a 25 percent increased risk compared to patients who never took opioids for longer than 1-89 days.

Jeffrey Scherrer, associate professor at Saint Louis University and principle investigator of the study, said that the findings suggest that the longer one is exposed to opioid analgesics, the greater is their risk of developing depression.

The study also suggests that the higher the dose of opioid analgesics, the greater the risk of depression.

The study is published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Source; http://bit.ly/1740syB

Kneady ball can help ease knee pain, stiffness

Try This: The rubber kneady ball created by Jill Miller for Equinox is aimed at the knee’s suprapatellar pouch, providing a massage that can ease tightness.

If you have knee pain, we’ve got a remedy for you. Called the kneady ball, this therapy ball (or tennis ball) massage developed by Jill Miller for the Rx Series class at Equinox gyms eases stiffness and soreness, allowing you to move like your old self again.

What it does

The rubber therapy ball digs into the suprapatellar pouch, massaging the area where the quadriceps muscles converge, loosening tightness and allowing the knee to track more smoothly.

What to do

Come down to the floor on hands and knees with a ball and a yoga block. Take the therapy ball and dig it in just above your knee, displacing some of the flesh, until the skin crinkles or dimples. Place the leg with the ball on top of the block, resting on your hands and the other knee.

From here, simply bend and straighten your leg behind you to move the ball up and down above your knee. The ball won’t travel very far.

Next, move the ball side to side across the same area by internally and externally rotating your leg. The best way to do this is to wave your foot from right to left. Repeat on the other leg.

How much

Spend a minute bending and straightening and a minute moving the ball across each leg.

Source: http://lat.ms/19xjQrF

 

How A Wandering Brain Can Help People Cope With Pain

When some people are in pain, the experience is so intense that they can’t think of anything else. But others can turn their minds elsewhere and feel better.

Why? The difference may be due in part to brain wiring, researchers say, and knowing more about how it works may someday make it easier to match people with effective pain treatments.

Prescription painkillers like Vicodin don’t work for everyone, and alternative treatments like meditation or cognitive behavioral therapy work for some but not all. Right now, doctors can’t tell in advance which pain treatment will work best for a patient.

The problem intrigued Karen Davis, a neuroscientist at the University of Toronto’s Centre for the Study of Pain, who was in misery from a pinched nerve in her neck. But grant application deadlines loomed, so she just kept working.

“I tried a lot of painkillers, and it didn’t do much,” Davis tells Shots. But she noticed that when she was focused on her work, the pain didn’t bother her as much. “I don’t know if the pain went away, but I certainly didn’t notice it.”

So Aaron Kucyi, a graduate student in Davis’ lab, recreated the painful experience with small electric shocks to volunteers’ wrists. After each zap the researchers asked how the test subjects were feeling and what they were thinking about. Some people’s thoughts wandered from the pain, while others couldn’t disengage.

Then they gave people cognitive tests while zapping them. The mind-wanderers did well. The people focused on the pain floundered.

This isn’t standard-issue daydreaming, Davis says. “Mind-wandering away from pain is different than daydreaming in general.”

Diving deeper, the researchers put 32 of the study participants in an MRI scanner to see what was going on. They found that people who were good at letting their minds wander away from pain had more nerve connections to a brain region that produces painkilling substances. The brain made that connection using a system called the default-mode network, which people typically use for thinking.

And finally, they used newer MRI technology to see how flexible people could be in responding to pain. The mind-wanderers were more flexible.

Overall, most people in the study fell somewhere in the middle, doing some mind-wandering and some focusing on pain. Davis says that suggests that for most people there is a range of pain management techniques that could work.

“People who mind-wander, they might be more able to vary their response to pain on their own,” Davis speculates. They also might be more adept at learning pain-control methods like yoga, meditation or cognitive behavioral therapy. And non-wanderers may need different forms of help.

This is preliminary science. For now, it’s probably not useful in personalizing pain treatment outside the research lab. But it marks a potential path away from a one-size-fits-all approach to pain management that often fails to connect people with treatments that help.

Source:

10 ways to relieve stress naturally

Winter and the accompanying bad weather can be a stressful time for anybody, especially in today’s day and age, with all the problems Americans are facing in this difficult economy. More and more people are suffering from negative stress. Negative stress takes a toll on our daily lives and our health and can lead to high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, anxiety and depression, among other problems, so I feel this question is very appropriate.

Rest assured, there are many things you can do before you run out to get a pill. Here’s a list of some of the most effective natural stress reducers.

1. Passionflower

While passionflower has long been considered a “folk remedy” for anxiety and insomnia, a few studies have shown that the herb may actually be comparable in effectiveness to benzodiazepine drugs, which are used to treat stress. Though not proven, it is believed that passionflower works by increasing levels of a chemical called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain. This lowers the activity of some brain cells, making you feel more relaxed.

Passionflower is available in a variety of forms, including infusions, teas, liquid extracts and tinctures. It is not recommended for children or for women who are pregnant or nursing. Consult your doctor before adding it to your diet, especially if you are taking other medications.

2. Massage

This is kind of a no-brainer, right? Everybody loves a massage. But did you know that it’s been used as a stress reliever for thousands of years? Historically, the Chinese used massage to open blocked energy channels in order to improve health and Hippocrates, the “father of western medicine,” used friction for physical healing treatments. Today, we use massage to relax tense muscles, reduce pain and improve circulation, which can all do wonders for the mind.

3. Meditation

Meditation, or mindfulness, only takes 15 to 30 minutes a day, which is possible even in a packed schedule. It’s also incredibly affordable, considering the only tool you need is your own mind. Just give yourself some silent time to let your thoughts run free or just focus on your breathing. That small amount of peace in your day can help you deal with or even release stress.

4. Exercise

Whether it’s yoga, Tai Chi or running, exercise works much in the same way as meditation because it gives you the time to be alone with your thoughts (or an opportunity to let them go). However, exercise also has the added benefit of releasing endorphins into the brain, which improves your mood. It also prevents obesity and other health problems, giving you less to be stressed about.

5. Organize your life

Organization offers a sense of control and peace of mind, and there’s a number of ways you can improve in this regard. If you’re the kind of person who’s always running around, it can help to make lists so that you remember everything. If you’re the kind of person who feels edgy in their own house, tidy up. Studies have shown the mere sight of clutter can put us on edge.

6. Eat healthy

It’s actually been proven that junk food can make us depressed (not to mention fat) so clean up your diet. Healthy foods like whole grains and protein can improve your mood and give you long-lasting energy to tackle everything that comes your way during the day. Foods that are especially effective for stress-busting include blueberries, salmon and almonds, according to scientists.

Also, put down that extra cup of coffee. While studies have shown that some coffee during the day can offer health benefits, too much caffeine will make you jittery and anxious, and eventually lead to a crash.

7. Limit Internet and cellphone use

Disconnect, disconnect, disconnect. Part of the problem with reducing stress in today’s world is that we are never truly able to shield ourselves from it. By turning away from the Internet and shutting off our cellphones, we can at least block some of the channels from which stress can reach us. Doing this also allows us to live in the moment and appreciate it.

It is particularly important to cut off electronic use before sleep, which can cut down on insomnia-related problems.

8. B Vitamins

B vitamins are known to promote proper functioning of the brain and nervous system, as well as help induce relaxation and fight fatigue. In fact, indicators of B deficiency include irritability, depression and apathy, so to stave off those symptoms, increase your intake of foods rich in B vitamins. B vitamins are typically found in the germ and bran of cereal grains, as well as beans, peas, nuts, liver, eggs and dairy products.

9. Aromatherapy

In some cases, inhaling certain scents has been shown to have immediate stress relief effects by raising mood, reducing anxiety and aiding focus and concentration. Experts say it’s because the smells can stimulate the limbic system, which in turn releases chemicals that affect the brain, promoting feelings of relaxation, calmness, love and excitement. Popular oils for stress relief and mental fatigue include lavender, cypress and rosemary.

10. Sleep

Sleep is the most important natural stress reducer of them all. Too little sleep leaves us cranky, irritable and on edge. Too much sleep can leave us sluggish and depressed. Try to find the right balance that allows you to feel well-rested and ready for the day. Promote better sleep by establishing bedtime rituals that signal to your brain that it’s time to fall asleep, avoid exercise in the three hours before sleep or take a warm bath. Certain foods can also promote sleep, such as carbohydrates, bananas, peanuts, figs, dairy and – of course, a certain holiday favorite – turkey. These foods all contain tryptophans, a precursor for creating melatonin. However, avoid having a large meal close to bedtime, because it may result in indigestion, reflux or heartburn.

Source:

 

Being happy does lower your blood pressure

A new research has found that a synthetic gene module controlled by the happiness hormone dopamine produces an agent that lowers blood pressure.

This finding opens up new avenues for therapies that are remote-controlled via the subconscious.

The endogenous hormone dopamine triggers feelings of happiness.

While its release is induced, among other things, by the “feel-good” classics sex, drugs or food, the brain does not content itself with a kick; it remembers the state of happiness and keeps wanting to achieve it again. Dopamine enables us to make the “right” decisions in order to experience even more moments of happiness.

Now, a team of researchers headed by ETH-Zurich professor Martin Fussenegger from the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE) in Basel has discovered a way to use the body’s dopamine system therapeutically.

The researchers have created a new genetic module that can be controlled via dopamine.

The feel-good messenger molecule activates the module depending on the dosage. In response to an increase in the dopamine level in the blood, the module produces the desired active agent.

The module consists of several biological components of the human organism, which are interconnected to form a synthetic signalling cascade. Dopamine receptors are found at the beginning of the cascade as sensors. A particular agent is produced as an end product: either a model protein called SEAP or ANP, a powerful vasodilator lowering blood pressure.

Based on the experiments, the researchers were able to demonstrate that dopamine is not only formed in the brain in corresponding feel-good situations, but also in nerves in the vegetative system, the so-called sympathetic nervous system, which are closely knit around blood vessels

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