Gratitude Exercise Reduces Depression

A York University psychology professor, Myriam Mongrain, Ph.D., found that listing five things a day that one is grateful for can reduce depression symptoms. They found that this simple exercise especially increased well-being amongst people who tended to focus on the negative aspects of their lives.

Stress Management Training Helps Control Diabetes

Good diabetic control minimizes the risk of complications. Stress affects control directly through the release of hormones and indirectly by disrupting self-management activities. There have been numerous studies examining the impact of stress management interventions on glycaemic control. Researchers at Monash University in Australia recently reviewed all such studies since 1980 using searches of Medline and PsycInfo databases. The general trend suggested that stress management interventions may be useful in management of diabetes. Further research will provide greater understanding of the particular benefits of various components of stress management training in relation to specific subgroups of the diabetic population.

The Relaxation Effect

Achieving perfect health by just relaxing seems too simplistic. However, according to new evidence from researchers at Harvard Medical School, deep relaxation has a remarkable effect on a wide variety of medical conditions. This research illustrates that in long-term practitioners of relaxation techniques such as yoga and meditation, far more "disease-fighting genes" were found present and active in comparison to individuals who practiced no relaxation or stress-relief techniques.

Researchers found particular genes that protect from certain disorders and ailments "switched on," due to what they call "the relaxation effect," a phenomenon that is beginning to cause medical professionals to believe this relaxation effect is just as effective and powerful as any medical drug. The upside to natural relaxation techniques in comparison to medical drugs is that risks of negative side effects some of these drugs can cause are eliminated.

Dr. Herbert Benson, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School explains how the research is so critical because it signifies how a person's state of mind influences their body on a physical and even genetic level. Jake Toby, hypnotherapist at London's BodyMind Medicine Centre explains relaxation as an action the body takes when the "parasympathetic nervous system switches on,,which is linked to better digestion, memory, and immunity"

With scientific research showing that relaxation techniques can boost immunity, improve fertility, lessen irritable bowel syndrome symptoms, lower blood pressure, and prevent inflammation that is linked to heart disease, arthritis, and asthma as well as some skin conditions, it is no wonder that people who value their health or who have become frustrated with traditional medicine are looking deeper into finding ways to relax naturally and reduce their stress on a daily basis.

Meditation Reduces Symptoms of Depression

In a preliminary study conducted by psychologists at Oxford University, subjects with severe and recurrent depression improved with a combination of meditation and cognitive behavior therapy. The results of a small-scale randomized trial of the approach, called mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), are published in the journal Behaviour Research and Therapy. 28 people currently suffering from depression, having also had previous episodes of depression and thoughts of suicide, were randomly assigned to two groups. One received MBCT in addition to treatment as usual, while the other just received treatment as usual. Treatment with MBCT resulted in reduced symptoms of major depression, while levels of depression remained the same in the control group.

I have used this approach in my practice for many years, combining relaxation and meditation techniques with cognitive behavior therapy.

Perfectionism Associated with Increased Mortality in Older Adults

Perfectionism as a personality trait is strongly associated with mortality in late life. After baseline assessment of health and personality traits as predictors of mortality, 450 participants in a study in The Netherlands were followed over a period of 6.5 years. Findings demonstrated that risk of death was significantly greater for high scorers in perfectionism and neuroticism, compared to low scorers at the time of base line. Conversely, risk of death was significantly lower for high scorers in conscientiousness, extraversion and optimism. This study was reported in the latest issue of the Journal of Health Psychology.

As I have personally observed over the years with so many of my patients, perfectionism leads to the body being in a continual state of tension or hyperarousal, eventually resulting in physical exhaustion. Negative emotional states also result in metabolic changes and can create an inflammatory response.

Zinc May Enhance Effects of Anti-Depressant Medications

In double blind placebo controlled study involving 60 patients with major depression (without any psychotic symptoms), treatment with zinc (25 mg/day) was added to standard anti-depressant drug therapy (imipramine, 140 mg/day). Addition of zinc significantly reduced depression scores and improved treatment outcomes in anti-depressant-resistant patients, as compared to supplementation with a placebo. These results support results from a preliminary clinical report suggesting that supplementation with zinc may augment the effects of anti-depressant drug therapy. The authors conclude, "Zinc supplementation augments the efficacy and speed of onset of therapeutic response to imipramine treatment, particularly in patients previously nonresponsive to antidepressant pharmacotherapies. These data suggest the participation of disturbed zinc/glutamatergic transmission in the pathophysiology of drug resistance."

Teenage Boys Who Eat Fish Achieve Higher IQ Scores

Fifteen-year-old males who ate fish at least once a week displayed higher cognitive skills at the age of 18 than those who it ate it less frequently, according to a study of nearly 4,000 teenagers published in the March issue of Acta Paediatrica.

Eating fish once a week was enough to increase combined, verbal, and visual spatial intelligence scores by an average of six per cent, while eating fish more than once a week increased them by just under 11 percent.

"We found a clear link between frequent fish consumption and higher scores when the teenagers ate fish at least once a week" says Professor Kjell Torén from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, one of the senior scientists involved in the study. "When they ate fish more than once a week the improvement almost doubled.

"A number of studies have already shown that fish can help neurodevelopment in infants, reduce the risk of impaired cognitive function from middle age onwards and benefit babies born to women who ate fish during pregnancy" says Professor Torén. "However we believe that this is the first large-scale study to explore the effect on adolescents."

"The most widely held theory is that it is the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids found in fish that have positive effects on
cognitive performance" explains Professor Torén. Other theories highlight their vascular and anti-inflammatory properties and their role in suppressing cytokines, chemicals that can affect the immune system."