A recent study published in the journal Nature Mental Health by researchers at the University of Cambridge revealed that attending in-person mindfulness courses has a lasting positive impact on mental health, even up to six months after completing the program. The study analyzed data from 13 randomized controlled trials, encompassing 2,371 participants. The researchers discovered that individuals who participated in …
A Healthy Lifestyle Can Reduce Your Risk of Depression
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can significantly lower the risk of developing depression, according to a recent study published in Nature Mental Health. Conducted by researchers at the University of Cambridge and Fudan University, the study examined data from nearly 290,000 individuals. The findings revealed that those who adhered to a healthy lifestyle had a 57% reduced likelihood of experiencing depression …
How High-Quality Sleep Promotes Resilience to Depression and Anxiety
A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of York discovered that getting high-quality sleep can enhance one’s resilience to depression and anxiety. Published in the journal Cortex, the study revealed that individuals who reported having good sleep were less prone to developing symptoms of depression or anxiety during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a study …
Resilience to Depression: The Promise of Psychological Vaccination
Depression is a common and serious mental illness that affects millions of people worldwide. While there are effective treatments available, prevention is always better than cure. A new study published in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry suggests that a new approach called “psychological vaccination” could help to prevent depression. The study, by researchers from China and the United Kingdom, reviewed …
New Research Shows That Even Moderate Physical Activity Can Protect Against Depression
A new study published in the journal JAMA Network Open has found that even moderate levels of physical activity can protect against depression in older adults. The study, which was conducted by researchers at the University of Limerick in Ireland, looked at data from over 7,000 older adults with and without chronic disease. The researchers found that for every additional …
Healthy Breathing
Don’t neglect breath work Breathing is fundamental to life, so much so that we usually aren’t aware of doing it at all. Yet many experts say people are breathing “wrong” – too rapidly and too shallowly – and breathing wrong may be affecting our physical and mental health in myriad ways. Healthy breathing, according to a recent article in the …
Qi Gong
Qi Gong is an ancient Chinese practice that combines physical postures, breathing exercises, and meditation. It is said to promote health and well-being by harmonizing the flow of energy, or “qi,” throughout the body. Qi Gong is a safe and gentle practice that can be done by people of all ages and fitness levels. It is a good way to …
Orthostatic Vital Signs to Evaluate Medication Effects
Many of the medications that psychiatrists prescribe can affect the body’s ability to respond to changes in blood pressure that occur naturally when you stand up, after being in a sitting or lying position for some time – orthostatic vital signs are taken as part of an evaluation of that risk. Heart rate and blood pressure should be obtained when …
Suicide Prevention
10 USEFUL* things you can do for suicide prevention *Spoiler: none of these things are about “fixing” a suicidal person. I’d like to apologize for missing the actual National Suicide Prevention Day, which was September 10, but, really, any day is a good day to talk about suicide prevention. Suicide prevention is not a matter of telling your distressed friend …
Ketogenic Diet
Diets and Moods Evidence for the importance of diet for mental health is slowly gathering. People are looking into the importance of specific diets like the Mediterranean diet, which we have highlighted here before. And the next big area of research into diet and mental health looks like being the ketogenic diet. Many people have heard of the Atkins diet, …