Research has linked lower levels of depression to the consumption of dietary fibre, vitamins and high levels of antioxidants.
Is a common ingredient in your meals leading to depression?
Is a common ingredient in your meals leading to depression?
A high-fat diet can cause depression, research reveals.
The fatty acids enter the brain through the bloodstream and accumulate in the hypothalamus.
There they affect critical brain signals that are linked to depression.
It helps to explain why scientists have found that depression and obesity are often seen together.
For the study, mice were fed a high-fat diet, made up of 60 percent saturated and unsaturated fats.
The results showed that the mice began to demonstrate depressive behaviour after three weeks.
Professor George Baillie, who led the study, said:
“This is the first time anyone has observed the direct effects a high fat diet can have on the signaling areas of the brain related to depression.
This research may begin to explain how and why obesity is linked with depression and how we can potentially better treat patients with these conditions.
We often use fatty food to comfort ourselves as it tastes really good, however in the long term, this is likely to affect one’s mood in a negative way.”
Examination of their brains revealed that the fats had built up in the hypothalamus.
The hypothalamus is an area of the brain that causes levels of cortisol — the ‘stress hormone’ — to rise in the body.
Normally the hormone reduces once a threat passes, but in people with depression, their cortisol levels can remain high.
Higher levels of cortisol are linked to depression.
This may help to explain why people who are obese do not respond as well to antidepressant medication.
Professor Baillie continued:
“We all know that a reduction in fatty food intake can lead to many health benefits, but our research suggests that it also promotes a happier disposition.
Further to that, understanding the types of fats, such as palmitic acid, which are likely to enter the brain and affect key regions and signaling will give people more information about how their diet can potentially affect their mental health.”
The study was published in the journal Translational Psychiatry (Vagena et al., 2019).
“Where words leave off, music begins.” ― Heinrich Heine
“Where words leave off, music begins.” ― Heinrich Heine
Beautiful but sad music can help improve mood when people are feeling blue, research finds.
For the study 220 people recalled something depressing that had happened to them.
They then recalled what type of music they had listened to afterwards.
Choosing beautiful but sad music emerged as the only strategy that people thought had cheered them up.
Dr Annemieke van den Tol, the study’s first author, explained the results:
”We found in our research that people’s music choice is linked to the individual’s own expectations for listening to music and its effects on them.
The results showed that if an individual has intended to achieve mood enhancement through listening to ‘sad’ music, this was in fact often achieved by first thinking about their situation or being distracted, rather than directly through listening to the music chosen.
Indeed, where respondents indicated they had chosen music with the intention of triggering memories, this had a negative impact on creating a better mood.
The only selection strategy that was found to directly predict mood enhancement was where the music was perceived by the listener to have high aesthetic value.”
The study was published in the journal Psychology of Music (Van den Tol & Edwards, 2014).
Two standard psychological techniques together help people feel more positive about life.
There is much more to depression treatment than CBT and antidepressants: explore these effective alternatives.
Is a child’s sleep schedule a ticking time bomb for their mental health?
Is a child’s sleep schedule a ticking time bomb for their mental health?
Not getting enough sleep as a child increases the risk of developing emotional disorders later on, research finds.
Inadequate sleep creates more negative emotions and alters positive emotional experiences.
For example, after just two nights of poor sleep, children cannot get the same pleasure out of positive experiences, researchers found.
The children also found it more difficult to recall these positive experiences later on.
Poor sleep is already known to have all sorts of damaging effects, such as reducing the ability to:
Dr Candice Alfano, who led the study, said:
“Healthy sleep is critical for children’s psychological well-being.
Continually experiencing inadequate sleep can eventually lead to depression, anxiety and other types of emotional problems.
Parents, therefore, need to think about sleep as an essential component of overall health in the same way they do nutrition, dental hygiene and physical activity.
If your child has problems waking up in the morning or is sleepy during the day, then their nighttime sleep is probably inadequate.
This can result for several reasons, such as a bedtime that is too late, non-restful sleep during the night or an inconsistent sleep schedule.”
For the research, 50 children between the ages of 7 and 11 had their sleep restricted for a temporary period.
The researchers concluded that, over time, poor sleep like this is likely to increase the risk of depression and anxiety.
People without the right amount of sleep do not seek out positive and rewarding experiences that require effort.
Dr Alfano said:
“There are multiple emotional processes that seem to be disrupted by poor sleep.
For example, our ability to self-monitor, pick up on others’ nonverbal cues and accurately identify others’ emotions diminishes when sleep is inadequate.
Combine this with less impulse control, a hallmark feature of the teenage years, and sleep deprivation can create a ‘perfect storm’ for experiencing negative emotions and consequences.”
The study was published in the journal Sleep Medicine Reviews (Palmer & Alfano, 2016).
A simple activity that reduces depression and blood pressure.
A simple activity that reduces depression and blood pressure.
People who spend just 30 minutes a week in a park have much better mental health than those who don’t.
Visiting parks weekly is also linked to lower blood pressure, the Australian research has found.
The longer people spend in the park, the lower their chances of depression and high blood pressure.
Dr Danielle Shanahan, the study’s first author, said:
“If everyone visited their local parks for half an hour each week there would be seven per cent fewer cases of depression and nine percent fewer cases of high blood pressure.
Given that the societal costs of depression alone in Australia are estimated at $A12.6 billion a year, savings to public health budgets across all health outcomes could be immense.”
Parks are now known to reduce stress, anxiety, depression and even combat heart disease.
Dr Richard Fuller, one of the study’s co-authors, said:
“We’ve known for a long time that visiting parks is good for our health, but we are now beginning to establish exactly how much time we need to spend in parks to gain these benefits.
We have specific evidence that we need regular visits of at least half an hour to ensure we get these benefits.”
The results come from an online survey of 1,538 people living in Brisbane, Australia.
Dr Shanahan said:
“So how can we encourage people to spend more time in green space?
We need more support and encouragement of community activities in natural spaces.
Our children especially benefit from spending more time outdoors.
Kids who grow up experiencing natural environments may benefit developmentally and have a heightened environmental awareness as adults than those who don’t.”
The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports (Shanahan et al., 2016).
Are you feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or simply not yourself lately? It’s time to reclaim your happiness with PsyBlog’s 10-week online course, included in the Premium Membership.
Are you feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or simply not yourself lately? It’s time to reclaim your happiness with PsyBlog’s 10-week online course, included in the Premium Membership.
Activate is PsyBlog’s first online course, which is included in the new Premium Membership.
The course distils years of research and clinical experience into a practical, user-friendly 10-week program designed to help those feeling stuck or overwhelmed find joy again.
With a Premium Membership you will be able to access all 10 weeks of this course, with the first week currently now online.
The remaining parts of the course will be released week by week — keep an eye on the daily email updates for reminders.
A Premium Membership also gives you access to all members-only articles, premium content and other courses, as they become available.
Over the span of 10 weeks, “Activate: How To Find Joy Again By Changing What You Do” will guide you through:
Behavioural activation is a powerful approach that emerged from cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), one of the most effective methods for treating depression and improving mental well-being.
While CBT focuses on changing both thoughts and behaviours, behavioural activation zeroes in on actions, making it easier to implement and understand.
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Research has shown that behavioural activation is just as effective as traditional CBT.
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Mental health problems can lead to a vicious circle that badly damages relationships.
Mental health problems can lead to a vicious circle that badly damages relationships.
Women who are depressed lose their ability to read emotions and this damages their relationship, research finds.
Women’s depression also causes their husbands to become less empathic.
The loss of ’empathic accuracy’ on both sides erodes the relationship, leading to more depression — and so the vicious circle continues.
The conclusions come from a study of 50 couples who had been together for an average of five years.
Couples recorded how their relationship was going over a period of three weeks.
The results showed that when a woman was depressed, she was worse at reading her partner’s emotions.
Depression had no effect on men’s empathic accuracy.
However, when women became less empathic, their partner also became less empathic — so mutual understanding was lost in both directions.
The study’s authors write:
“…women’s depressive symptoms are associated with poorer interpersonal perception—both their own and their partners’.
This impairment is specific to negative feelings…empathic accuracy is an interpersonal mechanism that underlies the association between depressive symptoms and interpersonal stress.”
This shows the extremely damaging effect of women’s depression on a relationship.
Women become less empathic when depressed, and this damages the relationship.
Dr Reuma Gadassi, the study’s first author, explained that the effect spreads from women to men:
“It’s called the partner effect.
Women’s depression affects their own accuracy.
But it also affected their partner’s accuracy”
Dr Gadassi said this had important implications for treatment:
“…you can’t understand depression without taking account of gender.
Bringing only the depressed woman into therapy is not enough.
You really have to have both partners in the room.”
The study was published in the journal Psychological Science (Gadassi et al., 2011).
Up to 50 percent of young women may be deficient in this vitamin.
Up to 50 percent of young women may be deficient in this vitamin.
Healthy levels of Vitamin D are linked to a 75 percent lower risk of depression, research finds.
The Irish study followed almost 4,000 older adults for four years.
The results showed that those with a vitamin D deficiency had a 75 percent higher risk of depression.
Vitamin D is produced by the body in response to sunlight or can be taken as a supplement.
The link between vitamin D and depression is not confined to older adults.
One recent study found that vitamin D deficiency is linked to depressive symptoms and more negative thoughts in young women.
Dr Eamon Laird, study co-author, said:
“This study shows that vitamin D is associated with a health condition other than bone health.
What is surprising is the large effect on depression even after accounting for other control variables.
This is highly relevant for Ireland as our previous research has shown that one in eight older adults are deficient in the summer and one in four during the winter.
Moreover, only around 8% of older Irish adults report taking a vitamin D supplement.”
Older people typically have low levels of vitamin D in their bodies.
One-in-eight older Irish adults are deficient in vitamin D.
Another study has suggested that 50 percent of young women have insufficient vitamin D levels.
Foods that have high levels of vitamin D include oily fish and eggs, but most people get their vitamin D from the action of sunlight on the skin.
Dr Laird continued:
“Given that vitamin D is safe in the recommended intakes and is relatively cheap, this study adds to the growing evidence on the benefits of vitamin D for health.
It also helps to continue to impress the need on our public health bodies to develop Irish vitamin D recommendations for the general public.
Up to this point, these are severely lacking.”
The study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association (Briggs et al., 2018).
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