A couple of months ago a writer who we have collaborated with in this blog (Eric) wrote an article summarizing some of the research literature on the effective dose of exercise. He cited some studies suggesting that very high amounts of exercise may be hazardous and then came to the conclusion that about 30 minutes of moderate exercise four or …
Intermittent Fasting and Brain Health
Conventional wisdom, especially in the realm of diet and health, often turns out not to be right. Conventional wisdom (as it happens, heavily subsidized by grants from the Kellogg Foundation) has argued that “breakfast is the most important meal” and “fasting diets are unhealthy.” An article published in the New England Journal of Medicine by Casazza in 2013 suggested that the …
TV Watching Leads to Impaired Cognition
How can we build up foundational, long-lasting healthy habits while young? We know it’s important—a perennial question, if not one we face day-to-day. By building those habits early on, we can set ourselves up for healthier living long-term, and place our children on a better track for a healthier, more positive adolescence and early adulthood. In fact, the habits we …
Aerobic Exercise Stimulates Neuron Growth
Moderate aerobic exercise appears to be the best form of exercise to stimulate neuron growth. One of the great challenges facing anyone who has wrestled with depression is how best to counteract the negative effects on brain development and cognitive function that have clearly been linked to recurrent depression. Depression leads directly to reductions in the brain’s growth hormone (brain …
Psychiatric Disorders Are A World Public Health Problem
How can we start to better intervene with individuals facing psychiatric disorders in an effort to improve global health? Visibility is the key. When we consider the deleterious health effects of mental disorder on the actual—re physical—health of our bodies, our mind’s eye might be so often obstructed by the extremes—blocked by images of more severe and the most disruptive …
Awe Reduces Inflammation
What if you knew that the experience of awe could measurably improve your health, would you approach the world differently today? At the most recent TEDMED, psychologist Jennifer Stellar presented evidence that the experience of a number of positive emotions (joy, pride, contentment and awe) was associated with reduced levels of interleukin – 6 (IL6) a well validated blood measure …
Poor Health Predicts Bipolar Outcomes
John has not been doing well. He used to be optimistic about all challenges and, although he had ups and downs, he managed to overcome these shifts in mood and maintain a focus on achieving his life goals. For the last year and a half he seems to be having difficulty focusing on those goals. And he seems discouraged, particularly …
Sense of Purpose and Health
Might your sense of purpose and motivation in life decrease your visits to the hospital? – a blog post by Eric Baron Many of us share a consistent notion of what it is to be healthy. We might think of living a longer life, spending less of that time holed up at home and surrounded by tissues, in bed and …
Mediterranean Diet is Anti Aging
The Mediterranean Diet appears to have an anti aging effect in a just published study. The study, in the December 2014 edition of the British Medical Journal, found that the Mediterranean Diet was associated with telomere length, a biological marker of aging. Telomeres are DNA sequences at the end of chromosomes that protect the chromosomes from damage and allow healthy cell …
Sleeping at the Right Time
Sleeping can become a major preoccupation at times of stress, or when one is depressed, or when the seasons change, as they are doing now. We tend to think about sleep as being something that is good for you. The more sleep and the better the quality of that sleep the better off you are. Elsewhere in this blog I’ve …
Lithium Health Benefits – Link to GPS
Several members of this forum sent me an e-mail with a link to an article that appeared in the New York Times on lithium that was provocatively titled “Should We All Take a Bit of Lithium.” We ended up publishing a blog post on this topic on our Gateway Psychiatric website. This might be a good opportunity to introduce readers …
Fatigue and Depression or Bipolar
Fatigue is a common symptom in people with recurrent depression or bipolar. And in fact a common symptom in the general population. It is estimated that up to 10% of otherwise healthy people suffer from fatigue. And it is a more common symptom in women than in men. Sometimes fatigue may persist well beyond other symptoms of depression. First, it …
Foundations of Wellbeing
Rick Hanson’s Foundations of Wellbeing online seminar has helped many people enjoy better, richer, happier lives. As regular readers of this blog know, we very much like Rick Hanson’s books and other writings, and now he has created a wonderful online seminar. We don’t usually make such a big deal about programs, but we think this is going to be …
Exercise affects Genes – Increased BDNF
Today we look at how exercise affects genes (previous article on neurotransmitters and exercise can be read here), in particular we focus on the effects of exercise on the gene that codes for BDNF. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)— or “the fertilizer of the brain” as Dr. Mohammad Alsuwaidan nicknames it— is a protein fundamental for the growth and protection of neurons …
Self-Esteem: A Key Aspect of Mental Health
Much has been written about the topic of “self-esteem.” Sometimes the idea almost seems like one of those “buzz” words that doesn’t really mean anything. A significant amount of research points to the development of self-esteem as a key aspect of mental health. Self-esteem builds slowly and its foundation is the sense that we are loved and valued by others. …
Mood Disorders and Summer Nutrition – Arnrow
We recently wrote about healthy eating for people with mood disorders (original post can be viewed here). Today, we bring you some delicious and easy ideas to enjoy in this summer weather—well rather, July in San Francisco that so happens to be co-occurring with the hot and sunny climate in other places. Infused water Drinking infused water is a great and …
Be Mindful of Keeping Your Mind Full of Good – Arnrow
Experience-dependent neuroplasticity refers to the brain’s ability to learn, adapt, and evolve to not only our experiences, but also, and perhaps more significantly, our reactions to those experiences. It is almost as if our brains can form habits, and the types of behaviors and patterns that it develops are dependent on how we choose to be. This suggests that the …
Wholeness: Overcoming the War Within – Arnrow
I feel like there is a war within us– an internal battle between the different parts of us, tugging and pulling for control and dominance. On one side is the brain— a soldier of logic and reason, commanded to evaluate all it comes in contact with, and to calculate corresponding plans of actions. It is enemy to, well, the other …
A Healthy Diet
We are glad to have recently added a page to our “Topics” section that discusses a healthy diet and also reviews some information about nutritional supplements. This is a huge topic, and none of us are dietitians, but it is an important issue and so, with the caveat that we approach the topic from the standpoint of what helps people …
MoodSurfing – It Isn’t About Reaching a Goal
I have had a couple of conversations this past week that reminded me of my belief that one of the big problems in this country is our preoccupation with “results.” Elsewhere, I’ve noted how this leads to short term strategies that have bad long term consequences. In education, this means cramming for exams instead of learning the material. In business it means not investing in …