How Gardening Affects Mental Health (M)

This is the best evidence so far of gardening’s beneficial effects on mental health.

This is the best evidence so far of gardening's beneficial effects on mental health.


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Fast Food Linked To 51% Higher Depression Risk

Huge rise in depression risk is linked to eating certain types of foods.

Eating fast food is linked to a huge increase in depression risk.

Depression is linked to eating fast food, like hamburgers and pizzas as well as commercially produced cakes, research finds.

People who eat fast food — when compared to those that eat none — have a 51% higher depression risk, the scientists found.

More fast food = higher depression risk

There is also a so-called ‘dose-response effect’ for fast food.

Dr Almudena Sánchez-Villegas, the lead author of the study, explained:

“…the more fast food you consume, the greater the risk of depression.”

The research showed that those eating the most fast food and commercial baked food were more likely to be:

  • less active,
  • single,
  • smokers,
  • working over 45 hours per week.

Fairy cakes, doughnuts and croissants also showed a strong link to depression, said Dr Sánchez-Villegas:

“Even eating small quantities is linked to a significantly higher chance of developing depression.”

Fast food and depression study

The study involved 8,964 people who were followed for an average of 6 months.

Of these, 493 started taking antidepressants during the study or were diagnosed with depression.

The results are in line with a previous study which found that eating fast food was linked to a 42% increase in depression risk.

Dr Sánchez-Villegas said:

“…although more studies are necessary, the intake of this type of food should be controlled because of its implications on both health (obesity, cardiovascular diseases) and mental well-being.”

Diets that prevent depression

Certain nutrients are thought to have a preventative effect on depression.

These include B vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids and olive oil.

The Mediterranean diet has also been repeatedly linked to lower levels of depression.

It is more difficult to get these vital nutrients from fast food.

The study was published in the journal Public Health Nutrition (Sánchez-Villegas et al., 2012).

Sleep Deprivation Treatment For Depression Works In 24 Hours

Thirty years worth of research reveals that 50 percent of people benefit from sleep deprivation treatment for depression.

Thirty years worth of research reveals that 50 percent of people benefit from sleep deprivation treatment for depression.

Sleep deprivation treatment can rapidly reduce the symptoms of depression, 30 years of research suggests.

Around half of people with depression who are sleep deprived under controlled, inpatient conditions feel better quickly.

Many see improvements in just 24 hours, in comparison to the weeks it can take for antidepressants to start working.

Wake therapy

‘Wake therapy’, as it is sometimes called, involves staying awake all night and the next day.

Around 50% of people find their depression improves — until they sleep again.

There is evidence that staying awake for half the night, instead of the whole night, can be effective.

The problem, however, is that the therapy is not a long-term solution.

People typically feel depressed again after one full night’s sleep.

Sometimes taking a nap is enough for the depression to return.

However, the technique can help bridge the gap until antidepressants start working.

Wake therapy is sometimes referred to as a ‘response inducer’ or accelerator.

In other words, it is used when the patient needs a very quick release.

Sleep deprivation treatment for depression research

The conclusions come from a new review of 66 studies carried out over 36 years.

Dr Philip Gehrman, a study author, said:

“More than 30 years since the discovery of the antidepressant effects of sleep deprivation, we still do not have an effective grasp on precisely how effective the treatment is and how to achieve the best clinical results.

Our analysis precisely reports how effective sleep deprivation is and in which populations it should be administered.”

They found that around half of people who were depressed responded to sleep deprivation.

It didn’t matter whether or not they were taking medication, what age or gender they were, or even the method of sleep deprivation used.

Dr Elaine Boland, the study’s first author, said:

“These studies in our analysis show that sleep deprivation is effective for many populations.

Regardless of how the response was quantified, how the sleep deprivation was delivered, or the type of depression the subject was experiencing, we found a nearly equivalent response rate.”

The study was published in the The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (Boland et al., 2017).

This Light Activity Can Reduce Your Depression Risk By 44%

Discover the alarming rise in depression linked to sedentary behaviour.

Discover the alarming rise in depression linked to sedentary behaviour.

Being too sedentary is linked to an increased risk of depression, research confirms.

Young people who are too sedentary through adolescence are more likely to experience depression as adults.

Even relatively light activity, like walking around, is enough to reduce the risk of depression.

Each additional hour of light activity at 12-years-old reduces depression symptoms by 10 percent at 18-years-old, researchers found.

For adults, sedentary behaviour may be just as dangerous for mental health.

One study has found that just one hour of exercise a week reduces the chances of developing depression by a massive 44 percent.

Mr Aaron Kandola, the study’s first author, said:

“Our findings show that young people who are inactive for large proportions of the day throughout adolescence face a greater risk of depression by age 18.

We found that it’s not just more intense forms of activity that are good for our mental health, but any degree of physical activity that can reduce the time we spend sitting down is likely to be beneficial.”

The conclusions come from a study of 4,257 adolescents, whose movement was tracked for a few days while they were 12, 14 and 16.

They were also asked about the classic symptoms of depression, including loss of pleasure, low mood and problems with concentration.

The results revealed that sedentary behaviour was linked to depression.

Unfortunately, young people became considerably less active as they were tracked through adolescence.

This is a long-term trend, said Mr Kandola:

“Worryingly, the amount of time that young people spend inactive has been steadily rising for years, but there has been a surprising lack of high quality research into how this could affect mental health.

The number of young people with depression also appears to be growing and our study suggests that these two trends may be linked.”

Dr Joseph Hayes, study co-author, said:

“A lot of initiatives promote exercise in young people, but our findings suggest that light activity should be given more attention as well.

Light activity could be particularly useful because it doesn’t require much effort and it’s easy to fit into the daily routines of most young people.

Schools could integrate light activity into their pupils’ days, such as with standing or active lessons.

Small changes to our environments could make it easier for all of us to be a little bit less sedentary.”

The study was published in the journal The Lancet Psychiatry (Kandola et al., 2020).

The Best Treatment For Depression And Anxiety

Typical cognitive techniques include questioning negative thoughts and running thought experiments.

Typical cognitive techniques include questioning negative thoughts and running thought experiments.

People who receive cognitive-behavioural therapy online feel better than those who receive it face-to-face, research finds.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is often seen as the gold standard for treating depression.

Typical cognitive techniques include questioning negative thoughts and running thought experiments.

Cognitive techniques can help to change negative thought patterns and enable people with depression to see the world more realistically.

Along with these, behavioural techniques include things like making a plan of action to do things that you enjoy.

Previous studies have found that online CBT can also be effective for anxiety.

The new review of research found that people who receive CBT online through video-conferencing, emailing and texting experience a greater reduction in symptoms than those receiving it face-to-face.

Dr Zena Samaan, study co-author, said:

“Although this study started before the current COVID-19 pandemic, it is timely and assuring that treatment delivered electronically works as well if not better than face to face and there is no compromise on the quality of care that patients are receiving during this stressful time.”

The conclusions come from a review of 17 separate randomised controlled trials.

Each one compared the effectiveness of CBT delivered online with that delivered face-to-face.

The studies, conducted across 15 years and in 6 different countries, found that online CBT was better than its traditional counterpart.

People experienced a greater reduction in depression symptoms online and patients were just as satisfied with being treated this way.

Dr Samaan said:

“The common understanding was that face to face psychotherapy has the advantage of the connection with the therapist and this connection is in part what makes the difference in treatment.

However, it is not surprising that electronic interventions are helpful in that they offer flexibility, privacy and no travel time, time off work, transport or parking costs.

It makes sense that people access care, especially mental health care, when they need it from their own comfort space.”

Dr Samaan continued:

“Electronic options should be considered to be implemented for delivering therapy to patients.

This can potentially vastly improve access for patients, especially those in rural or under-served areas, and during pandemics.”

Other effective talking therapies for depression include Behavioural Activation Therapy and Metacognitive Therapy.

The study was published in the journal EClinicalMedicine (Luo et al., 2020).

This Authentic Personality Trait Reduces Depression

The trait is linked to feeling pure and in touch with yourself.

The trait is linked to feeling pure and in touch with yourself.

Believing in free will makes you feel more authentic and pure, research finds.

Free will is the belief that we have the power to make our own choices and we are not ruled by fate.

Feeling closer to your true self has a number of benefits, including lower depression and anxiety.

A sense of free also helps boost people’s self-esteem and increases their sense of meaning in life.

Dr Elizabeth Seto, the study’s first author, said:

“Whether you agree that we have free will or that we are overpowered by social influence or other forms of determinism, the belief in free will has truly important consequences.”

For the study, almost 300 people were split into two groups.

One group wrote about experiences that reflected free will, while the other wrote about experiences that lacked it.

The results showed that a lack of free will was linked to less self-awareness and even self-alienation.

People who wrote about free will, though, felt more in touch with themselves.

Dr Seto said:

“Our findings suggest that part of being who you are is experiencing a sense of agency and feeling like you are in control over the actions and outcomes in your life.

If people are able to experience these feelings, they can become closer to their true or core self.”

In a subsequence study, people whose sense of free will was boosted, reported feeling more authentic about making a donation to charity.

Dr Seto said:

“When we experience or have low belief in free will and feel ‘out of touch’ with who we are, we may behave without a sense of morality.

This is particularly important if we have a goal to improve the quality of life for individuals and the society at large.”

The study was published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science (Seto & Hicks, 2016).

Ketamine For Depression: An Effective Mental Health Treatment?

Ketamine for depression could be effective in 40 minutes and last for weeks, although safety issues remain.

Ketamine for depression could be effective in 40 minutes and last for weeks, although safety issues remain.

Ketamine — sometimes known as a ‘horse tranquiliser’ or club drug — is not a new drug, although its use for those with depression is relatively new.

Recent studies have found that it can lift depression in as little as 40 minutes and treat people for a week or longer.

The fact that ketamine for depression works so quickly, and on one of the most resistant forms of depression, has many researchers fascinated.

Traditional antidepressants can be slow to work — if they work at all.

The problem with using ketamine as a treatment for depression is that it gives people an addictive high.

Similar drugs to ketamine, though, without the side-effects, which act on the same chemical pathways, are also being developed.

These could provide hope for those who suffer some of the most debilitating types of depression.

How ketamine for depression treatment works

Research has provided a critical insight into how ketamine works — and possibly a way to side-step its addictive properties  (Zanos et al., 2016).

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found that it is not the ketamine itself that causes the antidepressant effect.

Instead, it is another substance into which ketamine is broken down by the body that provides the effect (a metabolite).

Dr Carlos Zarate, one of the study’s co-authors, said:

“This discovery fundamentally changes our understanding of how this rapid antidepressant mechanism works and holds promise for development of more robust and safer treatments.

By using a team approach, researchers were able to reverse-engineer ketamine’s workings from the clinic to the lab to pinpoint what makes it so unique.”

Although previous research has been carried out on humans, the new study tested ketamine for depression in mice.

It found that the mechanism of action was not what many had assumed.

Instead it works through a glutamate receptor: α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid (AMPA)

With this information the scientists were able to make an antidepressant which worked on the mice without the side-effects.

Dr  Todd Gould, one of the study’s authors, said:

“Now that we know that ketamine’s antidepressant actions in mice are due to a metabolite, not ketamine itself, the next steps are to confirm that it works similarly in humans, and determine if it can lead to improved therapeutics for patients.”

70 percent respond to ketamine for depression

Fully 70 percent of people in one study who were given the drug responded to it — despite previously not improving with other standard depression treatments (Tiger et al., 2020).

Ketamine increases the brain’s production of dopamine.

Dopamine is involved in how we process rewards: when we eat delicious foods, help others, exercise and fall in love, the brain produces dopamine.

One of the key symptoms of depression is finding it difficult to seek out and experience rewards — people feel there is nothing to look forward to.

Dr Mikael Tiger, the study’s first author, said:

“In this, the largest PET study of its kind in the world, we wanted to look at not only the magnitude of the effect but also if ketamine acts via serotonin 1B receptors.

We and another research team were previously able to show a low density of serotonin 1B receptors in the brains of people with depression.”

The study included 30 people with depression that had not responded to other treatments.

They were given either a dose of ketamine for depression or a placebo.

Brain scans revealed that ketamine operates through serotonin 1B receptors.

The effect is to reduce the release of serotonin, but increase the release of another neurotransmitter called dopamine.

Dopamine is part of the brain’s reward system, which helps to attract people to positive experiences.

Those who wished to continue, received ketamine for a further two weeks, twice a week.

The results showed that over 70 percent responded to the treatment.

Dr Johan Lundberg, study co-author, said:

“We show for the first time that ketamine treatment increases the number of serotonin 1B receptors.

Ketamine has the advantage of being very rapid-acting, but at the same time it is a narcotic-classed drug that can lead to addiction. So it’ll be interesting to examine in future studies if this receptor can be a target for new, effective drugs that don’t have the adverse effects of ketamine.”

Esketamine for depression as a nasal spray

Researchers have been examining different ways to administer ketamine and in different forms.

A nasal spray containing a form of ketamine for depression — a type of anaesthetic — can help severely depressed and suicidal people, research finds (Canuso et al., 2018).

The form of ketamine works quickly, and on one of the most resistant forms of depression.

When people are severely depressed there is a critical window when they need rapid relief from suicidal thoughts.

While antidepressants can be beneficial in the long-run, they cannot help people when they are at highest risk because they take too long to kick in.

The study tested a nasal spray containing esketamine — a part of the ketamine molecule — on 68 people experiencing severe depression and suicidal thoughts.

Half received treatment as normal plus a placebo and the other half received treatment as normal plus the nasal spray.

The results showed that the nasal spray was effective in rapidly reducing suicidal feelings within 40 minutes of being administered.

The effects were still being seen after 24 hours, in comparison to those receiving a placebo.

The more esketamine people were given, the longer its effect.

The drug has now been approved by the FDA in the US.

The problem with using ketamine as a treatment for depression is that it gives people an addictive high, so safety issues will need to be explored.

The study’s authors conclude:

“These preliminary findings indicate that intranasal esketamine compared with placebo, given in addition to comprehensive standard-of-care treatment, may result in significantly rapid improvement in depressive symptoms, including some measures of suicidal ideation, among depressed patients at imminent risk for suicide.”

Ketamine treatment for bipolar disorder

Ketamine and similar drugs are also being tested for the relief of other mental health problems.

One example is bipolar disorder.

When depressed, bipolar patients find it difficult to seek out and experience rewards — they feel there is nothing to look forward to.

Ketamine works by changing how people think about rewards, a study finds  (Lally et al., 2014).

Dr. Carlos Zarate, who led the study, said:

“Our findings help to deconstruct what has traditionally been lumped together as depression.

We break out a component that responds uniquely to a treatment that works through different brain systems than conventional antidepressants — and link that response to different circuitry than other depression symptoms.”

In the study, 36 patients with bipolar disorder who were currently depressed were given either ketamine or a placebo.

They were then asked about their depression and symptoms of anhedonia, the inability to experience pleasure.

The first effect of the drug was to reduce patients’ anhedonia within 40 minutes: they could once again anticipate and experience pleasure.

After two hours, the drugs anti-depressant effects were also felt.

This reduction in anhedonia was still detectable two weeks after the single dose.

Brain scans revealed that the drug likely works by changing the way the motivational parts of the brain respond to imagining and taking part in pleasurable experiences.

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Parkinson’s Drug Proves Effective in Relieving Depression Symptoms (M)

Unlocking the secret of inflammation in the brain may hold the key to treating depression in a surprising new way.

Unlocking the secret of inflammation in the brain may hold the key to treating depression in a surprising new way.


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