The link between neuroticism and mental health is well known, but another trait has been overlooked.
This is an indicator of brain health and a better functioning memory.
Scientists followed the family trees of 3 million people for 50 years – what they found about mental illness will surprise you.
The activity improved mental quality of life by 13 percent, physical quality by 25 percent and emotional quality by 26 percent.
The activity improved mental quality of life by 13 percent, physical quality by 25 percent and emotional quality by 26 percent.
Group exercise lowers stress by 26 percent, while working out alone does not reduce stress.
The study also found that group fitness classes improved people’s quality of life, while working out alone did not.
Dr Dayna Yorks, the study’s first author, said:
“The communal benefits of coming together with friends and colleagues, and doing something difficult, while encouraging one another, pays dividends beyond exercising alone.
The findings support the concept of a mental, physical and emotional approach to health that is necessary for student doctors and physicians.”
The research was carried out on 69 medical students, who are known for their high-stress, low-satisfaction lifestyles.
For 12 weeks, some of the students did an exercise program either in groups or on their own.
Both were compared to a control group who did no extra exercise.
The results showed that those working out in a group saw all sorts of benefits the other groups did not.
Group exercise improved mental quality of life by 13 percent, physical quality by 25 percent and emotional quality by 26 percent.
Stress was also reduced by 26 percent.
In comparison, those exercising alone — despite exercising for twice as long — only saw an 11 percent boost to their mental quality of life and no increases in other areas.
Naturally, the control group (who did nothing different) saw no changes.
Dr Yorks said:
“Medical schools understand their programs are demanding and stressful.
Given this data on the positive impact group fitness can have, schools should consider offering group fitness opportunities.
Giving students an outlet to help them manage stress and feel better mentally and physically can potentially alleviate some of the burnout and anxiety in the profession.”
The study was published in the The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association (Yorks et al., 2017).
From depression to suicide risk, 10 studies show how workplaces are sabotaging mental health.
One natural city feature quiets the depressed and anxious mind best.
Distress and well-being are not two sides of the same coin and what that means for treatment.
How jobs can be adjusted to improve people’s mental and physical health.
It reduces depression and anxiety, increases happiness and leads to higher social-emotional well-being.
After treatment for depression or anxiety, people’s dreams often improve in tone.
After treatment for depression or anxiety, people’s dreams often improve in tone.
People whose dreams are more positive have better mental health.
However, those who have more negative dreams tend to experience more anxiety while they are awake as well.
Indeed, after treatment for depression or anxiety, people’s dreams often improve in tone.
It may be because people who can regulate their emotions better while awake can also keep their emotions more positive while they sleep.
For the study, 44 people kept a dream diary for three weeks, recording what they remembered each morning.
They also rated the emotions they experienced with the dreams.
The results showed that people who experienced more positive dreams generally had greater peace of mind while awake as well.
Ms Pilleriin Sikka, the study’s first author, said:
“These findings show that if we want to understand how dream content is related to waking well-being, it is not enough to measure only the symptoms of mental ill-being but we should measure well-being in its own right.
Surprisingly, those aspects that are typically considered and measured as ‘well-being’ were not related to dream content.
So there seems to be something unique about peace of mind and anxiety.”
Anxiety while waking was linked to negative dreams, the authors explain:
“…individuals with more symptoms of anxiety expressed more negative affect in subsequent dream reports and rated their dreams to contain more negative affect.”
Previous studies have linked depression and anxiety to worse dreams:
“People with different mental health disorders (e.g., anxiety, depression), sleep disorders, and health behavior problems report more nightmares and negatively toned dreams in general.
Interestingly, the reduction of depressive symptoms as a result of antidepressant treatment has been shown to accompany a corresponding change in dream affect.”
The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports (Sikka et al., 2018).
Join the free PsyBlog mailing list. No spam, ever.
