How long to spend in nature to feel the greatest improvements to mood and reductions in anxiety.
Problems with interoception link many mental health issues including anxiety, major depression, bipolar, anorexia and schizophrenia.
Animals may be one way of fighting the rising tide of loneliness.
Stress and anxiety make it particularly hard for people to exercise, the study found.
This generation is under increasing psychological pressure.
This generation is under increasing psychological pressure.
Mental health problems are on the rise among teenagers, research finds.
Depression has risen by around two-thirds in teenagers, in comparison to the previous generation.
Teenagers are now also more likely to self-harm, be overweight, sleep deprived and to suffer body image problems.
However, modern teenagers are less likely to perpetrate antisocial behaviour or drink and take drugs.
Dr Suzanne Gage, study co-author, said:
“It has seemed for a while that mental health difficulties in young people are on the rise, but this study really highlights the scale at which this increase might be occurring.
The next step is to understand why these increases are occurring, so young people can be supported better.”
The conclusions come from data culled from two British studies.
One followed 5,600 children born in 1991-92, the second followed 11,000 born in 2000-01.
The results showed that modern teenagers are in worse psychological shape than those born ten years before.
Almost 15 percent of teenagers reported being depressed in 2015, compared with 9 percent in 2005.
Self-harm had increased from 12 percent to 14 percent.
Along with depressive symptoms rising by two-thirds, obesity had almost doubled in the ten years.
Dr Praveetha Patalay, the study’s first author, said:
“The increasing trends of poor sleep, obesity and negative body image might help explain rising mental health difficulties experienced by young people.
Where the trends are moving in opposite directions – decreasing substance use and antisocial behaviour – the interpretation becomes more complicated.
Identifying explanations for these high prevalences and changing trends are key for preventing further poor physical and mental health for future generations of young people.”
→ Read on: 3 signs of depression in young people.
The study was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology (Patalay & Gage, 2019).
Being in the moment and involved with our surroundings helps boost well-being.
One-in-three adults are anxious and depressed as a result of quarantines, lockdowns and social distancing — but some groups are suffering more.
Younger adults are at particular risk of mental health problems from a poor diet.
Mental health goes into a trough at this time of life.
People with this amenity are less likely to suffer depression and anxiety during lockdown.
People with this amenity are less likely to suffer depression and anxiety during lockdown.
Access to nature is key to surviving lockdown, a new study finds.
People who are able to get out into nature are less likely to suffer depression and anxiety during lockdown.
Even a natural view from inside can help to ameliorate the effects of COVID-19 related policies.
The conclusions come from a study that examined the mental health of people in various European countries as governments imposed lockdowns of different scales.
Spain, for example, imposed one of the most severe lockdowns: for a period, people were forbidden to go outside, even to walk.
The UK and Norway, though, did allow people access to nature.
Dr Sarai Pouso, the study’s first author, explained the results:
“The main conclusion is that people who were under the strictest lockdown during the first wave of COVID-19 (those who were only allowed to go out for work or essentials purchases, as was the case of Italy and Spain) were more likely to show symptoms compatible with depression and anxiety, compared to countries with more relaxed lockdowns where people could still visit natural places such as parks.”
Nine countries were included in the analysis, comprising the responses of over 5,000 people.
The researchers also tested whether having a garden or view of nature from the home was important.
They found that green spaces visible from the home were much more important for the mental health of people under the most severe lockdown.
Dr María C. Uyarra, study co-author, said:
“The results indicate that having access from the home to outdoor spaces (e.g., garden, balcony) and having window views to open spaces or natural element (e.g., coast, park, forest) decreased the probability of showing symptoms of depression.
Furthermore, people with access to outdoor spaces and with nature views, managed to maintain a more positive mood during lockdown.”
Pandemic or not, green and blue spaces have a remarkable healing effect on people’s mental health.
→ Read on: 10 Remarkable Ways Nature Can Heal Your Mind
The study was published in the journal Science of The Total Environment (Pouso et al., 2020).
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