Depression Trap #1: Social Withdrawal
Depression can go hand-in-hand with social isolation.
"When we're clinically depressed, there's a very strong urge to pull away from others and to shut down," says Stephen Ilardi, PhD, associate professor of psychology at the University of Kansas. “It turns out to be the exact opposite of what we need.”
What helps: Gradually counteract social withdrawal by reaching out to your friends and family. Make a list of the people in your...
“The idea is for people who have mild cognitive impairment, a very minor boost in cognitive performance on a day-to-day basis can make a huge difference.”
Lack of Sleep
First, it’s harder to recall things when you haven’t slept. Second, sleep strengthens the bonds between brain cells that help you remember for the long term. Third, it’s harder to form memories in the first place when your mind is wandering because of a lack of sleep.
Good “sleep hygiene” can help: Shoot for 8 hours a night, exercise daily, stick to a regular sleep schedule, and avoid alcohol and caffeine late in...
Researchers from Helmholtz Munich and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat (LMU) found that SARS-CoV-2 spike protein remains in the brain's protective layers -- the meninges, and the skull's bone marrow for up to four years after infection.
Shots - Health News – One key to healthy aging is to keep our minds sharp.
And some of the best strategies to fend off dementia, stroke and even late-life depression come down to our daily habits.
"You can substantially reduce your risk through the lifestyle choices you make," says Dr. Jonathan Rosand, a neurologist and Co-Founder of the McCance Center for Brain Health at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Rosand and his collaborators have developed a way to...
LA JOLLA, Calif. — Eggs have had a complicated history when it comes to health and nutrition. First, they’re good, then they’re bad, then food scientists say they’re good again.
Well, researchers are once again placing all their eggs in the “good” basket, finding that these controversial sources of cholesterol may be even better your our brains than we thought.
A team from the University of California-San Diego has discovered that older women who eat eggs...
The pounding that sailors’ brains take from years of high-speed wave-slamming in the Special Boat Teams can cause symptoms that wreck their careers — and their lives.
THE CONVERSATION – Music is woven into the fabric of our everyday lives. Whether it’s lifting our spirits, pushing us to run faster or soothing us to sleep, we can all recognise its power. So it’s no wonder it is increasingly being used in medical treatment.
As well as proving very useful in cancer treatment, managing chronic pain and even helping the brain recover after a stroke, researchers have also been making great strides in...
CNN Digital – Known as A-fib, atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat often described by many people who have it as a “quiver,” “flutter” or “flip-flop” of the heart in the chest.
Atrial fibrillation is the leading cause of stroke(opens in a new tab) in the U.S. In addition, strokes connected to A-fib tend to be “more severe than strokes with other underlying causes,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(opens in...
MEDICAL XPRESS – Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) was found to be as effective as the antidepressant escitalopram in reducing agoraphobia, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and social anxiety disorder symptoms.
The muti-institution study, led by the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland, suggests that mindfulness practices may offer a viable alternative to medication for treating anxiety disorders, with significantly fewer side effects.
Anxiety disorders affect millions of people and are frequently treated with medications...
New research shows astrocytes can remove Alzheimer’s-related amyloid-beta via autophagy, offering a promising new direction for treatment strategies focusing on these brain cells.