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Stressed? Turn Off the TV, Look Out the Window

Try to include glimpses of nature in your daily routine—actual nature, not a digital facsimile.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Researchers measured heart-rate recovery—an indicator of stress—among volunteers performing mildly stressful tasks in an office setting. If a window overlooking a nature scene (grass, trees and a public fountain) was present, the subjects’ heart rates calmed down sooner than if there was an HDTV plasma screen displaying the same view. In fact, the TV screen had no more effect on heart rate than looking at a blank wall.

The Healing Effects of Forests

ScienceDaily (July 23, 2010) — "Many people," says Dr. Eeva Karjalainen, of the Finnish Forest Research Institute, Metla, "feel relaxed and good when they are out in nature. But not many of us know that there is also scientific evidence about the healing effects of nature."

Acupuncture’s Molecular Effects Pinned Down

New Insights Spur Effort to Boost Treatment’s Impact Significantly

 

In a paper published online May 30 in Nature Neuroscience, a team at the University of Rochester Medical Center identifies the molecule adenosine as a central player in parlaying some of the effects of acupuncture in the body. Building on that knowledge, scientists were able to triple the beneficial effects of acupuncture in mice by adding a medication approved to treat leukemia in people.

The research focuses on adenosine, a natural compound known for its role in regulating sleep, for its effects on the heart, and for its anti-inflammatory properties. But adenosine also acts as a natural painkiller, becoming active in the skin after an injury to inhibit nerve signals and ease pain in a way similar to lidocaine.

Health News
 
Feb 4, 2008, 10:49

Uncontrollable, unpredictable, and constant stress has far-reaching consequences on our physical and mental health. Stress can begin in the womb and recur throughout life. One of the pathological (abnormal) consequences of stress is a learned helplessness that leads to the hopelessness and helplessness of clinical depression, but, in addition, many illnesses, such as chronic anxiety states, high blood pressure, heart disease, and addictive disorders, to name a few, also seem to be influenced by chronic or overwhelming stress.

 

Nature, however, has provided us with wonderful processes (mechanisms) to cope with stressors through the HPA axis and the locus coeruleus/sympathetic nervous system. Furthermore, research has shown us the biological processes (mechanisms) that explain what we all intuitively know is true--which is, that too much stress, particularly when we cannot predict it or control its recurrence, is harmful to our health.

It Matters What You Eat After Exercise

Feb. 01, 2010   Many of the health benefits of aerobic exercise are due to the most recent exercise session (rather than weeks, months and even years of exercise training), and the nature of these benefits can be greatly affected by the food we eat afterwards, according to a study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology (http://jap.physiology.org).

"Differences in what you eat after exercise produce different effects on the body's metabolism," said the study's senior author, Jeffrey F. Horowitz of the University of Michigan. This study follows up on several previous studies that demonstrate that many health benefits of exercise are transient: one exercise session produces benefits to the body that taper off, generally within hours or a few days.

Why Some Brains Are More Vulnerable To Stress And Resistant To Antidepressants

  A new study provides insight into the molecular characteristics that make a brain susceptible to anxiety and depression and less likely to respond to treatment with antidepressant medication. The research, published by Cell Press in the January 14th issue of the journal Neuron, may lead to more effective strategies for treating depression, a major health concern throughout the world.

Although brain mechanisms associated with depression and anxiety are not completely clear, recent research has implicated a combination of stressful life events and predisposing biological factors as playing a causal role in depressive disorders. The most popular antidepressant medications, such as the commonly prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), increase serotonin levels in the brain.

"Unfortunately, more than half of all depressed patients fail to respond to their first drug treatment," explains senior study author Dr. Rene Hen, from Columbia University. "The reasons for this treatment resistance remain enigmatic. Elucidating the exact nature of both the factors predisposing to depression and the mechanisms underlying treatment resistance remains an important and unmet need."

How Music Training Primes Nervous System and Boosts Learning

ScienceDaily (July 20, 2010) — Those ubiquitous wires connecting listeners to you-name-the-sounds from invisible MP3 players -- whether of Bach, Miles Davis or, more likely today, Lady Gaga -- only hint at music's effect on the soul throughout the ages.

Now a data-driven review by Northwestern University researchers that will be published July 20 in Nature Reviews Neuroscience pulls together converging research from the scientific literature linking musical training to learning that spills over to skills including language, speech, memory, attention and even vocal emotion. The science covered comes from labs all over the world, from scientists of varying scientific philosophies, using a wide range of research methods.

good stress

Mind-Body-Mood Advisor: Five Ways to Make Stress Work for You

Yes, there's such a thing as good stress—and with practice and awareness, you can find the positive energy in any stressful situation.

By By Jeffrey Rossman, PhD

RODALE NEWS, LENOX, MA—Stress has gotten a very bad rap. Yes, it’s true that too much cortisol, nature’s stress hormone, will make you fat, sleepless, and forgetful. And overwhelming stress can give you a heart attack. However, not all stress is created equal. Negative stress, or distress, is what wears down your immunity and poses a health risk. It can also impair your performance and productivity. If your mind has ever gone blank from test anxiety, or you’ve choked in a tennis match, you’ve been sabotaged by distress.

On the other hand, positive stress. Good stress, or eustress, can actually feel invigorating and make you stronger and more productive. The good news is that you have a lot of control over whether a particular stressor is positive or negative.

Pets are good for us: Where science and common sense meet

People around the world often remark how being around their pets (now usually referred to as companion animals) makes them feel good. Much recent research supports this, as noted in a recent essay. Here are a few tidbits about what we know about the positive effect that companion animals including dogs, cats, and fish have on us. (see also and this) Marry Becker's The Healing Power of Pets and Allen Schoen's Kindred Spirits summarize much research that has laid the groundwork for current work on the nature of the human-animal bond and Michelle Rivera writes about animals in hospice situations and how they can ease human suffering in her recent book On Dogs and Dying.