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Regular exercise can reduce risk for depression
By HealthDay News, April 26, 2018
Here's one more reason to go biking, hiking, or whatever form of exercise you engage in. This article is about "the first global meta-analysis to establish that engaging in physical activities beneficial for protecting the general population from developing depression." It doesn't matter how old you are. It doesn't matter where you live. Just get out there.
"A Little Meditation Goes a Long Way: A new study offers the strongest evidence to date that meditation can change the structure of your brain"By Jason Marsh, February 9, 2011, as published online in the "Greater Good" newsletter through the University of California, Berkeley.This article describes the results of a neuroimaging study that looked at participants of the 8 week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. Participants reported meditating for 30 min. per day on average. Neuroimaging found that the amount of gray matter thickened after 8 weeks of meditating in a number of regions including the hippocampus (involved in memory, learning, and emotion regulation), the temporo-parietal junction and posterior cingulate cortex (involved in empathy), and the cerebellum (which also plays a role in emotion regulation).The article also points out that exercise can also increase the volume of the hippocampus. They reference a study that was done that compared two groups of 60-somethings. One group walked around the track three times per week for a year and the other group was less physically active. In the walking group the hippocampus increased in volume and in the non-walking group it became smaller.Walking mediation anyone?
BBC reports "Activities that maintain cardio fitness - such as running, swimming and cycling - led to better thinking skills and memory 20 years on" ... "even after adjusting for factors such as smoking, diabetes and high cholesterol."The article goes on to say, "People who had smaller time differences in their treadmill test 20 years later were more likely to perform better on the executive function test than those who had bigger differences."Exercise has many benefits, and one I've seen over and over again with my ADHD patients is how exercise can help reduce restlessness and improve concentration and focus. Some find that the time exercising is made up for by the improved productivity during the rest of the day.http://www.bbc.com/news/health-26841988
Physical activity may be good for focus. Plus, it’s an inexpensive, self-prescribed, and accessible alternative ADHD treatment for both adults and children.http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/3142.html
