BBC reports that depression is the number two cause of disability worldwide, second only to back pain.http://www.bbc.com/news/health-24818048
How running 'may preserve thinking skills'
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
BBC: "Ketamine 'exciting' depression therapy"
BBC reports that Ketamine (considered a "dissociative anesthetic") has been shown to have some very rapid and dramatic effects on depression in early research studies. As the article describes, there are also potential side effects that are quite serious and "it's not about to replace prozac" anytime soon. They believe that in the future Ketamine itself will not be used, but understanding how it affects the brain will yield new medications with fewer side effects.
"Head line": Botox for depression?
Scientific American reports on a depression treatment study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research. The “head line” was that injecting Botox into facial muscles involved that are in frowning decreased depressive symptoms by 47% compared to a 9% decrease in the placebo group. But don’t go to your psychiatrist asking for Botox just yet. The results would need to be replicated and the treatment would undergo a rigorous process before it could be approved by the FDA.However it is an intriguing, if not surprising, result. Our emotions are not just how we feel subjectively. They are composed of our thoughts, physiological response, action urges, facial expression, and more. Changing one part of the system feeds into the rest of the system, changing the emotional experience. It is the idea behind cognitive therapy. If you can change the way you think, it can change the way you feel.Read the article here.
Adam Levine's ADHD
Adam Levine from the band Maroon 5 and hit TV show "The Voice" talks about his experiences with ADHD in Life and Style Weekly. The article also references other celebrities that have ADHD including Channing Tatum and Jennifer Aniston's fiance Justin Theroux.
Electric lighting 'prevents proper night's sleep'
This article published in The Telegraph describes research showing how light, especial blue light, can disrupt our circadian rhythms. Insomnia is common in ADHD, depression, and anxiety and this article reinforces why shutting down our electronics well before we go to bed is so important to getting to sleep.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/10073379/Electric-lighting-prevents-proper-nights-sleep.html
A Graduate Student Beats Her Procrastination Challenge
A Graduate Student Beats Her Procrastination ChallengeThis is an excellent podcast from an excellent podcast series. The series is called "iProcrastinate" and is hosted by eminent procrastination researcher Dr. Pychyl.In this episode a listener describes how she has taken Dr. Pychyl's recommendations and applied them to her own procrastination. She provides a great summary of how she integrated a lot of different skills to help keep her on track when working. The whole series is worth listening to, but I found this podcast to be a particularly great summary.
Sleep 'cleans' the brain of toxins
I wanted to add one more article in my series of postings on sleep. This article describes the study that showed that when we sleep our brain cells shrink to allow more space for fluid to flow and clear the brain of waste material. They believe that the brain is not able to simultaneously focus on cleaning and wakeful thinking.So whether it's ADHD, anxiety, depression, or something else disrupting your sleep, there is more and more information becoming available about what you're missing out on and why it's important to treat insomnia seriously.You can read the BBC article here.
Dreams and myelination. "Sleep 'boosts brain cell numbers'"
Scientists are still unraveling all the reasons why we need sleep. The article "Sleep 'boosts brain cell numbers'" discusses how sleep helps with the vital process of building myelin, a material that surrounds parts of nerve cells and is vital to their proper functioning.More specifically, you may remember from your biology or psychology classes that nerves communicate to one another through electrical impulses and neurotransmitters. The receiving end of a nerve cell is usually the axon and this can range from a millimeter to as long as a meter long. Myelin electrically insulate the axon, significantly accelerating the speed of the signal.The article below talks about how the cells that make myelin double their production rate in mice as they slept. For more information about this as well as other neurological benefits of sleep, you can read the article from BBC news here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23932577.
Jet lag, sleep, and ADHD?
Continuing on the theme of sleep dysfunction, this article talks about new information on what is going on in the brain that contributes to jet lag. This is also relevant relevant to adults with ADHD because they often will have an irregular sleep cycle. Many people I work with find themselves staying up very late into the night and sleeping much of the day. The process of trying to reset your sleep schedule may have similarities to jet lag.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23880152'Molecular basis' for jet lag foundBy James Gallagher Health and science reporter, BBC News