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High-dose vitamin B12 lowers anxiety in a month

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Taking very high doses of B12 supplements lowers anxiety in a month.

People who take 100mg of the vitamin—a level that’s 75 times greater than the RDA—report lower anxiety and even a reduction in their depression, say researchers from the University of Reading in the UK.

The vitamin supports GABA, a neurotransmitter that blocks impulses between nerve cells in the brain, and it’s been linked to healthier brain activity and dampening down ‘neural excitation’, which can be seen in cases of epilepsy and chronic pain.

The researchers gave high-dose vitamins B6 and 12 to 478 people who suffered from anxiety or depression.  B6 was the most effective at reducing anxiety, although B12 was also starting to have some positive results when the study finished after a month.

Vitamin B6 is also found in fruits, vegetables, tuna and chickpeas, but the researchers say that people won’t get the effective high doses just from diet. 

Human Psychopharmacology, 2022; e2852; doi: 10.1002/hup.2852

SPIRITUAL PEOPLE LESS DEPRESSED AND ANXIOUS

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If you have a spiritual or religious belief, you are much less likely to suffer from depression and anxiety.

And having these beliefs is especially important if you’ve suffered from heart disease.  People recovering from heart failure are more likely to suffer a sense of hopelessness and isolation—but having a belief in something bigger can help get them through those difficult times.

Researchers from Duke University Hospital reviewed 47 studies that had explored the level of spiritual beliefs in heart patients.  Those who had spiritual beliefs had a better quality of life and reduced their chances of being readmitted to hospital.

Spirituality can help people find meaning and purpose in life, the researchers say, and it can be different from having a religious belief. 

(Source: JACC: Heart Failure, 2022; doi: 10.1016/j.jchf.2022.01.014)

A healthy mind really does make a healthy body

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People who went through a programme to improve their psychological outlook reported fewer sick days afterwards, proving the adage that a healthy mind really does lead to a healthy body.

Researchers at the University of Virginia recruited 155 healthy adults either into a psychological wellbeing course or put them on a wait list. The 12-week course taught personal values, strengths and goals, emotional control and mindfulness.

Three months after the course ended, those who had participated reported fewer sick days than those who had stayed on the wait list. They also said they felt better, mentally and physically.

The results reinforce earlier studies that had discovered that happier people also have better cardiovascular health and strong immune systems.

The new study shows that it can improve the health of even those who are generally happy already, the researchers said.


(Source: Psychological Science, 2020; 31: 807; doi: 10.1177/0956797620919673)

Get up an hour earlier and you won’t get depressed

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Worried about depression in these lockdown times?  Wake up an hour earlier every day and you’ll reduce your risk.

In fact, having one less hour of shut eye in the morning lowers your chances of major depression by as much as 23 percent, researchers have discovered.

It’s been known for some time that there’s a link between sleeping habits and mental wellbeing—night owls are twice as likely to suffer from depression as early risers, or larks, for instance—but it’s been difficult to get a more detailed picture, partly because mood disorders can disrupt sleep patterns.

Researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder wanted to dig deeper, and so they tracked the mental wellbeing and sleep patterns of 840,000 people.  Around a third identified themselves as larks and just 9 percent were owls, with the rest being neither owl nor lark, going to bed around 11pm and rising at 6am, with a sleep mid-point of around 3am.

Our sleeping habits seem to be determined by our genes, the researchers found, and those with the genetic variants that make them early risers are also less likely to suffer from depression.  A person who would normally go to bed at midnight but instead goes an hour earlier—and as a consequence rises an hour earlier—cuts their risk for depression by 23 percent.  Those who push back their sleeping habits by two hours reduce their risk by 40 percent.

The researchers aren’t sure why this happens, but they suspect it could be to do with the amount of light exposure we get.  Early risers just get more daylight.

But changing your sleeping habits can be difficult, especially if it's down to our genes.  Lead researcher Celine Vetter offers a few suggestions to help.  “Keep your days bright and your nights dark.  Have your morning coffee on the porch.  Walk or ride your bike to work if you can and dim those electronics in the evening.”


(Source: JAMA Psychiatry, 2021; doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.0959)

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