Restoring normal sleep reduces amyloid-beta accumulation in mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

November 3, 2021

Science Daily/Baylor College of Medicine

Multiple studies in humans and mouse models indicate that sleep disruptions raise the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) by increasing the accumulation of disease-relevant proteins such as amyloid-beta (A-beta) in the brain. In the current study, a team led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine discovered that, in an animal model of Alzheimer's disease, restoring normal sleep by returning to normal the activity of the thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN), a brain region involved in maintaining stable sleep, reduced the accumulation of A-beta plaques in the brain.

Published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the study suggests that TRN not only may play a previously unsuspected driving role in symptoms associated with Alzheimer's, but also that restoring its normal activity could be a potential therapeutic approach for this severe condition.

The TRN is quiet in AD

"Our interest in studying the TRN in the context of Alzheimer's disease began when we observed in an animal model that TRN activity was generally reduced when compared to the TRN activity of animals without the condition," said corresponding author Dr. Jeannie Chin, associate professor of neuroscience at Baylor.

When we sleep, the TRN is in general more active than when we are awake, Chin explained. This increased TRN activity reduces the perception of peripheral sensory information. Consequently, when we sleep, we typically are not aware of sounds, lights and other sensations, which helps us get a good night sleep.

"Observing that the TRN in our animal model was less active than in animals without the condition, we investigated the possibility that a quiet TRN could be a reason for the sleep interruptions that are common in people with Alzheimer's disease," said first author Dr. Rohan Jagirdar, an instructor in the Chin lab.

The researchers began by determining whether their Alzheimer's disease mice would wake up more often than mice without the disease during normal sleeping hours. Using a wireless system to record the animals' brain activity, the researchers discovered that, indeed, the Alzheimer's mice woke up 50% more times than non-Alzheimer's mice. Moreover, the Alzheimer's mice got less than the normal amount of slow wave sleep, the deep restorative sleep during which waste products and metabolites are cleared from the brain. This was observed in the early stages of disease progression, before the animals developed memory deficits.

"This finding is relevant to the human condition, as research has shown that sleep fragmentation and other sleep disturbances in cognitively normal people are associated with increased Alzheimer's disease risk," Chin said. "When AD mice got older, reaching about three to five months, their sleep continued to be disrupted and they also presented with memory deficits."

Quiet TRN linked to A-beta plaque load

In the AD animal model, measurable levels of A-beta began to appear in the brain when the mice reached about one month of age and began to deposit into plaques by approximately six months of age.

"We assessed whether the sleep fragmentation and reduction of slow wave sleep that we observed in our AD mouse model might be associated with the accumulation of A-beta at later stages, by examining mice at six to seven months of age," Jagirdar said. "We found that the magnitude of sleep fragmentation was directly related to plaque load in the brains of six-month-old AD mice."

Taken together, these findings show that AD mice present disruptions in sleep that could influence the accumulation of proteins involved in disease progression.

In addition, Chin, Jagirdar and their colleagues analyzed postmortem tissues from patients who had either Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment or none of those conditions. They discovered that, as they had found in the mouse model, neurons in the TRN of Alzheimer's patients showed signs of having been less active when compared to the controls. Also, the brains of AD patients with the least active TRN had the highest A-beta plaque deposition. These findings support the possibility of a relationship between reduced TRN activity and increased accumulation of disease-causing proteins in AD.

Could reactivating TRN improve the condition?

Using a chemogenetic system, a technology that allows one to chemically activate specific cells, the team activated TRN neurons in the animal model. After a single round of chemogenetic activation of the TRN, the AD-mice woke up less often and spent more time in slow wave sleep, signs of improved sleep activity.

"It was exciting to see that, after receiving chemogenetic activation of the TRN daily for a month, the AD mice showed sustained activation of TRN neurons, consistent improvements in sleep and, remarkably, reduced accumulation of A-beta," Chin said.

The researchers point out that, although this approach seems to improve sleep disruption and A-beta deposition in this mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, not all sleep disturbances involve TRN.

"Sleep disturbances are associated with a number of disorders and arise from diverse causes," Jagirdar explained. "Targeting the TRN may not be as effective if the sleep disturbance is due to unrelated causes, such as obstructive sleep apnea or restless leg syndrome."

"Our findings support that selective activation of the TRN is a promising therapeutic intervention to improve sleep disturbances and slow the accumulation of A-beta in AD," Chin said.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/11/211103150856.htm

Four commonly used medications reverse Alzheimer's disease in mice

October 27, 2021

Science Daily/Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona)

Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia in Western societies and it is estimated that 24 million people worldwide have this condition. ICREA researcher Dr. Patrick Aloy, head of the Structural Bioinformatics and Network Biology lab at IRB Barcelona, has headed a study that has managed to reverse the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease in mice by administering drugs currently used to treat hypertension and inflammation in humans.

In this study, the scientists led by Dr. Aloy have characterised three stages of Alzheimer's disease, namely initial, intermediate and advanced. For each of these stages, they have analysed the behaviour of the animals, studied the effects on the brain (specifically the hippocampus at the tissue level) and performed a molecular analysis to measure gene expression and protein levels.

The approach adopted has allowed them to describe the development of the disease at a level of detail hitherto unknown and also compare it with healthy ageing. "What we have observed is that, although Alzheimer's disease shares some features of accelerated ageing, it is also affected by totally different ageing processes," says Dr. Aloy. "This disease is caused by the abnormal accumulation of certain proteins, and we have seen that, in some cases, this is not caused by overproduction but by an error in their removal," he adds.

Chemical Checker: detection of the most promising molecules

Having characterised the disease, the scientists used the Chemical Checker, a computational tool developed by the same research group to find drugs already on the market with the capacity to reverse the effects at the cellular level. This tool has allowed them to identify a series of possible candidates, which were tested in various mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. Four drugs -- two non-steroidal anti-inflammatories and two anti-hypertensives, proved effective at reversing the disease and neutralising symptoms in these mice.

"Epidemiological studies already indicated that people who regularly take antiinflammatories show a lower incidence of Alzheimer's disease, but this had not been correlated with a specific medication or mechanism. The results that we are publishing are most promising, and we hope that further research can be done on them because they could give rise to a paradigm shift in the treatment of this disease," says Dr. Aloy.

Early diagnosis of the disease

In addition to paving new avenues of research for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, the characterisation of the distinct stages of this condition published in this study favours early diagnosis. Diagnosing Alzheimer's disease at an early stage, when damage to the brain is still minimal, is one of the main research focuses to tackle this condition and to reduce symptoms.

This work has been done in collaboration with the RIKEN Center for Brain Science and the Institute of Brain Science, both in Japan, and the Biostatistics/Bioinformatics and also Proteomics core facility at IRB Barcelona. The study was funded by the European Research Council, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the Government of Catalonia.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211027122112.htm

Does air pollution reduce the benefits of physical activity on the brain?

December 8, 2021

Science Daily/American Academy of Neurology

A new study shows that people who do vigorous physical activities, like jogging or playing competitive sports, in areas with higher air pollution may show less benefit from that exercise when it comes to certain markers of brain disease. The markers examined in the study included white matter hyperintensities, which indicate injury to the brain's white matter, and gray matter volume. Larger gray matter volumes and smaller white matter hyperintensity volumes are markers of overall better brain health. The research is published in the December 8, 2021, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

"Vigorous exercise may increase exposure to air pollution and prior studies have shown adverse effects of air pollution on the brain," said study author Melissa Furlong, PhD, of the University of Arizona in Tucson. "We did show that physical activity is associated with improved markers of brain health in areas with lower air pollution. However, some beneficial effects essentially disappeared for vigorous physical activity in areas with the highest levels of air pollution. That's not to say people should avoid exercise. Overall, the effect of air pollution on brain health was modest -- roughly equivalent to half the effect of one year of aging, while the effects of vigorous activity on brain health were much larger -- approximately equivalent to being three years younger."

The study looked at 8,600 people with an average age of 56 from the UK Biobank, a large biomedical database. People's exposure to pollution, including nitrogen dioxide and particulate matter, which are particles of liquids or solids suspended in the air, was estimated with land use regression. A land use regression study models air pollution levels based on air monitors and land use characteristics like traffic, agriculture and industrial sources of air pollution.

Participants' air pollution exposures were categorized into four equal groups, from lowest air pollution to highest.

Each person's physical activity was measured for one week with a movement-detecting device they wore called an accelerometer. Then researchers characterized their physical activity patterns depending on how much vigorous physical activity they got, ranging from none to 30 minutes or more per week.

People who got the greatest amounts of vigorous physical activity each week, on average, had 800 cm3 gray matter volume, compared to an average of 790 cm3 gray matter volume in people who did not get any vigorous exercise. Researchers showed that air pollution exposures did not alter the effects of physical activity on gray matter volume. However, researchers did find air pollution exposures altered the effects of vigorous physical activity when looking at white matter hyperintensities. After adjusting for age, sex and other covariates, researchers found that vigorous physical activity reduced white matter hyperintensities in areas of low air pollution, but these benefits were not found among those in high air pollution areas.

"More research is needed, but if our findings are replicated, public policy could be used to address people's exposure to air pollution during exercise," Furlong said. "For example, since a significant amount of air pollution comes from traffic, promoting running or bicycling along paths far from heavy traffic may be more beneficial."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211208161118.htm

Minimal effort required: A ten-minute run can boost brain processing

December 6, 2021

Science Daily/University of Tsukuba

Running may be a useful activity to undertake for better mental health. University of Tsukuba researchers have found that only ten minutes of moderate-intensity running increases local blood flow to the various loci in the bilateral prefrontal cortex -- the part of the brain that plays an important role in controlling mood and executive functions. These findings may contribute to the development of a wider range of treatment recommendations to benefit mental health.

There's clear evidence that physical activity has many benefits, such as the ability to improve mood, but in previous studies, cycling was often the form of exercise studied. Running, however, has always played an important role in the well-being of humans. The unique form and efficiency of human running, which includes the ability to sustain this form of exertion (i.e., by jogging as opposed to sprinting), and the evolutionary success of humans are closely linked.

Despite this fact, researchers had not yet looked closely at the effects of running on brain regions that control mood and executive functions. "Given the extent of executive control required in coordinating balance, movement, and propulsion during running, it is logical that there would be increased neuronal activation in the prefrontal cortex and that other functions in this region would benefit from this increase in brain resources," explains Professor Hideaki Soya.

To test their hypothesis, the research team used the well-established Stroop Color-Word Test and captured data on hemodynamic changes associated with brain activity while participants were engaged in each task. For example, in one task, incongruent information is shown, i.e., the word red is written in green, and the participant must name the color rather than read out the word. To do so, the brain must process both sets of information and inhibit the extraneous information. The Stroop interference effect was quantified by the difference in response times for this task and those for a simpler version of the task -- stating the names of color swatches.

The results demonstrated that, after ten minutes of moderate-intensity running, there was a significant reduction in Stroop interference effect time. Furthermore, bilateral prefrontal activation had significantly increased during the Stroop task. After running, participants reported being in a better mood. "This was supported by findings of coincident activations in the prefrontal cortical regions involved in mood regulation," first author Chorphaka Damrongthai adds.

Given that many characteristics of the human prefrontal cortex are uniquely human, this study not only sheds light on the present benefits of running but also on the possible role that these benefits may have played in the evolutionary past of humans.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211206113037.htm

Anxiety effectively treated with exercise

November 9, 2021

Science Daily/University of Gothenbur

Both moderate and strenuous exercise alleviate symptoms of anxiety, even when the disorder is chronic, a study led by researchers at the University of Gothenburg shows.

The study, now published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, is based on 286 patients with anxiety syndrome, recruited from primary care services in Gothenburg and the northern part of Halland County. Half of the patients had lived with anxiety for at least ten years. Their average age was 39 years, and 70 percent were women.

Through drawing of lots, participants were assigned to group exercise sessions, either moderate or strenuous, for 12 weeks. The results show that their anxiety symptoms were significantly alleviated even when the anxiety was a chronic condition, compared with a control group who received advice on physical activity according to public health recommendations.

Most individuals in the treatment groups went from a baseline level of moderate to high anxiety to a low anxiety level after the 12-week program. For those who exercised at relatively low intensity, the chance of improvement in terms of anxiety symptoms rose by a factor of 3.62. The corresponding factor for those who exercised at higher intensity was 4.88. Participants had no knowledge of the physical training or counseling people outside their own group were receiving.

"There was a significant intensity trend for improvement -- that is, the more intensely they exercised, the more their anxiety symptoms improved," states Malin Henriksson, doctoral student at Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, specialist in general medicine in the Halland Region, and the study's first author.

Importance of strenuous exercise

Previous studies of physical exercise in depression have shown clear symptom improvements. However, a clear picture of how people with anxiety are affected by exercise has been lacking up to now. The present study is described as one of the largest to date.

Both treatment groups had 60-minute training sessions three times a week, under a physical therapist's guidance. The sessions included both cardio (aerobic) and strength training. A warmup was followed by circle training around 12 stations for 45 minutes, and sessions ended with cooldown and stretching.

Members of the group that exercised at a moderate level were intended to reach some 60 percent of their maximum heart rate -- a degree of exertion rated as light or moderate. In the group that trained more intensively, the aim was to attain 75 percent of maximum heart rate, and this degree of exertion was perceived as high.

The levels were regularly validated using the Borg scale, an established rating scale for perceived physical exertion, and confirmed with heart rate monitors.

New, simple treatments needed

Today's standard treatments for anxiety are cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and psychotropic drugs. However, these drugs commonly have side effects, and patients with anxiety disorders frequently do not respond to medical treatment. Long waiting times for CBT can also worsen the prognosis.

The present study was led by Maria Åberg, associate professor at the University of Gothenburg's Sahlgrenska Academy, specialist in general medicine in Region Västra Götaland's primary healthcare organization, and corresponding author.

"Doctors in primary care need treatments that are individualized, have few side effects, and are easy to prescribe. The model involving 12 weeks of physical training, regardless of intensity, represents an effective treatment that should be made available in primary health care more often for people with anxiety issues," Åberg says.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/11/211109095348.htm

Despite understanding the concept of mindfulness, people are applying it incorrectly

November 8, 2021

Science Daily/University of Waterloo

Mindful awareness is about both accepting and engaging with life's challenges, and that's what popularized concepts of mindfulness tend to miss, new research has found.

Studying popular concepts of mindfulness, the researchers found most laypeople are confusing the practice with passive acceptance of problem -- a misconception scientists say ignores the important work of engaging with them.

Originating in Buddhist religious practice, much of the mindfulness movement's popularity grew from clinical research affirming its potential for reducing stress and related health disorders.

"Scientific understanding of mindfulness goes beyond mere stress-relief and requires a willingness to engage with stressors," said Igor Grossmann, corresponding author of the project and a professor of social psychology at Waterloo. "It is, in fact, the engagement with stressors that ultimately results in stress relief. More specifically, mindfulness includes two main dimensions: awareness and acceptance."

Grossmann and colleagues compared critics' claims to popular interpretations of mindfulness to evaluate how people understand and apply the concept in their daily lives. They found that in practice, most people conflate acceptance with passivity or avoidance.

The research team conducted an extensive empirical project that examined the meaning of mindfulness in three parts: analyses of the semantic meaning of the term mindfulness in the English language, meta-analysis of the results from a widely used mindfulness measure, and empirical tests of association with markers of wisdom and effective emotion regulation.

"While we found that people seem to conceptually understand that mindfulness involves engagement, the general public is not walking the talk. Our results suggest that laypeople may understand what awareness is, but the next step of acceptance may not be well understood -- limiting potential for engaging with problems," said Ellen Choi, lead author on the paper and an assistant professor of organizational behaviour at Ryerson University.

Using social media as a topical example, Grossmann says that with algorithms curating increasingly hateful content, the ability to be mindful of others' perspectives has never been more critical. "Mindfulness might not provide an easy answer to the divisiveness that surrounds us, but an accurate understanding that includes the practice of acceptance may herald the re-emergence of sincere discussion and authentic connection."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/11/211108081645.htm

How to Reap the Benefits of Side Sleeping

Guest Post by Julia Mitchell As the makers of the MindSpa, A/V Stim knows the importance of getting a good night’s sleep is hard to overstate. Diet and exercise get a lot of attention when it comes to the topic of living healthy, and rightfully so. But sleep is every bit as important as eating well and working out regularly, and quality sleep actually helps you to eat and exercise better. 

People who sleep well on a nightly basis enjoy tons of other benefits, including:

●      Reduced risk of heart disease and stroke

●      A stronger immune system

●      Better concentration and memory

●      Improved productivity

●      Less stress, anxiety and depression symptoms

Developing good sleep habits means more than just going to bed at a decent time, coming up with a pre-sleep routine, and setting the atmosphere in your bedroom. While all these things are important, one of the most critical aspects of getting a good night’s rest is the way your body is positioned as you sleep. Sleeping on your back is widely considered to be the healthiest all-around position, excluding special scenarios (e.g., if you're pregnant or have sleep apnea). However, sleeping on your side also comes with several benefits—as long as you do it the right way.

For all the side sleepers out there (and that’s most people), we offer a breakdown of the benefits, along with some practical tips to ensure you get the most out of your sleep:

Know the Benefits

When you sleep on your side correctly, you can enjoy several benefits, some of which are unique to the side position. Take brain health, for instance. Sleeping on your side can help your body get rid of interstitial waste in your brain, which can lower your chances of developing certain neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. It can also help to mitigate snoring and sleep apnea, because your tongue isn’t lying in your throat and blocking your airway (this could be as beneficial to your partner as it is to you). 

Perhaps the most impactful result of side-sleeping is that it fosters digestion and reduces acid reflux. Since your stomach is located on the left side of your abdomen, sleeping on your left side helps the stomach to process gastric acids and move them through the system more easily. The location of your stomach also plays a role in acid reflux; when you lay on your left side, gravity helps to keep acid reflux from escaping your stomach.

Understand How Mattresses can Cause Pain 

Getting a good mattress is not overrated. In fact, the condition and the type of mattress you sleep on can cause—or at least exacerbate—pain and inflammation in your body. For instance, if your mattress is too old, sags and/or has lumps, it can contribute to severe neck pain. If your mattress isn’t providing the support you need, it can be a factor in back pain. Moreover, mattresses that are too firm can lead to joint problems. 

Find the Right Kind of Mattress 

Finding a mattress that fits your body type and sleep style is paramount to getting a good night’s rest and reducing various kinds of pain. For side sleepers who deal with back pain, for instance, hybrid models with a soft or medium firmness level can go a long way in relieving that pain. This is due to the fact that moderate firmness provides targeted relief at your pressure points (the shoulders and hips). 

 On the other hand, heavier individuals with back pain typically benefit from innerspring mattresses. This is because innerspring mattresses are typically more firm, which means they help you to maintain adequate spinal alignment throughout the night. 

 Clean Your Mattress

While it might not have any bearing on your preferred sleeping position, a dirty mattress can contribute to poor sleep. Particularly when it comes to allergens, which get trapped in the mattress. Ideally, you should clean your mattress every six months to remove any dirt or debris. For a true deep clean, connect with furniture cleaning professionals who specifically offer mattress cleaning. Look for “professional furniture cleaning near me” to locate top-rated specialists, but also be sure to check out their websites or call to confirm they offer mattress cleaning. And don’t forget to ask about coupons!

 Sleep on Your Left Side 

 As previously mentioned, those who sleep on their left side will realize the most benefits. This is primarily because of anatomy. That is, think about your internal organs. When you sleep on your left side, less pressure is put on your stomach and digestive tract. This can help to mitigate acid reflux and heartburn and facilitate digestion. It is even beneficial during pregnancy, because it improves blood flow, maintains good kidney function, and sends more nutrients to the fetus.

 Get a Firm Pillow with Proper Loft 

 There’s more to pillows than meets the eye. Along with supporting your head and neck, the right kind of pillow will help your spine—from top to bottom—stay in the ideal position throughout the night. The last thing you want is a pillow that leaves your head bent down (talk about neck problems). However, you don’t want your head to be too elevated. Try to find a pillow with enough loft that your ear, shoulder and hip are aligned with one another.

 Finding the right pillow is worth shopping around and trying out different ones. As a starting point, remember that the size of your shoulders will determine the size of your pillow. That is, if you have thinner shoulders, you should use a thinner pillow. If you have larger shoulders, you need a thicker pillow, and so on. However, you should be able to easily move any quality pillow designed for side sleepers as you change positions. 

 Keep a Pillow Between Your Knees

 In order to sleep on your side the right way, you need more than just the pillow behind your head. Sleeping with a memory foam pillow between your knees helps to keep your hips and legs in proper alignment. It can also help alleviate back pain. If you move around in your sleep often, look for a knee pillow that comes with a strap to keep it in place.

 If you’re one of the many people who sleep on their side each night, you can enjoy several benefits if you do it the right way. Remember how important your mattress is for relieving pain, and if necessary, get a new mattress that meets your needs. Also, be sure to sleep on your left side, invest in the perfect pillow, and put an extra pillow between your knees. Implementing these little tips might just take your sleep habits to the next level. 

 Image via Unsplash

For an added dose of relaxation, invest in your own MindSpa to promote deep, restful sleep. Check out our shop today to buy your device! 

10 Things You Can Do to Deal With Career Stress

Guest Post by Felix Prasetyo

As a solopreneur, I've had to learn how to deal with career stress because nobody was there to help me. Working on my own has its benefits--behind the scenes while everyone else is still at work, charging only for the time I spend on an assignment or project, making my own hours and schedule work for me. But it takes learning on how to be self-motivated and control my own focus level. If I get distracted, procrastinate all day long, stop taking breaks during the day, then suddenly realize that it's 10 pm, and I haven't done any meaningful work in two days...I'm screwed!

But if you're like most young professionals out there who are managing their careers themselves for the first time, then you might find yourself dealing with some stress that doesn't come from your new career. Maybe it's because of school, especially if you're juggling one or two degrees while trying to work, or maybe even it's moving to a new city for the first time on your own, or maybe it's family problems...either way, here 10 things you can do to cope with it all.

1. Take up yoga. 

I know what you're thinking: "Yoga? Ha ha ha! More like Yogurt!" Well guess what--yogurt won't help reduce your blood pressure or deal with anxiety attacks before an important pitch meeting. Yoga is great for learning how to breathe properly and really control every part of your body, which helps keep your mind centered too!

Experts believe that incorporating yoga into a daily routine has many benefits in our lives, emotionally as well as physically. As more research is conducted regarding the positive effects of yoga on our health, it becomes more apparent that this practice truly does have some amazing benefits even for those who consider themselves "healthy".

2. Try seeing a doctor for medication. 

I'm not joking--you could have some sort of anxiety disorder that is making it hard to be comfortable in your new career, and if you're feeling overwhelmed then that's not normal or healthy. A doctor can prescribe something that will help control that, so don't ignore the signs!

3. Practice meditation at least once a day (in addition to yoga). 

It helps clear your mind and gives you perspective on any problems you might have. It also helps make it easier to focus on what you need to do during the day--if you've had time to sit down, center yourself, and think about everything, then it'll be easier for you to tackle each item one at a time.

A study conducted by Harvard neuroscientists showed that meditation actually changes grey matter concentration in the brain regions responsible for memory, learning ability, and compassion. Meditation helps control your emotions also because it reduces activity within our amygdala - a region associated with fear and anxiety response. 

4. Find friends at work--or approach coworkers who seem friendly so you can get to know them better outside of the office. 

It'll be nice to have some people that you can talk to about any problems or frustrations, particularly when it's someone that understands what you're going through in your career right now! Sometimes having just one person with whom you can approach personal issues is enough to cut out stress in half for the day.

5. Save up some money when times are good so you have some extra leeway if things don't turn out as planned during a rough patch of job.

Sure, I live with my family...but not everyone has that luxury! If your parents will let you stay with them rent-free while you find a job, then that's great. If not, then make sure to keep some money tucked away for the day when you come home and say "I don't know what to do anymore!"

6. Find ways to relax outside of work (even if it means taking time off). 

As much as this is about dealing with stress at work, it's also about learning how to take care of yourself...so make sure you're doing things that are enjoyable too! You can use up all your vacation days or personal days on relaxing--that way there'll be no guilt involved the next time you have an assignment due which is eating up your last few hours of free time!

7. Find ways to escape work at work (and don't feel bad about it). 

Your job might be stressful, but that doesn't mean you can't take a few minutes out of your day to check your personal email or text the people who are closest to you! If anything, it'll make you feel better for the rest of the day so you can tackle each problem with more ease.

8. Take advantage of company programs designed to help employees relax and refocus themselves.

There's no shame in asking HR if they have any services available for their staff. You might need to go through some training or counseling sessions before anything is approved, but there's nothing wrong with taking part in something that could improve your mental health during these tough times.

9. Reach out to your S.O., family, or friends for support.

Sometimes it's easier to talk about tough problems with people who won't be directly impacted by the outcome (or at least not until they find out how things turn out!). They can give you a different perspective on what you're going through, and help remind you of the good parts of the situation too!

10. Make sure you have some activities planned during downtime. 

When work does start to weigh on your mind, it'll be nice to have something else waiting for you! A new book series? An upcoming movie marathon? Exciting plans with your best friend from back home? Whatever it is, just sure there's something there which will make you happy--because there's no point in dealing with stress if it doesn't make you feel better!

Hobbies are great for keeping your mind busy during times of stress, especially if the hobby is something that keeps you active. If entering a 5K race to support cancer research or hula hooping for fun will help take away your worries, then go out and do it! Be sure to check what types of activities are offered through work too--if they'll reimburse you for them, then even better!

Final thoughts

You are so worth it. When you're feeling stressed, it's important to take time for yourself and find ways to relieve the tension. Because at the end of the day, we all face challenges in our lives. Stress, because of that, is inevitable. But by implementing these 10 tips you can reduce the amount of time it takes for your brain and body to recover. Implementing even one tip will make a difference in how you feel. Let us know if any of these ideas resonate with you or share some that work well for you!

Author bio (Gravatar email: felix@lifengoal.com):

Felix Prasetyo is the founder and writer at Lifengoal.com, where he talks about anything related to personal growth. Download his free ebook “The 8 Relationship Advice I Wish I’d Known 10 Years Ago”, featuring the likes of Simon Sinek, Jay Shetty, Matthew Hussey, and more!

Mindful breathing for pain control: Like Yin and Yang

October 12, 2021

Science Daily/University of Michigan

It's long been known that meditative mindful breathing helps with various health conditions, including pain.

To that end, researchers at the University of Michigan compared two types of meditative breathing -- traditional mindful breathing and virtual reality, 3D-guided mindful breathing -- to reduce pain. They found that each lessened pain by modulating the somatosensory cortex, a region of the brain responsible for processing pain, but each used different mechanisms, said Alexandre DaSilva, associate professor at the School of Dentistry.

With the traditional breathing group, the functional connection with the brain's frontal regions increased, because this region was focused on the body's internal sensory details, called interoception, DaSilva said. This competed with the external pain signals and inhibited the ability of the somatosensory cortex to process pain. This follows the common assumption that mindful breathing exerts its painkilling effect by interoception, which means the conscious refocusing of the mind's attention to the physical sensation of an internal organ function.

In the virtual reality group, subjects wore special glasses and watched a pair of virtual reality 3D lungs, while breathing mindfully. The technology was developed in-house and the lungs synchronized with the subjects' breathing cycles in real time. This provided an immersive visual and audio external stimulus. Pain decreased when the sensory regions of the brain (visual, auditory) engaged with the immersive virtual reality sound and image stimulations. This is called exteroception, and it weakened the pain processing function of the somatosensory cortex.

"(I was surprised) that both meditative breathing methods decreased pain sensitivity, but oppositely in the brain, like yin and yang," DaSilva said. "One by engaging the brain in an immersive exterior 3D experience of our own breathing, or exteroception -- yang, and the other by focusing on our interior world, interoception -- yin."

Though both approaches decreased pain sensitivity, traditional mindful breathing can be challenging because it requires long-time attention and focus on an abstract experience, he said. Virtual reality breathing might be more accessible, especially for beginners, because it lends an immersive "visual and auditory guide" to the meditation experience.

And, the virtual reality mindful breathing gives medical professionals another possible option for pain relief, to decrease the tendency to rely solely on pain medications, including opiates, DaSilva said.

Pain is processed by many regions in the brain that provide different information for the global pain experience. DaSilva's lab learned in previous studies that some of those regions can be externally targeted by neuromodulation, a process whereby electrical impulses are used to directly modulate brain activity.

However, here was to dissect and understand the two brain mechanisms for pain modulation using breathing. To that end, DaSilva's team compared the two methods of breathing, by placing a single, unilateral thermode on the left mandibular nerve branch of the trigeminal cranial nerve for each participant -- think of a tiny, computer-controlled hotplate on your face.

To study the brain mechanisms used during the two types of breathing, researchers analyzed their associated functional connectivity -- i.e., what regions of the brain were co-activated and when -- during each type of breathing and pain stimulation. They investigated the acute (same session) and long effects (after one week) of breathing techniques, and in the week between the two neuroimaging sessions, both groups did traditional mindful breathing at home.

DaSilva's research group, which focuses heavily on migraine and pain, is working on options to deliver this virtual reality breathing experience via a mobile application and extending its clinical benefit to multiple chronic pain disorders beyond the lab space.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211012154810.htm

Why do we remember stressful experiences better?

October 15, 2021

Science Daily/Ruhr-University Bochum

Stressful experiences are usually remembered more easily than neutral experiences. Researchers at Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) have analysed the reasons why this is the case. They put people in stressful situations during simulated job interviews and then recorded their memory of objects from these interviews. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, they analysed brain activity while the participants saw the objects again. Memories of objects from stressful situations seem to rely on similar brain activity as memories of the stress trigger itself.

The team headed by Anne Bierbrauer, Professor Oliver Wolf and Professor Nikolai Axmacher from the RUB Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience describes the findings in the journal Current Biology, published online on 14 October 2021.

Different theories

"We usually have detailed images in your mind's eye of stressful experiences, such as taking the driving test, even after many years," says Oliver Wolf. "Whereas a walk through the park on the same day is quickly forgotten." The neuroscientists at RUB would like to understand the reasons for this phenomenon.

Earlier studies and theoretical considerations had led to different predictions about how memories of stressful experiences differ from neutral ones: "One idea was that very different memory representations might have been the key to more powerful memories; on the other hand, there were indications that stress memories have resembled each other more closely," explains Anne Bierbrauer. The current study provides evidence for the second theory.

Analysing stressful experiences in the lab

Unlike in many laboratory studies, the researchers set out to record the memory trace of a real event in their experiments, using the so-called Trier Social Stress Test for this purpose. This test requires the participants to speak in front of an application committee, all of whom wear a neutral expression and don't give any positive feedback. The test unfailingly triggers stress in the participants.

During the job interview simulation, the committee used a number of everyday objects; for example, one of the committee members took a sip from a coffee cup. The control group was confronted with the same objects, but the participants were not subjected to any stress. One day later, the researchers showed the objects to participants in both groups while recording brain activity in a magnetic resonance imaging scanner. The stressed participants remembered the objects better than members of the control group.

The researchers analysed primarily the brain activity in the amygdala, a region whose main functions include emotional learning. They compared the neuronal traces of objects that had been used by the committee members in the stress situation with those of objects that hadn't been used. The result was: the memory traces of objects that had been used resembled each other more closely than those of objects that hadn't been used. This was not the case in the control group. In other words, the brain representations of the objects from the stressful situations were very closely linked, and they were thus clearly set apart from other experiences.

Stressful memories are based on their resemblance to the stressor

One day after the stress test, the researchers showed the participants not only pictures of the objects from the job interview, but also photos of members of the committee. The participants mainly remembered objects where the brain activity was similar to the activity triggered by the presentation of the committee members. "The committee members triggered the stress in the interview situation. Accordingly, it seems that the link between the objects and the stress triggers was crucial for the enhanced memory," concludes Nikolai Axmacher.

The findings obtained in this study argue against the theory that stronger memories are triggered by memory representations that differ from each other as much as possible -- at least when it comes to emotional or stressful memories. Rather, the mechanism that reinforces emotional memories appears to be rooted in the fact that the important aspects of the episode are linked at the neural level and become more closely related to the stress trigger. "This result could be an important building block to better understand emotional and traumatic memories," points out Anne Bierbrauer.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211015184209.htm

Optimal blood pressure helps our brains age slower

Optimal blood pressure helps our brains stay at least six months younger than our actual age

October 12, 2021

Science Daily/Australian National University

People with elevated blood pressure that falls within the normal recommended range are at risk of accelerated brain ageing, according to new research from The Australian National University (ANU).

The research also found optimal blood pressure helps our brains stay at least six months younger than our actual age. The researchers are now calling for national health guidelines to be updated to reflect their important findings.

The ANU study, published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, found participants with high blood pressure had older and therefore less healthy brains, increasing their risk of heart disease, stroke and dementia.

Participants with an elevated blood pressure, but within the normal range, also had older looking brains and were at risk of health problems.

"This thinking that one's brain becomes unhealthy because of high blood pressure later in life is not completely true," Professor Nicolas Cherbuin, Head of the ANU Centre for Research on Ageing, Health and Wellbeing, said.

"It starts earlier and it starts in people who have normal blood pressure."

Normal blood pressure is defined by pressure below 120/80, whereas an optimal and healthier blood pressure is closer to 110/70.

The new research comes after a large international study found the number of people over 30 with high blood pressure has doubled globally.

Cardiologist and co-author of the study, Professor Walter Abhayaratna, said if we maintain optimal blood pressure our brains will remain younger and healthier as we age.

"It's important we introduce lifestyle and diet changes early on in life to prevent our blood pressure from rising too much, rather than waiting for it to become a problem," he said.

"Compared to a person with a high blood pressure of 135/85, someone with an optimal reading of 110/70 was found to have a brain age that appears more than six months younger by the time they reach middle age."

The ANU team, in collaboration with colleagues in Australia, New Zealand and Germany, examined more than 2,000 brain scans of 686 healthy individuals aged 44 to 76.

The blood pressure of the participants was measured up to four times across a 12-year period. The brain scan and blood pressure data was used to determine a person's brain age, which is a measure of brain health.

Lead author, Professor Cherbuin, said the findings highlight a particular concern for young people aged in their 20s and 30s because it takes time for the effects of increased blood pressure to impact the brain.

"By detecting the impact of increased blood pressure on the brain health of people in their 40s and older, we have to assume the effects of elevated blood pressure must build up over many years and could start in their 20s. This means that a young person's brain is already vulnerable," he said.

Professor Abhayaratna said the research findings show the need for everyone, including young people, to check their blood pressure regularly.

"Australian adults should take the opportunity to check their blood pressure at least once a year when they see their GP, with an aim to ensure that their target blood pressure is closer to 110/70, particularly in younger and middle age groups," he said.

"If your blood pressure levels are elevated, you should take the opportunity to speak with your GP about ways to reduce your blood pressure, including the modification of lifestyle factors such as diet and physical activity."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211012112239.htm

Brain activity patterns after trauma may predict long-term mental health

Study shows link between post-trauma brain activity and symptoms of anxiety, PTSD six months later

October 14, 2021

Science Daily/NIH/National Institute of Mental Health

The way a person's brain responds to stress following a traumatic event, such as a car accident, may help to predict their long-term mental health outcomes, according to research supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), part of the National Institutes of Health. The research, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, is part of the NIMH-funded AURORA study, a large-scale, multisite study that followed more than 3,000 people for up to a year after exposure to a traumatic event.

Evidence from previous studies suggests that it's common for people to show a wide range of responses after a traumatic experience, such as a natural disaster or serious accident. One person may show initial symptoms that diminish naturally over time, while another may have long-lasting symptoms that make it difficult to carry out everyday activities. These different responses do not fall neatly into existing diagnostic categories and, although there are known risk and resilience factors associated with mental health outcomes, researchers aren't yet able to predict how a specific person will fare after experiencing a traumatic event.

Using a variety of neurobiological, behavioral, and self-report measures, the AURORA study researchers hope to develop a comprehensive picture of the factors that play a role in trauma survivors' mental health over time. To help advance this effort, AURORA study data will be made available to the broader research community through the NIMH Data Archive.

As part of the study, Jennifer Stevens, Ph.D., of Emory University in Atlanta, led an investigation of post-trauma brain activity in an initial group of 69 AURORA participants who were seen in an emergency department following a car crash. Stevens and colleagues hypothesized that different patterns of stress-related brain activity may predict participants' long-term mental health symptoms across a range of diagnoses.

Two weeks after the accident, the participants had their brain activity measured via functional MRI while they completed a series of standard computer-based tasks. The tasks assessed their brain activity in response to social threat cues, reward cues, and situations that required them to inhibit a response.

Over the next six months, the participants also completed digital surveys in which they self-reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, dissociation, anxiety, and impulsivity.

Analyses of the participants' brain activity data revealed four distinct profiles:

• Reactive/disinhibited: High activity related to both threat and reward; little activity related to response inhibition

• Low-reward/high-threat: High activity related to threat; low activity related to reward

• High-reward: No activity related to threat; little activity related to response inhibition; high activity related to reward

• Inhibited: De-activation related to threat; some activity related to inhibition; low activity related to reward

The researchers then performed the same analyses with a separate group of 77 AURORA participants who also were seen in an emergency department following exposure to a range of traumatic events not limited to car crashes. In this group, they found evidence for three of the four profiles: reactive/disinhibited, low-reward/high-threat, and inhibited. These profiles were not correlated with other demographic, health-related, trauma-related, or site-specific characteristics.

Looking at participants' brain activity profiles in relation to their mental health outcomes, Stevens and co-authors found that participants with the reactive/disinhibited profile -- those who showed high activity related to both threat and reward -- reported higher levels of symptoms of both PTSD and anxiety over the six-month follow-up period compared with the other profiles.

The researchers found no association between any of the brain activity profiles and other mental health outcomes, such as symptoms of depression, dissociation, or impulsivity.

The link between high reward reactivity (as part of the reactive/disinhibited profile) and long-term symptoms was unexpected, as previous studies indicated an association between low reward reactivity and post-trauma PTSD and depression. The divergent findings could be explained by the fact that reactivity to reward and threat are rarely examined together in trauma-related studies. The researchers suggest that reward reactivity warrants greater attention in future studies as a potential risk factor for stress-related symptoms following trauma.

These findings are preliminary and additional research with larger samples will be needed to confirm and refine these brain-based profiles. However, these initial findings suggest that the profiles could provide meaningful information about a person's vulnerability to stress after experiencing a traumatic event. Establishing reliable, predictive profiles of stress response could improve clinical care, helping providers deliver effective interventions that are tailored to trauma survivors' individual needs and circumstances.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211014100156.htm

Ground-breaking trial prevents loneliness among older people during Covid pandemic

October 12, 2021

Science Daily/University of York

A simple form of talking therapy, delivered by trained support workers over the telephone, reduced loneliness in older people left isolated during the pandemic, the initial results of a new study has revealed.

People were contacted weekly and were encouraged to maintain their social contacts and to stick to a daily schedule, which included both routine and enjoyable activities.

The intervention developed in the BASIL-C19 (Behavioural Activation in Social Isolation) study lasted for eight weeks and was designed in partnership with older people who had direct experience of social isolation, loneliness and depression during the pandemic.

The pandemic, and the restrictions that were imposed, has highlighted the importance of good mental health and social connection. Research conducted before the pandemic struck identified 1.4million older adults in England as experiencing significant loneliness with impacts on their mental health. Research since the pandemic shows that rates of loneliness and depression have increased, particularly for those who were self-isolating.

A team of leading researchers and clinicians anticipated the impacts of the pandemic on mental health and re-focussed their research expertise to examine the psychological impact of enforced isolation, disruption to daily routines, loss of social contact and loneliness.

The team included academics from the universities of York, including Hull York Medical School, Leeds, Keele and Manchester, and Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys (TEWV) NHS Foundation Trust, in partnership with leading charity, AgeUK.

They designed a very brief telephone delivered intervention to combat depression and loneliness. Older people appreciated the offer of telephone contact and they found the intervention to be helpful in maintaining daily routines and social contact.

The preliminary results have now been published in the leading journal PLOS Medicine. The research team found that there was evidence of improved mental health, and a strong indication that rates of loneliness are reduced substantially in the first three months. Building on these exciting early results, a much larger trial follow-on trial is currently recruiting at over 12 sites across England and Wales. The study will include over 600 older people and is the largest study ever undertaken to tackle loneliness and depression in this way.

The study was led from York by Professor Simon Gilbody, Director of the Mental Health & Addictions Research Group (MHARG) at the University of York and Hull York Medical School, and Professor David Ekers, Clinical Director for research and development at TEWV NHS Foundation Trust and Honorary Professor at the University of York.

Professor Gilbody said: "Our University-NHS partnership was ideally placed to respond to societal challenges of COVID-19.

"Older people and those with long term conditions entered enforced isolation, and this was very disruptive to people's lives.

"We predicted increased rates of loneliness and depression for this vulnerable population, and we knew what might work to prevent this. Care in the NHS must be informed by the highest quality of evidence and we did not waste any time in deciding to set up a clinical trial to test this out.

"The research undertaken in the NHS is acknowledged to be world-leading in terms of its scale, rigour and impact. The NHS has led the way in understanding how best to respond to the pandemic.

"The first results of the pilot trial are now available, and there is now emerging evidence that it is possible to prevent loneliness and potentially improve mental health."

Professor Carolyn Chew-Graham, a GP and leading researcher in the mental health of older people, based at Keele University added: "COVID-19 has unfortunately impacted on the mental health of older people. We know that social isolation can cause people to suffer from loneliness, low mood and anxiety. In this study, we tested how we can maintain older people's mental health during this difficult time."

Professor David Ekers added: "We have been researching in this area for the past 10 years, and we are ideally placed to help establish 'what works' in maintaining good mental health during the lockdown.

"This represents a great alliance between the Universities and the NHS to address the major challenges posed by COVID. Even as restrictions are lifted, many people remain socially isolated. The results of our research programme will be useful in the future in tackling the epidemic of loneliness.''

The research, which is published just days after World Mental Health Day, was funded by a £2.6M grant from the National Institute for Health Research. The BASIL-C19 trial was the first trial of its kind to test the effectiveness of a psychological intervention to maintain population mental health during the pandemic.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211012150031.htm

Fasting is required to see the full benefit of calorie restriction in mice

October 18, 2021

Science Daily/University of Wisconsin-Madison

Over the last few decades, scientists have discovered that long-term calorie restriction provides a wealth of benefits in animals: lower weight, better blood sugar control, even longer lifespans.

Researchers have largely assumed that reduced food intake drove these benefits by reprogramming metabolism. But a new study from University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers finds that reduced calorie intake alone is not enough; fasting is essential for mice to derive full benefit.

The new findings lend support to preliminary evidence that fasting can boost health in people, as trends like intermittent fasting continue to hold sway. These human and animal studies have added to the growing picture of how health is controlled by when and what we eat, not just how much.

The research further emphasizes the complexity of nutrition and metabolism and provides guidance to researchers trying to untangle the true causes of diet-induced health benefits in animals and humans.

The researchers discovered that, combined with eating less, fasting reduces frailty in old age and extends the lifespan of mice. And fasting alone can improve blood sugar and liver metabolism.

Surprisingly, mice that ate fewer calories but never fasted died younger than mice that ate as much as they wanted, suggesting that calorie restriction alone may be harmful.

The research was led by UW School of Medicine and Public Health metabolism researcher Dudley Lamming, his graduate student Heidi Pak and their colleagues at UW-Madison and other institutions. The team published their findings Oct. 18 in Nature Metabolism.

Pak and Lamming were inspired to conduct the study because researchers began to realize that previous studies had unintentionally combined calorie restrictions with long fasts by providing animals with food just once a day. It was difficult, then, to distinguish the effects of one from the other.

"This overlap of treatment -- both reducing calories and imposing a fast -- was something that everybody saw, but it wasn't always obvious that it had biological significance," says Lamming, who has long studied the effect of restricted diets on metabolism. "It's only been in the past few years that people started getting interested in this issue."

To untangle these factors, Lamming's group designed four different diets for mice to follow. One group ate as much as they wanted whenever they wanted. Another group ate a full amount, but in a short period of time -- this gave them a long daily fast without reducing calories.

The other two groups were given about 30% fewer calories either once a day or dispersed over the entire day. That meant that some mice had a long daily fast while others ate the same reduced-calorie diet but never fasted, which differed from most previous studies of calorie restriction.

It turned out that many of the benefits originally ascribed to calorie restriction alone -- better blood sugar control, healthier use of fat for energy, protection from frailty in old age and longer lifespans -- all required fasting as well. Mice who ate fewer calories without fasting didn't see these positive changes.

Fasting on its own, without reducing the amount of food eaten, was just as powerful as calorie restriction with fasting. Fasting alone was enough to improve insulin sensitivity and to reprogram metabolism to focus more on using fats as a source of energy. The livers of fasting mice also showed the hallmarks of healthier metabolism.

The researchers did not study the effect of fasting alone on lifespan or frailty as mice aged, but other studies have suggested that fasting can provide these benefits as well.

While the mice that ate fewer calories without ever fasting did show some improved blood sugar control, they also died younger. Compared with mice who both ate less and fasted, these mice that only ate less died about 8 months earlier on average.

"That was quite surprising," says Lamming, although other studies have also shown some negative effects from restricting calories. The team also measured frailty through metrics like grip strength and coat condition. "In addition to their shorter lifespans, these mice were worse in certain aspects of frailty, but better in others. So, on balance their frailty didn't change much, but they didn't look as healthy."

The primary studies were done in male mice, but Lamming's lab also found similar metabolic effects of fasting in female mice.

The research reveals how difficult diet studies are, even in a laboratory environment. That difficulty is magnified for human studies, which simply can't match the level of control possible in animal models. The new study can provide direction to future work trying to answer whether fasting improves human health.

"We need to know whether this fasting is required for people to see benefits," Lamming says. "If fasting is the main driver of health, we should be studying drugs or diet interventions that mimic fasting rather than those that mimic fewer calories."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211018112513.htm

Depression, anxiety may be linked to c-section risk among pregnant women

October 20, 2021

Science Daily/Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan

Depression and anxiety in pregnant women may be connected to the type of delivery they have, new research suggests.

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders have already been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes like low birth weight and preterm birth. And now, a new Michigan Medicine study finds that they may also be linked to significantly higher rates of first time cesarean deliveries among women who were otherwise at low risk of having one.

"Our findings reinforce the importance of better identifying and treating perinatal depression and anxiety disorders in pregnant women," said senior author Vanessa Dalton, M.D., M.P.H., obstetrician gynecologist at University of Michigan Health Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital.

"It's critical to better understand how these mood disorders increase the likelihood of cesarean section deliveries, which we know have both short and long-term health consequences for both expecting moms and their babies."

Researchers analyzed national data for 360,225 delivery hospitalizations among commercially insured women ages 15-44 during the decade between 2008 and 2017, with 24% including a first-time delivery by cesarean section. The findings appear in Health Affairs.

The study is among the largest to document a link between predated mood and anxiety disorders and first-time c-sections among low-risk pregnant women. Previous research on this relationship is limited, often including patients who had previous cesarean deliveries -- one of the most significant predictors of a repeat c-section -- or who may not have already been diagnosed with a perinatal mood disorder.

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders affect as many as one in five reproductive-age women in the United States, and the prevalence of these disorders more than doubled between 2006 and 2015 among childbearing women in the U.S. The prevalence of suicidal ideation and intentional self-harm in the year before or after a birth also rose during that time period, with suicide being a leading cause of maternal mortality.

"There's been growing recognition that mental health is really important during the time of pregnancy," Dalton said. "Maternal suicide risk is especially high the year following delivery."

Anxiety and depression have numerous other negative consequences for women and their children, Dalton said, including adverse birth outcomes, higher rates of maternal morbidity, and lost earnings.

Estimated costs of untreated perinatal mood and anxiety disorders also exceed $14 billion in the U.S. from conception through the first five years of a child's life and may affect the long-term use of health care resources for both women and their children, authors note.

Caesarian section risks

Reducing the rate of first-time cesarean sections is a Healthy People 2030 goal in the U.S. endorsed by numerous public health and professional societies.

Like any major surgery, cesarean deliveries come with several associated risks, including blood clots, hemorrhaging, infection and risks to future pregnancies. Most women who undergo a cesarean section for their first birth will go on to have a repeat cesarean section.

"Cesarean sections are a major contributing factor to maternal morbidity events after a delivery with many adverse downstream effects," Dalton said. "We need to understand all factors that may increase a woman's chance of a c-section delivery so we can avoid any unnecessary risks."

Authors note that the Healthy People goal is to reduce caesarians by 2.3% -- and that about women with a prenatal diagnosis of anxiety or depression had a predicted probability of having a cesarean section that was about 3.5% higher than women without anxiety or depression.

Women with these disorders were more likely to be older, be White, and reside in a household with income more than 400 percent of poverty compared with those without perinatal mood and anxiety disorders

While reasons for the relationship are speculative, there have been unproven theories, including a notion that prenatal anxiety is sometimes focused on the delivery itself -- which may prompt providers to turn to cesarean to reduce the labor process. Others have theorized that maternal distress may affect placental development, which in turn may impact symptoms of fetal distress during labor that could prompt a caesarian section.

But none of these speculations have been proven and further studies are needed to gain insight on the association, Dalton said.

"We need more research to clarify the relationship between perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and primary cesarean section rates to enhance our understanding of the consequences of these disorders for health outcomes," she said. "This could potentially inform efforts to develop and evaluate effective treatments and policy interventions."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211020135842.htm

Stress on mothers can influence biology of future generations

October 13, 2021

Science Daily/University of Iowa

A mother's response to stress can even influence her grandchildren.

Biologists at the University of Iowa found that roundworm mothers subjected to heat stress passed, under certain conditions and through modifications to their genes, the legacy of that stress exposure not only to their offspring but even to their offspring's children.

The researchers, led by Veena Prahlad, associate professor in the Department of Biology and the Aging Mind and Brain Initiative, looked at how a mother roundworm reacts when she senses danger, such as a change in temperature, which can be harmful or even fatal to the animal. In a study published last year, the biologists discovered the mother roundworm releases serotonin when she senses danger. The serotonin travels from her central nervous system to warn her unfertilized eggs, where the warning is stored, so to speak, and then passed to offspring after conception.

Examples of such genetic cascades abound, even in humans. Studies have shown that pregnant women affected by famine in the Netherlands from 1944 to 1945, known as the Dutch Hunger Winter, gave birth to children who were influenced by that episode as adults -- with higher rates than average of obesity, diabetes, and schizophrenia.

In this study, the biologists wanted to find out how the memory of stress exposure was stored in the egg cell.

"Genes have 'memories' of past environmental conditions that, in turn, affect their expression even after these conditions have changed," Prahlad explains. "How this 'memory' is established and how it persists past fertilization, embryogenesis, and after the embryo develops into adults is not clear. "This is because during embryogenesis, most organisms typically reset any changes that have been made to genes because of the genes' past activity."

Prahlad and her teams turned to the roundworm, a creature regularly studied by scientists, for clues. They exposed mother roundworms to unexpected stresses and found the stress memory was ingrained in the mother's eggs through the actions of a protein called the heat shock transcription factor, or HSF1. The HSF1 protein is present in all plants and animals and is activated by changes in temperature, salinity, and other stressors.

The team found that HSF1 recruits another protein, an enzyme called a histone 3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methyltransferase. The latter normally acts during embryogenesis to silence genes and erase the memory of their prior activity.

However, Prahald's team observed something else entirely.

"We found that HSF1 collaborates with the mechanisms that normally act to 'reset' the memory of gene expression during embryogenesis to, instead, establish this stress memory," Prahlad says.

One of these newly silenced genes encodes the insulin receptor, which is central to metabolic changes with diabetes in humans, and which, when silenced, alters an animal's physiology, metabolism, and stress resilience. Because these silencing marks persisted in offspring, their stress-response strategy was switched from one that depended on the ability to be highly responsive to stress, to relying instead on mechanisms that decreased stress responsiveness but provided long-term protection from stressful environments.

"What we found all the more remarkable was that if the mother was exposed to stress for a short period of time, only progeny that developed from her germ cells that were subjected to this stress in utero had this memory," Prahlad says. "The progeny of these progeny (the mother's grandchildren) had lost this memory. However, if the mother was subjected to a longer period of stress, the grandchildren generation retained this memory. Somehow the 'dose' of maternal stress exposure is recorded in the population."

The researchers plan to investigate these changes further. HSF1 is not only required for stress resistance but also increased levels of both HSF1 and the silencing mark are associated with cancer and metastasis. Because HSF1 exists in many organisms, its newly discovered interaction with H3K9 methyltransferase to drive gene silencing is likely to have larger repercussions.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211013114108.htm

Exposure to childhood adversity is linked to early mortality and associated with nearly half a million annual U.S. deaths

October 12, 2021

Science Daily/Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health

The findings of a new study suggest that childhood adversity is a major contributor to early and preventable causes of mortality and a powerful determinant of long term physical and mental health. Researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Harvard University found that childhood adversity is associated with elevated risk for chronic disease including heart disease and cancer. Until now the degree to which childhood adversity contributed to mortality as a preventable driver of ill-health and death was unknown. The findings are published in JAMA Pediatrics.

"Childhood adversity has consistently been identified as a powerful determinant of physical and mental health," said Katherine M. Keyes, PhD, associate professor of epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School, and a study senior author. "Our research is a novel synthesis of evidence to estimate the scope of health burden and preventable mortality. Incorporating a life-course perspective, the findings indicates that childhood adversity is closely linked to morbidity and mortality in the U.S. and a preventable determinant of mortality."

Using the databases PsycINFO and MEDLINE the researchers reviewed metanalyses in publications through mid-November 2019 to investigate associations between childhood adversity and morbidity outcomes. The prevalence of childhood adversity was extracted from the National Comorbidity Survey Adolescent Supplement, a population-representative survey of children and their caregivers.

A total of 19 meta-analyses with 20,?654,?832 participants were reviewed. Childhood adversity accounted for approximately 439,072 deaths annually in the U.S. through associations with leading causes of death including heart disease, cancer, and suicide, or 15 percent of the 2,854,838 total number of U.S. mortalities in 2019. In addition, CA was associated with millions of cases of unhealthy behaviors and disease markers, including more than 22 million cases of sexually transmitted infections, 21 million cases of illicit drug use, 19 million cases of elevated inflammation, and more than 10 million cases each of smoking and physical inactivity.

Exposure to one or more experiences of adversity before the age of 18 years was considered and also included abuse, neglect, family violence, and economic adversity. The greatest proportion of outcomes attributable to CA were for suicide attempts and sexually transmitted infections, for which adversity accounted for up to 38 percent and 33 percent, respectively.

"These findings give greater urgency to recent efforts to screen for early adversity in pediatric primary care as a way of identifying children at risk for poor health and delivering early interventions ," said said Keyes. "Considering CA as a preventable contributing factor to early mor tality may help to shift action and funding into prevention of adversity."

Our study adds to a growing literature demonstrating that social determinants of health are important to consider as preventable causes of death. By reframing how we think about the causes of death, the resources available to address population health may be allocated more effectively."

"The prevention of childhood adversity and the intervention on pathways that tie these experiences to elevated disease risk should be considered a critical public health priority."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211012154800.htm

Hit the sleep ‘sweet spot’ to keep brain sharp

Too little and too much sleep linked to cognitive decline

October 20, 2021

Science Daily/Washington University School of Medicine

Like so many other good things in life, sleep is best in moderation. A multiyear study of older adults found that both short and long sleepers experienced greater cognitive decline than people who slept a moderate amount, even when the effects of early Alzheimer's disease were taken into account. The study was led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Poor sleep and Alzheimer's disease are both associated with cognitive decline, and separating out the effects of each has proven challenging. By tracking cognitive function in a large group of older adults over several years and analyzing it against levels of Alzheimer's-related proteins and measures of brain activity during sleep, the researchers generated crucial data that help untangle the complicated relationship among sleep, Alzheimer's and cognitive function. The findings could aid efforts to help keep people's minds sharp as they age.

The findings are published Oct. 20 in the journal Brain.

"It's been challenging to determine how sleep and different stages of Alzheimer's disease are related, but that's what you need to know to start designing interventions," said first author Brendan Lucey, MD, an associate professor of neurology and director of the Washington University Sleep Medicine Center. "Our study suggests that there is a middle range, or 'sweet spot,' for total sleep time where cognitive performance was stable over time. Short and long sleep times were associated with worse cognitive performance, perhaps due to insufficient sleep or poor sleep quality. An unanswered question is if we can intervene to improve sleep, such as increasing sleep time for short sleepers by an hour or so, would that have a positive effect on their cognitive performance so they no longer decline? We need more longitudinal data to answer this question."

Alzheimer's is the main cause of cognitive decline in older adults, contributing to about 70% of dementia cases. Poor sleep is a common symptom of the disease and a driving force that can accelerate the disease's progression. Studies have shown that self-reported short and long sleepers are both more likely to perform poorly on cognitive tests, but such sleep studies typically do not include assessments of Alzheimer's disease.

To tease apart the separate effects of sleep and Alzheimer's disease on cognition, Lucey and colleagues turned to volunteers who participate in Alzheimer's studies through the university's Charles F. and Joanne Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center. Such volunteers undergo annual clinical and cognitive assessments, and provide a blood sample to be tested for the high-risk Alzheimer's genetic variant APOE4. For this study, the participants also provided samples of cerebrospinal fluid to measure levels of Alzheimer's proteins, and each slept with a tiny electroencephalogram (EEG) monitor strapped to their foreheads for four to six nights to measure brain activity during sleep.

In total, the researchers obtained sleep and Alzheimer's data on 100 participants whose cognitive function had been monitored for an average of 4 1/2 years. Most (88) had no cognitive impairments, 11 were very mildly impaired, and one had mild cognitive impairment. The average age was 75 at the time of the sleep study.

The researchers found a U-shaped relationship between sleep and cognitive decline. Overall, cognitive scores declined for the groups that slept less than 4.5 or more than 6.5 hours per night -- as measured by EEG -- while scores stayed stable for those in the middle of the range. EEG tends to yield estimates of sleep time that are about an hour shorter than self-reported sleep time, so the findings correspond to 5.5 to 7.5 hours of self-reported sleep, Lucey said.

The U-shaped relationship held true for measures of specific sleep phases, including rapid-eye movement (REM), or dreaming, sleep; and non-REM sleep. Moreover, the relationship held even after adjusting for factors that can affect both sleep and cognition, such as age, sex, levels of Alzheimer's proteins, and the presence of APOE4.

"It was particularly interesting to see that not only those with short amounts of sleep but also those with long amounts of sleep had more cognitive decline," said co-senior author David Holtzman, MD, a professor of neurology. "It suggests that sleep quality may be key, as opposed to simply total sleep."

Each person's sleep needs are unique, and people who wake up feeling rested on short or long sleep schedules should not feel compelled to change their habits, Lucey said. But those who are not sleeping well should be aware that sleep problems often can be treated.

"I ask many of my patients, 'How's your sleep?'" said co-senior author Beau M. Ances, MD, PhD, the Daniel J. Brennan, MD, Professor of Neurology. Ances treats patients with dementia and other neurodegenerative conditions at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. "Often patients report that they're not sleeping well. Often once their sleep issues are treated, they may have improvements in cognition. Physicians who are seeing patients with cognitive complaints should ask them about their quality of sleep. This is potentially a modifiable factor."

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211020135920.htm

Sleep loss does not impact ability to assess emotional information

October 11, 2021

Science Daily/Washington State University

It's no secret that going without sleep can affect people's mood, but a new study shows it does not interfere with their ability to evaluate emotional situations.

It is often assumed that feeling more negative will color people's experience of emotional images and events in the environment around them. However, Washington State University researchers found that while going 24 hours without sleep impacted study participants' mood, it did not change their performance on tests evaluating their ability to process emotional words and images.

"People do become less happy through sleep deprivation, but it's not affecting how they are processing emotional stimuli in their environment," said Anthony Stenson, a WSU psychology doctoral student and lead author of the study in Plos One.

The findings have implications for healthcare providers, law enforcement and people in other long-hour professions who need to be able to control their own emotions during stressful and emotionally trying situations. Sleep loss in not likely to make them numb to emotional situations, the researchers found, but it is likely to make them less able to control their own emotional responses.

For the study, about 60 adult participants spent four consecutive days in the Sleep and Performance Research Center at the WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. All participants were allowed to sleep normally the first night and then given a set of baseline tests to judge their mood as well as their emotional regulation and processing ability. Then, the researchers divided the participants into two groups: one group of 40 people spent the second night awake, while a control group of 20 were allowed a normal sleep period. The tests were then re-administered at different intervals.

The emotional regulation and processing tests both involved viewing a series of images with positive and negative emotional connotations. In the emotional regulation tests, participants were given a prompt to help them recontextualize negative images before seeing them and asked to control their feelings. The sleep-deprived group had greater difficulty reducing the emotion they felt when instructed to do so.

The processing tests involved responding to words and images with emotional content, for example rating the emotions conveyed by a smiling family, a growling dog or a crying child All participants performed similarly on these tests whether they were sleep deprived or not.

The distinction between processing the emotional content of the world around you and being able to regulate your own emotional responses is an important one, especially for some professions, said co-author Paul Whitney, a WSU professor of psychology.

"I don't think we want our first responders being numb to the emotional nature of the situations they encounter, and it looks like they are not," he said. "On the other hand, reacting normally to emotional situations, but not being able to control your own emotions, could be one reason sleep loss sometimes produces catastrophic errors in stressful situations."

A lot of previous research has looked at how sleep deprivation impacts so called "cold" cognitive tasks -- supposedly emotionally neutral tasks like recalling facts. These studies have also found that regulation, which is considered a "top-down" cognitive process, is a major problem with cold cognitive tasks. For instance, mental flexibility is compromised by sleep deprivation. This is the ability an emergency room doctor might need to quickly change tactics if a patient isn't responding to a treatment.

The current study shows that top-down regulation is a problem as well with "hot" or emotional cognitive processes. Future research is needed to understand whether the effects of sleep loss on the two top-down processes are linked.

This study is the result of an ongoing collaboration among WSU psychology researchers and sleep experts at WSU College of Medicine. Other authors include psychology post-doctoral fellow Courtney Kurinec as well as psychology Professor John Hinson and College of Medicine Professor Hans Van Dongen. All are also affiliated with the WSU Sleep and Performance Research Center.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/10/211011091255.htm

How a Day at the Spa Can Benefit Your Mental Health

Guest Post by Eliza Brooks

The French term for spring, "spa," evokes images of natural hot springs with therapeutic effects. While those properties were the first to pique spas' interest many centuries ago, there are a variety of spa treatments available these days to cure our minds. One of the best ways that a spa day can benefit your mental health is through relaxation. There's nothing like enjoying a cup of tea and a hand-and-foot treatment to quiet the mind and recharge after a long week of work. A spa day can be of benefit to the mind, body, and soul. Spa resorts are known for offering services like massage therapies, mud baths, and saunas that can relieve your body from daily stressors. Many resorts also offer healthful detoxification programs to leave you feeling refreshed and renewed. In this article, we will look at how a day at the spa can benefit your mental health.

1. Relaxation

There's nothing like a day at the spa to relax. Whether you're enjoying tea with your hand-and-foot treatment or a yoga class, you'll find that a day at the spa is good for relieving stress and letting go of daily concerns. You can take advantage of services such as meditation and holistic therapies to restore peace and order to your mind and body. To meet your demands, a high quality spa resort provides various treatments. A spa enables you to get all of your spa services in one location. You may watch the news while receiving a massage.

2. Detoxification

Spas are known for offering detoxification programs that consist of healthy eating, yoga, and other activities to encourage your body's natural detoxifying processes. Many resorts also use natural ingredients to create spa treatments that will help purify the body without the side effects of harsh chemicals. This is one of the best ways that a day at the spa can benefit your mental health.

3. Holistic therapies

While you may associate massage therapy with a good backrub, holistic therapies are now available for restoring balance to both your mind and body. You can enjoy treatments that include aromatherapy, therapeutic baths, polarity therapy, acupuncture, and much more. There are even services that combine several therapies into a single treatment.  These therapies can help boost your body's natural healing powers, making them a holistic way to restore order to your mind and body.

4. Nutrition

Spa resorts have begun to incorporate cooking classes for guests into their services. This is an excellent way that a day at the spa can benefit your mental health, as it allows you to enjoy healthy eating without having to go through the stress of finding new recipes and shopping for ingredients. Many resorts’s also offer nutritionist services that will help you choose healthy menus and ensure that you're getting enough of each nutrient to keep your body in balance. Whether you're getting a massage or learning to cook, the nutrition services at a spa resort can help you feel your best.

5. Pampering

One of the best things about visiting a spa is getting pampered with massages, aromatherapy, and other treatments. This is something that anyone can benefit from, but it is especially good for those who don't allow themselves enough quiet time to relax. Soaking in the Jacuzzi or enjoying a hot stone massage may sound like an indulgence, but they are some of the best ways that a day at the spa can benefit your mental health. It is important to allow your thoughts to slow down and quiet after a stressful week of work.

A day at the spa can benefit your mental health in so many ways. A good spa resort will offer a variety of ways to relax and relieve stress. Whether you enjoy meditation or aromatherapy, there are many different spa treatments that can benefit your mental health. Relaxation is one of the most important things that we can offer ourselves, and spa resorts are a great way to do just that. Spa resorts have begun including healthful detoxification programs and holistic therapies into their services, and this is making them more than just places for relaxation. The best thing about a day at the spa is getting pampered with massage, aromatherapy, and other treatments. This is a great way to relax after a stressful week of work. Most importantly, a spa resort is a place where you can escape the outside world in order to refocus your mind and body. If you are looking for  a day of healthy eating and wellness, a spa resort is an excellent option.