Acts of kindness can help reduce feelings of low mood and anxiety
Experiencing a bout of the February blues? Doing something for someone else may help to lift your spirits suggests a recent study[i] carried out at Ohio State University and published in the Journal of Positive Psychology.
For the study 122 adults with moderate or severe depression were divided into three groups. The first was asked to carry out kind acts for others on two days a week. The second took part in a cognitive therapy technique while the third took part in planned social activities such as baking for friends or offering to give people a lift twice a week.
After 10 weeks participants in all three groups showed an increase in life satisfaction and a reduction of depression and anxiety symptoms but the ‘kind acts’ group showed a bigger improvement than the other two groups.
“Something as simple as helping other people can go above and beyond other treatments in helping heal people with depression and anxiety,” said David Cregg of Ohio State University who led the study.
Meanwhile, if you are still feeling blue a short course of the sunshine herbal remedy St John’s Wort could be worth a try.
The Mediterranean diet could help lower the risk of chronic disease
The Mediterranean diet involves eating fewer animal foods, more fruits and vegetables, more legumes and more healthy fats plus fish and a moderate intake of wine.
Research has consistently showed it to be a great eating pattern to help lower your risk of chronic disease, including heart disease, certain cancers, and diabetes. And the latest news is that it has recently been ranked as the number one diet in the US News and World Report of the best diets for 2023[ii]. So, for all those looking for a healthy eating plan why not give it a go?
Walking continues to be of great benefit to heart health
The evidence-based health benefits of walking continue to grow, according to ongoing research by a University of Massachusetts Amherst physical activity epidemiologist, who leads an international consortium known as the ‘Steps for Health Collaborative’.
Findings from the latest study[iii] show that older adults who walked between 6,000 and 9,000 steps per day had a 40-50% reduced risk of a cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack or stroke, compared to those who walked only 2,000 steps per day.
“We found for adults over 60, there was a strikingly lower risk of a cardiovascular event or disease over an average follow-up of six years,” says Paluch, assistant professor of kinesiology in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences. “When accumulating more steps per day, there was a progressively lower risk.”
While there seems to be a continual additional benefit for those who walk more than 6,000 steps, Paluch says, encouraging the least-active older adults to take more steps is perhaps the most important health message.
“The people who are the least active have the most to gain,” she says. “For those who are at 2,000 or 3,000 steps a day, doing a little bit more can mean a lot for their heart health. If you’re at 6,000 steps, getting to 7,000 and then to 8,000 also is beneficial, it’s just a smaller, incremental improvement.”
[i] The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2022; 1 DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2022.2154695
[ii] www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/best-diet-2023-us-news-ranking-mediterranean-dash
[iii] Prospective Association of Daily Steps With Cardiovascular Disease: A Harmonized Meta-Analysis. Circulation, 2022; DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.061288
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