cognitive behavioral therapy Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Can Exercise Reduce Anxiety? New Study Gives Us An Answer

AHA Publisher — Fri, 11 Feb 2022 08:00:54 +0000

Ethan Boldt via Dr. Axe – Did you know that anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S.? Over 40 million adults age 18 and older are affected; this equates to 18 percent of the population. In fact, one of every three teenagers reported suffering some sort of anxiety disorder in the past year. Even if you’re fortunately to not suffer from anxiety, you probably know a loved one who does and perhaps have seen how damaging it can be. After all, it increases one’s risk for other psychiatric disorders like depression — half of those diagnosed with depression are also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. As a result, not only is traditional treatment such as cognitive behavioral therapy considered, certain natural ways to reduce anxiety are also under examination. One such natural way to deal with anxiety? Exercise. If fact, some research demonstrates that just a single bout of exercise can help ease anxiety when it arises. But if it was only so simple. Let’s dive in. The Anxiety-Exercise Conundrum Among the damage that anxiety can inflict, it can impact how active a person is. A 2015 study showed that anxiety sufferers were, on average, more sedentary and less inclined to participate in challenging forms of physical activity. Study authors concluded that rather than focusing mostly on high-intensity exercises for alleviating anxiety, it might be more productive to simply increase light physical activity while decreasing the number of sedentary bouts. In an article for Psychology Today, Alice Boyes, PhD, details why anxious people may avoid exercising: The sensations of exertion — raised heart rate, sweating, breathing heard — are similar to anxiety. Worry about getting injured or experiencing pain. Exercise can spike social anxiety, such as concern about how you look during exercise or even having to interact with people you normally wouldn’t. New Study In a recent Frontier In Psychiatry large-scale study of nearly 200,000 active adults, it showedthat being physically active cuts the risk of developing clinical anxiety in half. The study was based in Sweden and focused on cross-country skiers, but researchers declared that nearly any kind of aerobic activity probably protects the individual from excessive anxiety. In the 21-year study, skiers had a significantly lower risk of developing anxiety compared to non-skiers. Interestingly, among women, more demanding physical performance — such as faster finishing times, higher exercise doses, etc. — was linked with an increased risk of anxiety compared to slower skiing women. Nonetheless, the anxiety risk was still less compared to the control group. For men, there was no statistical difference in anxiety levels between fast vs. slow skiiers. To the authors, it was clear: “Our results support the recommendations of engaging in physical activity to decrease the risk of anxiety in both men and women.” Meanwhile, they admitted that the “physical performance level” for women and how it impacts anxiety risk requires further examination. Benefits of Exercise for Anxiety Regular physical activity helps to improve sleep quality, reduce inflammation, boost confidence, improve energy levels and ease stress and tension. People with anxiety can benefit from exercises like yoga and tai chi because they promote relaxation and involve deep breathing techniques that help to reduce stress and muscle tension. A 2012 review published in Alternative Medicine Review found that of the 35 trials that addressed the effects of yoga on anxiety and stress, 25 of them noted a significant decrease in stress and anxiety symptoms as a result of practicing yoga. Did you know that yoga changes your brain by impacting your GABA levels and suppressing neural activity? Besides yoga and tai chi, you can practice other exercises that help to calm the body. For example, running, walking or hiking outdoors, lifting weights and even dancing can help to combat stress. In fact, exercising outside during the winter where you’re exposed to sunlight is thought to be one effective strategy for helping ward off seasonal affective disorder, a type of mood disorder/depression that tends to affect people during the dark winter months. It may be another reason why the cross-country skiers in that above study fared so well. Sunlight and exercise both have a positive impact on your mood for several reasons, including because they help release more “feel good” chemicals, including serotonin and endorphins. Additionally, a 2019 study indicated that exercising helped divert the participant from whatever he or she was anxious about. Anecdotally, this may seem logical to many of us who feel great relief from whatever we were anxious about before our workout, but it necessitates further study. In a Journal of Neuroscience animal study, it seemed to resolve the contradictory findings that running can decrease anxiety while activating the frontal regions of the brain responsible for executive function. How so? “By increasing GABAergic inhibition in the hippocampus in response to stress, running may serve to calm excitatory circuitry that might otherwise produce an overly anxious state.” Best Types of Exercise for Anxiety What is the best type of exercise for anxiety? The general consensus is that any type of exercise will do well to lower anxiety levels, but of course, it depends on the individual. As the studies above demonstrate, tai chi and yoga rate very well … and now, so does cross-country skiing. Here are some helpful tips for choosing the right kind of exercise for you: What exercise do you enjoy and can commit to? Do that! Exercising with others may increase or decrease your anxiety. Go with whatever fits you. For some, working out with a friend or group can improve commitment level and provides social support. When possible, exercise outdoors. Researchers have found that just being outdoors in nature can improve your overall feelings of wellbeing and reduce anxiety. Make exercise a good habit by often doing it a similar time of day, so both your body and brain is not only ready for it but even looks forward to it. Often, morning time can work well for anxious individuals. To read the original article click here.

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New Study Shows That Treating Insomnia with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Can Prevent Major Depression in Older Adults

AHA Publisher — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 08:00:09 +0000

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences via Newswise – LOS ANGELES (Nov. 24, 2021) — A new study led by researchers at UCLA Health has found that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT-I) prevented major depression, decreasing the likelihood of depression by over 50% as compared to sleep education therapy in adults over the age of 60 with insomnia. Their findings, reported today in JAMA Psychiatry, could advance public health efforts to effectively treat insomnia and prevent major depression disorder (MDD) in older adults – a growing population that is projected to rise from about 54 million Americans aged 65 and older today to about 86 million in 2050. More than 10% of community dwelling adults older than 60 years will experience a major depression later in life in any given year. Late-life depression increases the risk of health conditions such as heart disease and high blood pressure, cognitive decline, and suicide particularly in men. Despite its prevalence in older adults, depression often goes undiagnosed and untreated. And, even among those who receive treatment, only about one-third get better or achieve remission. “Given that older adults account for nearly 20% of the U.S. population and are the most vulnerable for health risks associated with depression, effective depression prevention is urgently needed,” said Dr. Michael Irwin, lead author of the study and the director of the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience, and a Professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. “Insomnia more than doubles the risk for major depression. By targeting insomnia and effectively treating it with CBT-I, depression can be effectively prevented by over 50% in community dwelling older adults with insomnia.” Insomnia, a condition where people have difficulty falling and staying asleep, occurs in nearly 50% of adults 60 years of age or older and when it occurs, the risk of depression is more than doubled. Although various types of sleep medications are often used to treat insomnia, they provide only temporary relief and pose a risk for daytime side effects such as prolonged drowsiness or headache, and dependency. Accordingly, CBT-I is recommended as the first line of treatment for people with insomnia and has been highly effective in its treatment. This type of therapy typically centers around working with a therapist to help identify and change inaccurate or distorted thinking patterns, emotional responses, and behaviors. But how well CBT-I works to prevent major depression from occurring in older adults with insomnia has been uncertain. Prior studies showed CBT-I has benefit in treating insomnia and depressive symptoms, but it was not known whether selectively targeting insomnia, a known risk for depression, would prevent it in older adults with insomnia but without depression. To find out, the researchers enrolled 291 adults 60 years and older with insomnia but who had not experienced any depression for 12 months or longer, randomly assigning half the group to receive CBT-I by a trained psychologist, with the other half to receive sleep education therapy (SET) from a public health educator. SET includes education about sleep, healthy sleep habits and the impact of stress on sleep. Both groups received weekly 120-minute group sessions for two months and then underwent follow-up for three years. Over the course of 36 months of follow up, participants completed monthly questionnaires to screen for symptoms of depression and/or from insomnia and were diagnostically interviewed every six months to determine whether an episode of clinical depression had occurred. Key findings showed that depression occurred in 25.9% of the older adults in the SET control group during follow-up, whereas depression occurred in only 12.2% in the CBT-I group, a 51% reduction in the risk of depression with CBT-I treatment. Second, remission of insomnia that was continuously sustained during follow-up was more likely in the CBT-I group as compared to SET. Among those who received CBT-I and had sustained remission of insomnia, the likelihood of depression was reduced by 83%. Depression occurred in over 27% of the older adults in the SET group who did not have insomnia remission, whereas depression occurred in less than 5% of those in the CBT group who achieved insomnia remission. These findings suggest that treatment with CBT-I provided significant benefit to prevent incident and recurrent major depressive disorder in older adults with insomnia and that it did so by treating insomnia, a known risk factor for depression. “Our study was one of the largest selective prevention trials with the longest follow up to show that treatment of insomnia, a modifiable risk factor for depression, can robustly prevent the onset of a clinical episode of depression in older adults with insomnia who were not depressed at entry,” said Dr. Irwin. “We also showed that CBT-I produced sustained remission of insomnia. Treatment of insomnia, along with prevention of depression, taken together, could have huge public health implications in reducing health risks, suicide and cognitive decline in older adults.” To read the original article click here.

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New Finding Offers Promise in Researching Depression Together With Obesity

AHA Publisher — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 07:00:20 +0000

University of Illinois Chicago via Newswise – Is problem-solving therapy effective in treating individuals who have both depression and obesity? Researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago have identified an important step toward discovering how and why therapies and treatments work. Research published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has shown that problem-solving therapy led to short-term changes in the amygdala — the gateway to emotion regulation in the brain. Dr. Jun Ma, Beth and George Vitoux Professor of Medicine at the UIC department of medicine, is a senior author of the study: “Problem-solving therapy–induced amygdala engagement mediates lifestyle behavior change in obesity with comorbid depression: a randomized proof-of-mechanism trial.” “The goal of the study is to explore whether an intervention for comorbid obesity and depression has an effect on brain function as a causal mechanism that leads to behavior change and symptom improvement,” Ma said. In previous research, depression has been characterized by heightened amygdala activity along with a loss of amygdala regulation. Changes in amygdala activity correlate with responses to cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression and antidepressants. The new study is the first to investigate these neural targets in response to depression treatment for weight loss and behavior change among patients with both obesity and depression using a randomized clinical trial. For the current study, adults with both obesity and depression received problem-solving therapy for depression for the first two months in a yearlong, integrated behavioral treatment for both conditions. They underwent functional MRI brain imaging at the beginning of the study, then after two months. Their body mass index (BMI), physical activity and diet were measured at the study’s beginning, as well as after 12 months. Neural target changes were measured and compared with the control group, which received no problem-solving therapy. The research found amygdala changes associated with physical activity levels as well as energy expenditure.The neural target changes at two months predicted the improved behavioral outcomes after 12 months, which is important to demonstrate potential causal mechanisms, Ma said. “The goal is to study the causal mechanisms and understand how and why behavioral treatments such as problem-solving therapy work so that we can more precisely target the mechanism in order to improve treatment efficacy for patients,” Ma said. “These findings give us a promising direction for future research to hopefully confirm this causal pathway.” To read the original article click here.

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Decreases in Exercise Closely Linked with Higher Rates of Depression during the Pandemic

AHA Publisher — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 08:00:43 +0000

University of California San Diego via Newswise – Exercise has long-been recommended as a cognitive-behavioral therapy for patients of depression, yet new evidence from the University of California of San Diego suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic changed the nature of the relationship between physical activity and mental health. In a study of college students conducted before and during the pandemic, findings revealed the average steps of subjects declined from 10,000 to 4,600 steps per day and rates of depression increased from 32% to 61%. The research, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, also revealed short-term restoration of exercise does not meaningfully improve mental well-being. “This raises many possible explanations, including that the impact of physical activity may require a longer-term intervention,” said co-author Sally Sadoff, associate professor of economics and strategy at UC San Diego’s Rady School of Management. “At the same time, our results clearly show that those who maintained physical exercise throughout the pandemic were the most resilient and least likely to suffer from depression.” Sadoff added there is a 15 to 18 percentage point difference in depression rates between participants who experienced large disruptions to their mobility, compared those who maintained their habits. Sadoff and coauthors from the University of Pittsburg and Carnegie Mellon University point to the alarming trend of increased depression among young adults (ages 18-24) during the pandemic, which is two-times higher than the general population. The students in the study answered repeated surveys about their well-being and time use over the course of a semester. From March to July 2020, depression rates skyrocketed by 90%, compared to pre-pandemic levels. Fitbit Data Helps Fill in the Gaps in Understanding Mobility’s Role in Mental Health The study enrolled multiple cohorts of hundreds of U.S. college students from February 2019 through July 2020. In addition to filling out surveys, participants received wearable devices (Fitbits) that track their activity levels. Participants in the 2020 cohort began the study in February and continued participating after their university moved all classes online in March and encouraged students not to return to campus. Among the subjects, sleep increased by 25 to 30 minutes per night, time spent socializing declined by more than half (less than 30 minutes per day), and screen time more than doubled to five or more hours per day. The researchers found large declines in physical activity during COVID-19 was most strongly associated with higher rates of depression. Physical activity minutes translate to about 10 minutes in which the heart rate is raised enough to burn at least 1.5 times as many calories as it does at rest. Those who experienced declines of one to two hours of physical activity per day were most at risk for depression during the pandemic, while participants who were able to maintain their daily habits were at the lowest risk. “This relationship is one that only emerges during the pandemic,” the authors note. “Before the pandemic, there was not a very strong connection between changes in physical activity and mental health, but our analyses suggest that disruption to physical activity is a leading risk factor for depression during this period.” Short-Term Restoration of Exercise Habits Does Not Provide Mental Health Relief In order to examine whether a policy intervention could help counteract some of the pandemic’s adverse impacts to mental health, the researchers implemented a randomized experiment. Half of the participants were incentivized to walk at least 10,000 steps per day for two weeks. The strategy significantly increased their average steps by about 2,300 steps per day and physical activity by almost 40 min per day, compared to the other half of subjects. However, the impact of exercise did not translate into an improvement in mental health, nor did it encourage the students to keep up the physical activity after the two-week period ended. “Physical activity may have important interactions with other lifestyle behaviors such as social interactions,” the authors write. “It could also be the case that the relationship between physical activity and depression is driven more by mental health than it is by lifestyle habits.” They conclude more research is needed to understand how to improve both physical and mental health during such periods of large disruption. Adding, “The pandemic tightened the relationship between the maintenance of lifestyle habits and mental health.” Co-authors include Osea Giuntella, assistant professor of economics at the University of Pittsburg; Kelly Hyde, graduate student in the department of economics at the University of Pittsburg; and Silvia Saccardo, assistant professor of management at Carnegie Mellon University. To read the original article click here.

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‘Safety Signals’ May Help Slow Down Anxiety

AHA Publisher — Fri, 13 Dec 2019 08:00:34 +0000

Yale University via Science Daily – For as many as one in three people, life events or situations that pose no real danger can spark a disabling fear, a hallmark of anxiety and stress-related disorders. To read the original article and learn more about these safety signals, click here.

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