pandemic Archives - Amazing Health Advances

Neuroscience Secrets of Feeling Good: How You Can Be 30 Percent Happier in 30 Days

AHA Publisher — Fri, 04 Mar 2022 08:00:41 +0000

Lori Johnson via CBN News – Over two hundred years ago, President Abraham Lincoln famously said, “Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Is that even possible today in the midst of a global pandemic? [P]sychiatrist Daniel Amen, M.D. believes each of us can raise the degree of happiness we experience even in the midst of challenging circumstances like the ones we are facing today. The COVID-19 pandemic sent mental health crises through the roof. Over the last two years, adult depression tripled while depression and anxiety disorders among children more than doubled. “Americans are the unhappiest they have been since the Great Depression,” Dr. Amen told CBN News. However, he says it doesn’t have to be that way. “With the right strategies you can learn to be happier in a short period of time,” he said. After studying more than 200,000 brain scans, Dr. Amen discovered neuroscience techniques that can lead to increased happiness. He then tested them on his patients and found an average 32 percent improvement after one month. “I was pretty excited about it,” he said. “What most people don’t know is happiness is a moral obligation. God put us on the earth to be happier. If you ask someone who was raised by an unhappy parent or married to an unhappy spouse whether or not happiness was a moral obligation I can assure you they would say, ‘yes.'” What’s Your Brain Type? In his book, You, Happier: The 7 Neuroscience Secrets of Feeling Good Based On Your Brain Type, Dr. Amen prescribes different happiness strategies based on a person’s personality type. He says there are 16 different types, which are combinations of five main ones. “There are balanced people, almost anything will make them happy, spontaneous people who need novelty, persistent people who need routine and hate surprises. There are sensitive people, they got hurt the worst in the pandemic because they need other people and they need connection. And then there are cautious people who need to feel safe,” he said. Dr. Amen says while he recommends a targeted approach to happiness based on a person’s brain type, there are certain things everyone can do to raise their happiness level, regardless of their personality. The first step involves boosting your overall brain health. Strengthen Your Brain Believe it or not, our diet plays a major role in how well our brain functions. The types of foods and drinks we consume directly contribute to the way we think and feel through a complex system of neurotransmitters, hormones, and more. Dr. Amen says good brain health begins with minimizing the consumption of junk foods like sugary, processed foods and drinks that are loaded with chemical additives and lack fiber and other nutrients. Dr. Amen points out the very foods that comfort us while we are eating them, actually make our mood worse in the long run. “We reach for things that help us feel better now, but not later,” he said. Dr. Amen says much like junk food, some people tend to reach for alcohol to feel better at the moment, but in the long run, boozy beverages are best avoided. “I’m just not a fan,” he said. “People who drink every day have smaller brains.” Dr. Amen says supplements can also help improve brain health. While making recommendations based on personality type, he adds just about everyone can benefit from heavy-hitters like a multivitamin, probiotic, vitamin D, and fish oil as well as lesser-known supplements that really pack a punch. “My favorite for happiness is saffron,” he said. “It’s been shown in 24 randomized controlled trials to be equally as effective as antidepressants.” Control Your Thoughts In addition to improving brain health, another key to boosting happiness levels is learning to control our thoughts. Dr. Amen suggests several techniques to identify thinking patterns that lead to unhappiness and how to reverse them. “Whenever you feel sad, mad, nervous, or out of control,” he explained, “write down what you’re thinking and then challenge it. You don’t have to believe everything you think.” Dr. Amen recommends the Biblical practice of replacing negative thoughts with positive ones. “Philippians 4:8: Think on whatever is true, right, lovely, worthy of praise. Let your mind dwell on these things, focusing on what you’re grateful for, starting every day with, ‘Today is going to be a great day,’ pushing your brain to what’s right, not just what’s wrong,” he said. “Notice what you like about other people more than what you don’t.” Go on a Media Diet Dr. Amen recommends limiting time online, pointing to research showing social media increases suicide risk in teenage girls, which he believes could be just the tip of the iceberg. “I think it’s very important for parents to supervise the feeds that go into their children’s brains,” he said. “And we should supervise them for ourselves.” Just like with social media, Dr. Amen says many people would likely be happier if they cut back on their consumption of negative news stories. So while genetics and circumstances can play a role in our overall happiness, it appears our choices and habits play even bigger ones. To read the original article click here.

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Sewage Is an Early-Warning System for Disease Outbreaks

AHA Publisher — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 08:00:44 +0000

Abigail Klein Leichman via Israel21c – The Israeli city of Ashkelon was able to alert residents of a specific neighborhood to a Covid-19 outbreak, without testing a single person, a week before any symptoms of illness appeared. This wizardry was made possible by a revolutionary technology that detects viruses in sewage. “Monitoring our sewers is like taking the blood test of a city,” said Ari Goldfarb, CEO of Kando. “The only way to get a clear picture of how many people are sick, and where, in a pandemic like this is using data from wastewater. When a person is infected, even if they don’t know it yet, their body sheds virus particles. Our system allows us to see an outbreak seven to 10 days before it happens.” Even Goldfarb is surprised at how far in advance this method can see what’s coming. “For example, in the beginning of this wave, we saw that the Omicron was spreading in the community before clinical cases showed it. This gave decisionmakers more time to take measures and prepare for the upcoming wave,” he says. In one municipality that was rated “green” by the Ministry of Health because of the low incidence of Covid cases, Kando’s wastewater analysis “showed that the signal is changing from negative to positive and increasing from one analysis to the next,” says Goldfarb. Armed with this intel, the ministry quickly launched a testing campaign there in order to isolate infected individuals. The Future of Pandemic Logistics The Health Ministry now has begun installing Kando’s technology in all Israeli municipalities of more than 20,000 people. It’s the first such project worldwide. “A lot of countries are sampling sewage manually. Israel is the first in the world doing this with algorithms, machine learning and AI technology, tracing the pandemic nationwide and presenting decisionmakers with relevant insights and warnings on a dashboard,” Goldfarb tells ISRAEL21c. He says that several countries are starting to pilot Kando’s technology on a small scale. “I think intelligence-gathering is the future of handling pandemics, and wastewater is a critical source of intelligence concerning virus load,” says Goldfarb. What does the data tell us about the next few weeks? “Right now we see an upward trend almost everywhere,” he says. “We hope to see soon a change to a downward trend; this will tell us the morbidity rate in the population is decreasing.” Regarding whether infections today are caused only by the Omicron variant as opposed to the earlier Delta variant, Goldfarb is not at liberty to say because this information is proprietary to the Health Ministry. The ministry does state, however, that Omicron is “rapidly pushing out the Delta variant.” Not Just Coronavirus Kando’s underground IoT unit includes an autosampler, water quality sensors, flow sensors and a controller. Twice a week, the unit captures a sample using AI and sends it for analysis at Ben-Gurion University, which helped develop the technology. If virus particles are detected in a sample, additional analysis is done at the national virology lab at Sheba Medical Center to identify the variant and other critical data. Within about 24 hours, local authorities know of an impending outbreak pinpointed by neighborhood, allowing them to implement early testing guidelines and alerting them to new variants. SARS-CoV-2 is not the only pathogen that Kando has its eye on. “Israel is monitoring the poliovirus in its wastewater for several years,” says Goldfarb. “Now we are building the infrastructure for wastewater monitoring in the entire country. This will give us the ability to monitor in the future more pathogens and illnesses such as antibiotic-resistant bacteria and even consumption of drugs and other substances.” Detecting Viruses and Pollution Goldfarb cofounded Kando in 2012 with Zohar Sheinin. The first use case of the underground sensor-based system is to monitor municipal wastewater for chemical and metal pollutants and alert stakeholders about these potential environmental hazards. “We are the eyes and ears of wastewater quality underground. The data we collect has been helping to improve the quality of water in Israel for 10 years, and all over Italy as well for the last six years,” he says. Kando also work in the UK, Germany, France, Belgium, and US states including Texas and Ohio. “Our dashboard allows [clients] to see the whole country and pinpoint problems on a map. Every time there’s a change in wastewater quality, you can see it and who’s responsible for it.” When Covid reached Israel, Kando worked with the Health Ministry and scientists from BGU and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology to create a public health solution to manage the pandemic proactively through wastewater data. When that data begins to show a decline in SARS-CoV-2 virus in the water, Kando will have a happier role to play. “We can say when it’s safe to go out to the office and school. We can help people feel safe to move forward,” Goldfarb says. To read the original article click here.

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During COVID-19 Pandemic, Increased Screen Time Correlates with Mental Distress

AHA Publisher — Fri, 25 Jun 2021 07:00:04 +0000

American Society for Microbiology via EurekAlert – Washington, D.C. – June 20, 2021 – Increased screen time among young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic correlated with a rise in pandemic-related distress, according to research led by investigators at the Saint James School of Medicine on the Caribbean island nation, Saint Vincent. The increase in time spent viewing entertainment on a screen both prior to and during the pandemic was associated with a boost in anxiety scores. Students scored higher than non-students in pandemic-related distress. Surprisingly, the results showed no association of depression with screen time use, despite such associations having been found in previous research. The research will be presented at World Microbe Forum, taking place online June 20-24. “This study highlights that the pandemic did not simply affect people physically, but emotionally and mentally, with various groups being impacted to a greater extent than others,” said Michelle Wiciak, the presenting author on the research, M.D. candidate at Saint James School of Medicine. “It reiterates that there is an increased need for mental health support during disastrous times.” Nearly half of participants exhibited mild to moderate depression, with more than 70% ranging from mild to severe depression. Seventy percent of participants experienced mild to severe anxiety, and slightly more than 30% could potentially meet DSM-IV-TR criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Two hundred ninety-four responses were collected and validated based on the inclusion/exclusion criteria used in the surveys. Participants ranged from 18 to 28 years old. Screen time use was not different between genders. Still, there were gender differences in average scores in depression, anxiety and distress from COVID-19. “The study is unique in having evaluated mental health status as a function of screen time,” said Wiciak. The authors also collected data from multiple countries. “Since the pandemic shifted work and education to online, we wanted to gain more insight into that transition’s impact. We did find unexpected results, potentially paving the way for future research and various protective factors, which can be vital in keeping a person healthy during tumultuous times,” added Wiciak. To read the original article click here.

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Ready to Shed Those “Pandemic Pounds?” Here Are 5 Simple Hacks to Get Moving More During Lockdown

AHA Publisher — Thu, 01 Apr 2021 07:00:53 +0000

Sara Middleton via NaturalHealth365 – If the dreaded “freshman 15” weight gain is a real issue for young college students, then perhaps “pandemic pounds” is a brand-new concern affecting people of all ages. After all, we know that sitting too much is a serious threat to optimal health and associated with becoming overweight and obese. But, to make matters worse – according to one recent study, the average person is now struggling with an increased level of physical inactivity thanks to the global lockdowns. Pandemic Lockdowns Associated with Significantly Less Daily Physical Activity, According to British Research The study, published in BMJ Neurology, used accelerometers to measure peoples’ daily physical activity before and during lockdowns. These accelerometers measured, tracked, and categorized the study subjects’ movement as either vigorous, moderate, or light activity, or inactivity. Study participants included people who used wheelchairs, a frequently underrepresented demographic in scientific research. The researchers found that lockdowns were associated with a significant reduction in daily levels of light physical activity, which is typically observed during things like work, socializing, leisure, and simply getting up and moving about. Prior to lockdowns, participants performed almost 90 minutes of light activity per day. During lockdowns, their mean time spent doing light activity tanked by nearly 30 minutes — a decline of almost one-third. And the frequency with which participants moved every hour (which was already relatively low to begin with) declined by a median of 11 percent during the lockdown. The British researchers note that decreases in light physical activity can have significant implications on health outcomes for all people, especially people with chronic health conditions like neurological disorders. In addition to obesity, for example, physical inactivity has even been linked to an increased risk of depression, anxiety, cancer, and heart disease, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Inspired by their study, the researchers encouraged individuals to move for 5 minutes every hour, in addition to participating in daily exercise … a nod to the idea that any movement is better than no movement at all. Stuck at Home Because of a Local Lockdown? Here Are 5 Simple Ways to Stay Moving Throughout Your Day Even if you exercise, sitting too much during the rest of your day can be hard on your health. So, in addition to getting in your regular gym session or home workout routine, make sure to avoid sitting too much by implementing these simple strategies: Leave your cell phone in a different room, so when it rings or buzzes you’ll have to get up and walk to go look at it. (Note: do not use this strategy if you’re at risk of falls and your cell phone is your only means of calling for help.) Keep a water bottle with you and drink regularly. Staying hydrated means you’ll be needing the bathroom a lot more … and needing to get up to relieve yourself. Commit to at least one walk per day. Walking outside offers well-documented mental and physical health benefits and is a free and simple way to increase your daily activity. To help the habit stick, try to head out for a walk at the same time every day. If you can, sit on the floor more often. Play with your grandchildren or kids, snuggle with your pets, or simply do some light stretching. Being able to get on and off the ground is a surprisingly important physical skill, especially as we get older. Still trying to socialize while socially distancing? Move around your house or do some light exercises while talking on the phone instead of just sitting in a chair. Hopefully, our message today is very clear. A sedentary lifestyle is bad news for your future health. So, be sure to maintain an active lifestyle … because your efforts will produce great rewards. Sources for this article include: Eurekalert.org Hopkinsmedicine.org To read the original article click here. For more articles from NaturalHealth365 click here.

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New Antiviral Drug Completely Suppresses SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Within 24 Hours

AHA Publisher — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 08:00:05 +0000

Georgia State University via News-Medical Net – Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection with a new antiviral drug, MK-4482/EIDD-2801 or Molnupiravir, completely suppresses virus transmission within 24 hours, researchers in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University have discovered. The group led by Dr. Richard Plemper, Distinguished University Professor at Georgia State, originally discovered that the drug is potent against influenza viruses. This is the first demonstration of an orally available drug to rapidly block SARS-CoV-2 transmission. MK-4482/EIDD-2801 could be game-changing.” Dr. Richard Plemper, Distinguished University Professor, Georgia State University Interrupting widespread community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 until mass vaccination is available is paramount to managing COVID-19 and mitigating the catastrophic consequences of the pandemic. Because the drug can be taken by mouth, treatment can be started early for a potentially three-fold benefit: inhibit patients’ progress to severe disease, shorten the infectious phase to ease the emotional and socioeconomic toll of prolonged patient isolation and rapidly silence local outbreaks. “We noted early on that MK-4482/EIDD-2801 has broad-spectrum activity against respiratory RNA viruses and that treating infected animals by mouth with the drug lowers the amount of shed viral particles by several orders of magnitude, dramatically reducing transmission,” said Plemper. “These properties made MK-4482/EIDD/2801 a powerful candidate for pharmacologic control of COVID-19.” In the study published in Nature Microbiology, Plemper’s team repurposed MK-4482/EIDD-2801 against SARS-CoV-2 and used a ferret model to test the effect of the drug on halting virus spread. “We believe ferrets are a relevant transmission model because they readily spread SARS-CoV-2, but mostly do not develop severe disease, which closely resembles SARS-CoV-2 spread in young adults,” said Dr. Robert Cox, a postdoctoral fellow in the Plemper group and a co-lead author of the study. The researchers infected ferrets with SARS-CoV-2 and initiated treatment with MK-4482/EIDD-2801 when the animals started to shed virus from the nose. “When we co-housed those infected and then treated source animals with untreated contact ferrets in the same cage, none of the contacts became infected,” said Josef Wolf, a doctoral student in the Plemper lab and co-lead author of the study. By comparison, all contacts of source ferrets that had received placebo became infected. If these ferret-based data translate to humans, COVID-19 patients treated with the drug could become non-infectious within 24 hours after the beginning of treatment. MK-4482/EIDD-2801 is in advanced phase II/III clinical trials against SARS-CoV-2 infection. To read the original article click here.

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A Regular Dose of Nature May Improve Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic

AHA Publisher — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 08:00:24 +0000

Wiley via EurekAlert – A study published in Ecological Applications suggests that nature around one’s home may help mitigate some of the negative mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. An online questionnaire survey completed by 3,000 adults in in Tokyo, Japan, quantified the link between five mental-health outcomes (depression, life satisfaction, subjective happiness, self-esteem, and loneliness) and two measures of nature experiences (frequency of greenspace use and green view through windows from home). More frequent greenspace use and the existence of green window views from the home were associated with increased levels of self-esteem, life satisfaction, and subjective happiness, as well as decreased levels of depression and loneliness. “Our results suggest that nearby nature can serve as a buffer in decreasing the adverse impacts of a very stressful event on humans,” said lead author Masashi Soga, PhD, of The University of Tokyo. “Protecting natural environments in urban areas is important not only for the conservation of biodiversity, but also for the protection of human health.” To read the original article click here.

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2nd Coronavirus Vaccine Shows Early Success in US Tests

AHA Publisher — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 08:00:10 +0000

Associated Press via CBN News – For the second time this month, there’s promising news from a COVID-19 vaccine candidate: Moderna said Monday its shots provide strong protection, a dash of hope against the grim backdrop of coronavirus surges in the U.S. and around the world. Moderna said its vaccine appears to be 94.5% effective, according to preliminary data from the company’s still ongoing study. A week ago, competitor Pfizer Inc. announced its own COVID-19 vaccine appeared similarly effective – news that puts both companies on track to seek permission within weeks for emergency use in the U.S. Dr. Stephen Hoge, Moderna’s president, welcomed the “really important milestone” but said having similar results from two different companies is what’s most reassuring. “That should give us all hope that actually a vaccine is going to be able to stop this pandemic and hopefully get us back to our lives,” Hoge told The Associated Press. “It won’t be Moderna alone that solves this problem. It’s going to require many vaccines” to meet the global demand, he added. A vaccine can’t come fast enough, as virus cases topped 11 million in the U.S. over the weekend – 1 million of them recorded in just the past week. The pandemic has killed more than 1.3 million people worldwide, more than 245,000 of them in the U.S. Still, if the Food and Drug Administration allows emergency use of Moderna’s or Pfizer’s candidates, there will be limited, rationed supplies before the end of the year. Both require people to get two shots, several weeks apart. Moderna expects to have about 20 million doses, earmarked for the U.S., by the end of 2020. Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech expect to have about 50 million doses globally by year’s end. Moderna’s vaccine, created with the National Institutes of Health, is being studied in 30,000 volunteers who received either the real vaccination or a dummy shot. On Sunday, an independent monitoring board broke the code to examine 95 infections that were recorded starting two weeks after volunteers’ second dose – and discovered all but five illnesses occurred in participants who got the placebo. The study is continuing, and Moderna acknowledged the protection rate might change as more COVID-19 infections are detected and added to the calculations. Also, it’s too soon to know how long protection lasts. Both cautions apply to Pfizer’s vaccine as well. But Moderna’s independent monitors reported some additional, promising tidbits: All 11 severe COVID-19 cases were among placebo recipients, and there were no significant safety concerns. The main side effects were fatigue, muscle aches and injection-site pain after the vaccine’s second dose, at rates that Hoge characterized as more common than with flu shots but on par with others such as shingles vaccine. Moderna shares rocketed higher on the announcement and appeared to be headed for an all-time high Monday. The Cambridge, Massachusetts, company’s vaccine is among 11 candidates in late-stage testing around the world, four of them in huge studies in the U.S. Both Moderna’s shots and the Pfizer-BioNTech candidate are so-called mRNA vaccines, a brand-new technology. They aren’t made with the coronavirus itself, meaning there’s no chance anyone could catch it from the shots. Instead, the vaccine contains a piece of genetic code that trains the immune system to recognize the spiked protein on the surface of the virus. The strong results were a surprise. Scientists have warned for months that any COVID-19 shot may be only as good as flu vaccines, which are about 50% effective. Another steep challenge: distributing doses that must be kept very cold. Both the Moderna and Pfizer shots are frozen but at different temperatures. Moderna announced Monday that once thawed, its doses can last longer in a refrigerator than initially thought, up to 30 days. Pfizer’s shots require long-term storage at ultra-cold temperatures. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. To read the original article click here. For more articles from CBN News click here.

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Study Suggests Healing Properties of Honey and Nigella Sativa Expedites Viral Clearance in COVID-19 Patients

AHA Publisher — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 08:00:01 +0000

Susha Cheriyedath, M.Sc. via News-Medical Net – The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted over 50 million people so far and has claimed more than 1.25 million lives globally. As the virus continues to spread, with many countries experiencing second waves right now, we still do not have an effective vaccine against COVID-19. This makes finding an effective drug to treat the disease very important, and scientists worldwide are racing against time to find therapeutic solutions that will help treat COVID-19 patients. An ideal treatment would speed up symptomatic recovery, decrease viral load, and expedite viral clearance and reduce mortality. Although certain treatments such as hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, dexamethasone, remdesivir, antibody therapies, and convalescent plasma have shown some efficacy, an effective treatment to fight severe COVID-19 is still not a reality. Keeping this in mind, a team of researchers from various institutes across Pakistan, Chile, Canada, and the USA recently conducted a clinical trial to investigate the potential effectiveness of a combination of honey and Nigella sativa (HNS) in treating COVID-19 patients. Their study is published on the preprint server medRxiv* prior to the scientific peer review process*. Since previous studies show that both components of HNS have proven anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, and immune-modulatory effects, the researchers wanted to assess the efficacy of HNS in fighting COVID-19. Healing Properties of Honey and Nigella Sativa Honey has been reported to have beneficial effects against many viruses, including herpes simplex virus (HSV), rubella virus, Hepatitis virus, and Varicella Zoster virus. It is also effective against many multidrug-resistant bacterial strains, especially when used along with antibiotics. In addition to its immunity-boosting effects that stimulate innate as well as adaptive immune responses, honey has been shown to be beneficial in fighting upper respiratory tract infections. Nigella sativa is a medicinal plant commonly known as Black Cumin and has been proven to have anti-viral properties against many viruses, including mouse cytomegalovirus and HCV. In vitro studies have shown that it can decrease the replication of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Some of its components have a high affinity to many SARS-CoV-2 proteins and enzymes. A Randomized, Controlled Trial to Study the Action of HNS Against COVID-19 The researchers performed a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial in patients with COVID-19 of varying severity. Randomized patients received either a combination of 1 gm/kg/day of honey and 80 mg/kg/day of Nigella sativa or placebo for 13 days. Viral clearance, symptoms, alleviation, and 30-day mortality were some of the outcomes. “The trial results show that the use of HNS in COVID-19 patients promotes viral clearance and reduces the severity of the disease.” Of the 313 patients, part of the study cohort, 210 patients with moderate symptoms and 103 with severe COVID-19 underwent randomization. Among these patients, 107 received HNS, and 103 moderate cases received a placebo. Fifty severe COVID-19 patients were given HNS, and 53 severe cases received placebo. Administration of HNS led to alleviation of symptoms by day 3 in moderate cases and day 7 in severe cases. “Anti-diabetic, anti-hypertensive, cardio-protective and broncho-dilatory properties of HNS make it even more beneficial in diabetic, hypertensive, cardiac and asthmatic patients who have a higher COVID-19 associated mortality.” HNS could be an affordable, home-based, OTC treatment option for COVID-19 patients The study results show that HNS helped with symptoms alleviation and viral clearance and reduced mortality in patients with moderate and severe disease. According to the team, HNS can be used as a safe and effective therapy in COVID-19 patients as it promotes quicker recovery and survival. Thus, they concluded that HNS represents an affordable therapeutic option and can be used alone or in combination with other therapies to fight COVID-19. Some benefits of this potential treatment option are its ‘over the counter’ availability, affordability – less than $5 for the entire treatment course, and ease of administration as it can be a home-based remedy. Moreover, HNS can also be used in combination with other drugs for increased efficacy. The authors believe that this treatment will significantly reduce the burden on global health care systems. “A multinational study with larger sample size is required to investigate potential variations in responses to the treatment in COVID-19 patients from different racial and ethnic origins.” *Important Notice medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. Journal reference: Efficacy of honey and Nigella sativa against COVID-19: HNS-COVID-PK Trial Sohaib Ashraf, Shoaib Ashraf, Muhammad Ahmad Imran, Moneeb Ashraf, Larab Kalsoom, Uzma Nasim Siddiqui, Muhammad Ghufran, Nighat Majeed, Iqra Farooq, Zaighum Habib, Abubakar Hilal, Zain-ul-Abdin, Ayesha Khaqan, Muhammad Kiwan Akram, Sidra Ashraf, Rutaba Akmal, Sundas Rafique, Khawar Nawaz, Shahroze Arshad, Sohail Ahmad, Kanwal Hayat, Ali Arshad, Muhammad Faisal Nadeem, Muhammad Hassan, Abeer-bin-Awais, Muhammad Azam, Muhammad Suhail, Sibgha Zulfiqar, Imran Anwar, Saulat Sarfraz, Ayesha Hamayoun, Amber Malik, Hui Zheng, Talha Mahmood, Mahmood Ayyaz, Ali Ahmad, Muhammad Ashraf, Qazi Abdul Saboor, Mateen Izhar medRxiv 2020.10.30.20217364; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.10.30.20217364, https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.30.20217364v2 To read the original article click here.

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Protecting your Mental Health During a Pandemic

AHA Publisher — Mon, 09 Nov 2020 08:00:14 +0000

Chloe Bennett, B.Sc. via News-Medical Net – During times of global pandemic, understandably anxiety and distress may be increased due to both primary factors such as fear of the virus itself or due to secondary factors such as those associated with having to isolate from others. However, there are multiple ways to both protect and improve mental health during such times. Maintain Your Routine Daily routines can play an important role in protecting mental health. Either maintaining existing routines or creating a new one is recommended and should feature: going to sleep and waking up at similar times each day, exercising regularly, putting aside specific times to work and relax, eating healthy, regular meals, and maintaining personal hygiene. Adhering to such factors can increase purpose and motivation and improve overall mood and wellbeing. Reach Out As a growing number of people worldwide are being urged to remain at home and limit their physical contact with others, feelings of isolation may be on the rise. To prevent this isolation from adversely affecting your mental health, it is crucial to reach out to others. Use technology to your advantage and try to communicate with your family members and friends who you are unable to see face to face through video calls or group chat. Feeling more connected and having the opportunity to discuss any potential worries and positive experiences with others is essential during times of crisis. For those with limited social networks, there are a variety of helplines or online groups that you can connect with to gain similar support. It is also essential to be self-aware and avoid burnout caused by over-committing to the number of virtual social interactions. Do Something for You One way to improve your mental health is to keep busy. If you are self-isolating, learning a new skill can be a great way to improve your mental wellbeing by increasing your sense of purpose and boosting self-esteem. Whether it is baking, cooking, signing up for an online course, or learning a new language, using your time to take up something of interest to you can keep the mind active and focused, while filling up your day. Ask for Help If you have an existing mental health condition that has been exacerbated by COVD-19, or, perhaps, you are developing new anxiety or depressive symptoms, it is important to ask for professional help. A lot of medical providers such a doctor’s surgeries are operating in revised ways during the pandemic, such as through video or telephone consultations. Therefore, those requiring emotional support can still get the help they need. Stay Active Taking part in regular exercise has been found to improve not only physical health but also mental health too. Research has shown regular physical activity to reduce anxiety and depression across all age groups and can be beneficial in reducing age-related cognitive decline. Whether you are limited to indoor activities only or have a garden or outdoor area that you can use, there are multiple ways to remain active and safe during the pandemic. Workouts and exercises such as yoga, stretching, or high-intensity interval training can be found online that require minimal equipment or time. These can be completed both indoors and outdoors. Alternatively, walking, jogging or biking can be a great way to boost endorphins and improve mood. Limit Social Media Use Due to an increased amount of time spent at home, individuals may be spending an increased amount of time on social media sites, including those releasing the news. While the use of such sites may be beneficial in remaining connected with others and informed, it may also worsen mental health. Overexposure to information relating to the pandemics can result in increased anxiety and distress. For example, a cross-sectional study conducted amongst Chinese citizens during the COVID-19 outbreak revealed that more than 80% of participants were frequently exposed to social media. Furthermore, anxiety amongst the sample was positively correlated with frequent social media use. Based on this evidence, to avoid detriments to mental health, it is recommended to reduce your intake of pandemic-related information by only seeking it out a maximum of once or twice a day from trusted sources. Practice Mindfulness Mindfulness is the practice of observing what it is occurring both inside and outside of ourselves, moment by moment. It has been found that using mindfulness practices to increase our attention to our thoughts, feelings, sensations, and the external environment in the present moment can improve mental wellbeing. A variety of techniques can be employed, and multiple mobile applications can be downloaded that takes the participant through guided exercises. Such techniques can be used during periods of crisis. However, they can be more beneficial if used routinely, for example, when waking up or before going to sleep. The technique has also been credited for its ability to help identify early signs of anxiety and stress, enabling individuals to cope with them better. A study investigating the impact of daily mindfulness practice during the COVID-19 pandemic amongst the residents of Wuhan, China, found that those who practiced it developed reduced levels of anxiety and less impacted sleep compared to those in the control conditions. Based on this, mindfulness may be useful in assisting people in coping with anxiety-evoking pandemics. References and Further Reading NHS (2019). 5 steps to mental wellbeing. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/improve-mental-wellbeing/ Fiorillo, A., & Gorwood, P. (2020). The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health and implications for clinical practice. European Psychiatry, 63(1). Doi: 10.1192/j.eurpsy.2020.35 World Health Organization. Looking after our mental health. who.int/news-room/campaigns/connecting-the-world-to-combat Coronavirus/healthyathome/healthyathome—mental-health?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIruvE8ILA6QIVDO7tCh1rhQvdEAAYASAAEgI-efD_BwE Gao, J., Zheng, P., Jia, Y., Chen, H., Mao, Y., Chen, S., … & Dai, J. (2020). Mental health problems and social media exposure during COVID-19 outbreak. Plos one, 15(4), e0231924. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231924 NHS (2018). Mindfulness. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/mindfulness/ Zheng, M., Yao, J., & Narayanan, J. (2020). Mindfulness Buffers the Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak Information on Sleep Duration. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/wuh94 To read the original article click here.

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