Positive Psychology Archive

Ask the doctor

Q. My daughter had a miscarriage a few months ago and since then she has been depressed and withdrawn. Do you know anything I can do to help?

A. Miscarriage can involve a difficult emotional recovery, and many women and their partners are surprised at the intensity of their feelings. Many women who have experienced a miscarriage feel that they have done something wrong. They may worry that the miscarriage resulted from stress or lifestyle choices they made during pregnancy. In fact, most miscarriages are the result of chromosomal abnormalities, structural abnormalities of the uterus, or maternal endocrine or autoimmune disorders.

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Four steps—following a healthy diet, getting regular exercise, socializing, and challenging your brain—can improve your mental skills, even as you age.

Observational studies over the past few years seem to be repeating the same message: regular physical activity, a good diet, taking on new mental challenges, and maintaining strong social connections may each help you hang on to your mind. The latest and most impressive study goes a step further by suggesting that if you follow all four practices, you may even reverse lost mental capacity. The results of the Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive Impairment and Disability (FINGER) indicated that doing so not only kept cognitive skills from declining, it also improved reasoning skills and speed in performing mental tasks.

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Tau proteins, and not necessarily beta-amyloid, may be the key to unlocking a viable treatment.

Alzheimer's disease affects more than five million people, and that number is expected to more than double by 2050. While there is no cure, attention has refocused on what many researchers believe is a major player in Alzheimer's: tau proteins.

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In the journals

A study published in the journal Frontiers in Aging and Neuroscience (Aug. 25, 2015) has found that fitness levels in older adults correlates with activation in areas in the brain's frontal lobe responsible for executive function—mental skills used to manage time, plan and organize, and remember details. The researchers examined brain imaging and cardio fitness data from 128 adults ages 50 to 80. Cardio fitness level was determined by measuring maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max) while a person walked at increasing speed on a treadmill. Executive function skills were measured by how fast and accurately a person responded to computer stimuli like numbers and letters.

The results: People with a higher cardiorespiratory fitness level showed greater brain activation in the frontal lobe. They were also better at performing two simultaneous tasks compared with a single one. This is important since older adults have more difficulty processing multiple tasks, says the researchers. While this study found a link between good cardio health and better cognitive function, more research is needed to show you can improve your brain function by increasing your fitness.

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Research we're watching

Many people know what they need to do to keep their hearts healthy. The challenge is making changes (like exercising regularly and eating more fruits and vegetables) and sticking with them. New research suggests monthly meetings with a group of peers who offer support and encouragement can help.

The study included 543 adults with at least one risk factor for heart disease (being overweight, smoking, being physically inactive, or having high blood pressure). Half were randomly assigned to a self-management control group. The others were placed in teams of 10 for the peer-group interventions. Two peer-elected trained leaders headed each group meeting, which involved role-play, brainstorming, and activities to address emotions, diet, and exercise. The groups met for 60 to 90 minutes monthly for one year.

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The meditative practice is being used for everything from boosting happiness to treating high blood pressure.

Mindfulness, which trains you to focus your mind on the present moment, is more than a popular meditation technique. It's been shown to help treat depression and anxiety and improve sleep quality. And it's now being studied as a complementary therapy for cancer, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and pain. "We're seeing an exponential increase in doctors embracing mindfulness as a treatment," says Dr. Ronald Siegel, assistant professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School and faculty editor of the Harvard Special Health Report Positive Psychology.

Many people believe that the human tendency to want to act for the greater good is rooted in kindness. But research suggests that altruism may have evolved alongside the impulse to condemn and even chasten those put self-interests first.

Ask the doctor

Q. I find myself getting more and more anxious, but I don't like to take medications. Is there an alternative natural treatment I can try instead?

A. Anxiety is an incredibly common problem. Although there are many FDA-approved medications that have been widely studied and proved effective, studies show that up to 43% of patients with anxiety use alternative medicine to treat it. Among alternative therapies, herbal treatments are widely used both for therapeutic purposes and for comfort.

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Ask the doctor

Q. My doctor says the Mediterranean diet is not only good for my health in general, but that it is particularly good for my brain. That got my attention. Anything to it?

A. I think there is. The Mediterranean diet is rich in whole-grain bread, root vegetables, green vegetables, fish, poultry, fruit, and olive oil. It includes relatively little red meat, butter, and other foods rich in saturated fats and trans fats. As is often the case with research into a medical question, not all studies come to the same conclusion. But many studies have found that people who regularly adhere to the Mediterranean diet are less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease. And many studies also find that people with diets rich in saturated fats (including from red meat and processed meat) and trans fats are more likely to develop dementia of some type, along with other brain disease, particularly strokes.