Yoga may help alleviate depression
In the 1978 movie “Animal House,” “Toga! Toga! Toga!” was Bluto’s call for his fraternity to throw a party. The goal? To help a younger frat member, Flounder, climb out of his depression after Bluto and friends wrecked his car. According to today’s research, however, the crew at Delta Tau Chi could have raised his spirits by doing Yoga! Yoga! Yoga!
Investigators at Columbia University and Harvard University have found that practicing yoga and coherent breathing three times a week lowers symptoms of depression in people with major depressive disorders and that three times a week is a lot more effective than doing yoga just twice a week. Plus, the yoga was equally effective in easing symptoms of depression for folks taking antidepressants as those with depression who were not on medication.
The researcher’s study, published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, used the practice of Iyengar yoga – a form of hatha yoga that uses precision posture alignment and breath control – for 12 weeks in a well-supervised environment with a good instructor.
So, if you’re dealing with chronic depression or even just a temporary bout of the blues, seek out a local yoga center. Also, take a look at “Everyday Yoga” at www.doctoroz.com. And if you have other health concerns, always check with your doc before starting any exercise regimen.
Wean off that smartphone
In an episode of “The Office,” Jim and Pam prank Andy by hiding his phone in the ceiling, then calling it so that it rings from its mysterious location. Andy cannot find it and gets so mad he punches a hole in the wall.
New research shows that for many folks, even the idea of losing a cellphone is almost as upsetting as contemplating a terrorist threat. U.K. scientists had more than 2,000 people rate how stressful they would find 18 different life events. The prospect of losing a smartphone got an average stress rating of 5.79 out of 10; terrorist threats scored 5.84. And it’s not the hassle or expense of losing it that is so upsetting – it’s what has been dubbed NOMO (no mobile) phobia, a fear of being disconnected from the device.
We love what you can do with your smartphone (track fitness, set reminders to stand up regularly, stay connected to friends and family), but feeling terrorized by the idea of losing it is too much.
Our suggestions: Back up phone data and pictures regularly. If you misplace your phone, you can retrieve the lost info. Consider phone insurance, so that a replacement is covered.
Once a week, especially if you’re hyperattached to your phone, leave it home for eight hours, so you realize that life won’t end without it. If an emergency arises, you can always borrow someone else’s phone. For most of human history, we did just fine without them.
New ways to control eczema
Diversity is required to create a healthy body politic and a healthy body, inside and out. You’ve heard a lot about the various “good” and “bad” bacteria that make up your gut biome. But you may not know that your skin is also home to a wildly rich and, when healthy, very diverse bacterial soup.
Scientists have discovered that on healthy skin, harmful Staphylococcus aureus is kept in check by its friendlier cousin, Staphylococcus epidermidis. But on folks with eczema (specifically atopic dermatitis, or AD, the most common type of eczema), there is an overgrowth of S. aureus compared to S. epidermidis.
When researchers check the biome in the inner elbow or the back of the knee on folks with atopic dermatitis, they find an imbalance of those microbes. And the less diversity there is, the less healthy the skin. But a skin biome transplant may be possible: When gram-negative bacteria is collected from healthy human skin and cultured in the lab, it can be put into a treatment (maybe a cream) that can knock out AD.
This breakthrough in understanding of the skin biome means there’s good news on the horizon for the 17.8 million Americans with AD. So stay tuned for the next round of research and, in the meantime, try taking a probiotic capsule (Culturelle or Digestive Advantage) regularly. That can add healthful diversity to your skin biome, as well as your gut. And if you have AD, avoid antibacterial soaps and household products that can further upset your skin biome.
Mehmet Oz is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen is chief wellness officer and chairman of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic.
This story was originally published April 9, 2017 at 6:34 PM with the headline "Yoga may help alleviate depression."