A new study published at Cambridge Open Engage (allowing research to be disseminated before it’s peer-reviewed and officially published) studied people who were meeting, or not, the recommended 150 minutes/week of moderate exercise during the pandemic and their reported emotional state. Those physically active during lockdown were significantly less depressed and more mentally resilient than those whose activity levels had declined—with the most striking effects…
A new study from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences compared standard medication to medication plus a two-month yoga program for migraine sufferers. They found that the yoga group had fewer migraines, fewer headaches overall, and consumed fewer pills—even though their headache frequency was higher at the study’s start. This is important because migraine medications only work for about half of the patients. ACCESS…
Daily Meditation Reduces Anxiety & Boosts Cognitive Function in 8 (Not 4) Weeks A new study from NYU split people who hadn’t meditated before into two groups: One did 13 minutes of daily guided meditation, and the other listened to a 13-minute podcast. At four weeks, there was no significant difference between the groups, but eight weeks proved a different story: The meditators saw significantly…
Study: Frequent Baths Are Very Good for Your Heart A new, large observational study (over 20 years) out of Japan found that compared with people who took baths less than twice a week, those who took baths three to four times had a 25 percent lower risk of coronary heart disease and a 13 percent lower risk of stroke. Daily bathers had a 35 percent…
A 2019 meta-review of studies shows exercise has a plethora of immune-boosting benefits. Exercise has an anti-inflammatory influence mediated through multiple pathways. There is a clear inverse relationship between regular exercise and illness risk. And exercise improves immune defense activity and regulation and metabolic health. ACCESS STUDY
A major 2019 analysis of 15 studies (229,391 participants) found that people ranking high in optimism were much less likely to have a heart attack or other cardiovascular event and had a lower mortality rate from any cause than did pessimistic participants. Across all data, there was a strong relationship between optimism and a lower risk of disease, with optimists having a 35 percent lower…
