Get ‘dialled in’, give it your all, and watch your performance soar!

Focus – the differentiating factor

On the 29^th of June, Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake beat world record holder Usain Bolt by 0.11 seconds at the Jamaican national championships. It’s still anyone’s race, and there are at least 5 sprinters out there who can potentially dethrone Bolt.

That being said, it’s not that far out to wonder what would happen if you lined up 10 different sprinters with matching genetics and technical skill to boot, and race for a winner? Who would have the edge? What pushes one competitor to outperform or out last his or her opponent when it comes down to the white line?

It’s been proved time and time again by champions that their edge, that one advantage that they leverage the hell out of, that spark, sits deep inside their conscious beings.

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If you thought bad food affected only your body, then think again. Because eating processed foods,junk foods, fried or sugary stuff and refined foods could affect your mental health apart from causing havoc to one’s physical body. Well it is true. The rising rates of depression could be partly blamed on the high consumption of processed foods in the present era. This should be of concern because of how much children these days turn to such foods from biscuits to fast foods, from fried snacks to soft drinks.

Whole foods:

Researchers at University College, London, found a 58% risk for depression in people who mainly ate processed foods as compared with people who ate whole foods like lots of fruits, vegetables, fish and unprocessed whole grains, legumes and unhomogenised milk. Whole foods are those that are not processed or refined. Whole foods also do not have additives like preservatives or salt, sugar or fat added to it. Much like how our ancestors ate their foods – fresh and wholesome.

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Dr.Liza Mishra is a member of Indian medical association, Bombay psychiatric society, Santacruz medical association and Behavioural science network.

She has been trained in hypnotherapy, neuro linguistic programming, jungian dream analysis and narrative therapy. Her areas of work interest include integrated forms of psychotherapy, cognitive behaviour therapy for depression and anxiety for all age groups and specialized in children and adolescent issues for behavioural issues.

Dr.Liza Mishra answered Sify readers’ queries related to the above in an exclusive chat. Read the transcript below.

How does hypnotherapy help in depression

Hypnotherapy is not very effective for depression. Cognitive therapy is very effective for depression. I use Hypnotherapy for psychosomatic disorders and anxiety.

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So you’ve heard all about aromatherapy, and you’re keen on trying it. Learn more about the select benefits and function of each essential oil in aromatherapy.

Lavender

Lavender, one of the most commonly used oils in most aromatherapy sessions, is widely known for its calming and soothing action on the nervous system. A very popular essential oil for those suffering from stress, depression, anxiety, anger, mental disorders and sleep disorders including narcolepsy, sleep apnea and insomnia, lavender oil is truly an all-rounder.

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A new Duke University survey has found that women wake up far more grumpier than their male counterparts.

In fact, the research stated that females need far more sleep than men and they suffer more mentally and physically if forced to go without it, CBS News reported.

Lack of sleep appears to put them at higher risk of heart disease, depression and psychological problem, but sleep seems to have less effect on men”s health.

The research found that men with sleeping problems showed no increased risk of the conditions that were affecting the women.

In this particular study, women had more depression, anger, and hostility early in the mornings when they weren”t getting the same amount of sleep than they normally get, said Michael Breus, a clinical psychologist, sleep expert and author of “The Sleep Doctor”s Diet Plan.”

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Sedentary children are more prone to stress than their active peers, according to a recent study.

When they are exposed to everyday stressors, the study found sedentary children had surges of cortisol – a hormone linked to stress. The most active children had little or no increase in their cortisol levels in similar situations.

“The findings suggest physical activity plays a role in mental health by buffering children from the effects of daily stressors, such as public speaking,” said the study”s lead author, Silja Martikainen, MA, of the University of Helsinki, Finland.

The cross-sectional study monitored physical activity and cortisol levels in a birth cohort of eight-year-old children. The 252 participants wore accelerometer devices on their wrists to measure physical activity. Saliva samples were taken to measure cortisol levels. To measure reactions to stress, children were assigned arithmetic and story-telling tasks. The study is the first to find a link between physical activity and stress hormone responses in children.

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Available in abundance in our country, the sun is the primary source of Vitamin D for the human body. Find out why it’s so important to make sure you get enough time in the sun.Vitamin D is also known as the sunshine vitamin

Vitamin D – available in a sky near you!

Vitamin D, also called the sunshine vitamin, is a fat-soluble vitamin. It is needed in the body in large quantities, as it is responsible for the health of our bones and teeth, helps in fighting off infections and even improves mental health. Not only is it a vitamin, it is also a hormone and helps regulate insulin and calcium levels in the blood.

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People know the importance of keeping healthy and the benefits of exercise, healthy diet, and active lifestyle.

But Professor Barbara Sahakian, best known for her expertise on cognitive enhancers, has asked people to prioritise mental health in the same way as physical health.

“As a society, we take our mental health for granted. But just like our bodies, it is important to keep our brains fit,” said Prof Sahakian.

In any given year, one in every four adults suffers from a mental disorder. As a result, in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, mental disorders are the leading cause of disability, with depression and anxiety accounting for a significant percentage of the disorders.

“Just as joggers check their pulse rate, we should encourage individuals to regularly keep an eye on the state of their mental health. Often people wait too long to seek help, making their condition more difficult to treat. We need to educate the public about what to look for and make them aware of the importance of early detection and intervention,” added Sahakian.

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Yoga, the 5,000-year-old Indian practice, has positive effects on mild depression and sleep complaints, even in the absence of drug treatments, and improves symptoms associated with schizophrenia and ADHD in patients on medication, according to a systematic review of the exercise on major clinical psychiatric disorders.

The review of more than one hundred studies focusing on 16 high-quality controlled studies looked at the effects of yoga on depression, schizophrenia, ADHD, sleep complaints, eating disorders and cognition problems.

Benefits of the exercise were found for all mental health illnesses included in the review, except for eating disorders and cognition problems as the evidence for these was conflicting or lacking.

Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy, a professor of psychiatry and medicine at Duke University Medical Center, US, and author of the study, explained that the emerging scientific evidence in support of yoga on psychiatric disorders is “highly promising” and showed that yoga may not only help to improve symptoms, but also may have an ancillary role in the prevention of stress-related mental illnesses.

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In a mice study, Johns Hopkins researchers have found a link between elevated levels of a stress hormone in adolescence — a critical time for brain development — and genetic changes that, in young adulthood, cause severe mental illness in those predisposed to it.

The findings could have wide-reaching implications in both the prevention and treatment of schizophrenia, severe depression and other mental illnesses.

“We have discovered a mechanism for how environmental factors, such as stress hormones, can affect the brain’s physiology and bring about mental illness,” said study leader Akira Sawa, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

“We’ve shown in mice that stress in adolescence can affect the expression of a gene that codes for a key neurotransmitter related to mental function and psychiatric illness. While many genes are believed to be involved in the development of mental illness, my gut feeling is environmental factors are critically important to the process,” Sawa added.

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