6 Foods That Can Make You Happier
By Cynthia Sass, MPH, RD
I’m a happiness research junkie. I love reading about simple things we can do to elevate mood and boost contentment. Mindfulness meditation, adequate sleep, laughing, volunteering, and spending time with pets (as well as with happy people) all help. And believe it or not, science shows you can also eat your way happier!
If you’re in need of a little more glee, here are six research-backed “better mood foods” to build into your eating repertoire.
Probiotic-rich foods
In a recent Dutch study, 20 healthy volunteers received either a probiotic supplement or a placebo for four weeks. Those w...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - May 17, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
CBT Equal to Light Therapy for SADCBT Equal to Light Therapy for SAD
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is as effective as light therapy in the treatment of seasonal affective disorder. Medscape Medical News (Source: Medscape Psychiatry Headlines)
Source: Medscape Psychiatry Headlines - May 11, 2015 Category: Psychiatry Tags: Psychiatry News Source Type: news
Mice May Yield Clues to Winter Depression
Brain research suggests time of year you're born could influence chances of seasonal affective disorder
Source: HealthDay
Related MedlinePlus Page: Seasonal Affective Disorder (Source: MedlinePlus Health News)
Source: MedlinePlus Health News - May 8, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Locating the brain's SAD center
Biologists have known that variations in the amount of sunlight a person receives and her or his circadian clock play a role in the disorder. They have also proposed that the neurotransmitters serotonin and melatonin may be involved. However, they have not yet identified the underlying neurobiological mechanisms responsible. Biologists have now localized the seasonal light cycle effects that drive seasonal affective disorder to a small region of the brain called the dorsal raphe nucleus. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - May 7, 2015 Category: Science Source Type: news
Locating the brain's SAD center
(Vanderbilt University) Vanderbilt biologists have localized the seasonal light cycle effects that drive seasonal affective disorder to a small region of the brain called the dorsal raphe nucleus. (Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science)
Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science - May 7, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
How Warm Weather Influences Our Mood, According To Science
Now that winter weather is behind us, conversations with friends and co-workers are noticeably cheerier and there's a bit more spring in our step (sorry).
That mood shift is not just our imagination. There's just something about springtime that has a small influence, positively and even occasionally negatively, on our mindset. Below are just some of the ways the warm weather can affect our attitudes.
Spending time outdoors when it's sunny is linked with a mood boost...
The gold standard on this subject is a 2004 University of Michigan study that found people who spent at least 30 minutes outside in pleasant weather --...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - April 22, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Three light-therapy products to aid seasonal affective disorder
Long summer days can't come soon enough for people with seasonal affective disorder, but some people don't need to wait. Benefits for them can be found with a daily dose of artificial light. (Source: L.A. Times - Health)
Source: L.A. Times - Health - March 7, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Seasonal Affective Disorder or a Case of the Winter Blues
The winter has been especially harsh for millions of Americans with record snowfalls and extreme temperatures forcing many to stay indoors due to inclement weather. Short days, lack of sunlight and cold temperatures especially in the northern areas of the U.S. are being blamed for bouts of cabin fever and the winter blues. You may also [...] (Source: News from Mayo Clinic)
Source: News from Mayo Clinic - February 27, 2015 Category: Databases & Libraries Source Type: news
How to Tell If Winter Blues Are Seasonal Disorder
Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD, makes people depressed every winter. (Source: ABC News: Health)
Source: ABC News: Health - February 16, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Health Source Type: news
Snowed in? How to beat the winter blues
The National Institute of Mental Health says symptoms of seasonal affective disorder can be serious. (Source: WDSU.com - Health)
Source: WDSU.com - Health - February 14, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Scientists Discover 'Reset' Button For Brain's Biological Clock
There's a master "circadian clock" in your brain that maintains your rhythms of sleeping and waking -- and for the first time, scientists may have found a way to control it.
Researchers at Vanderbilt University have discovered a "reset" button for this biological clock, which could pave the way for more effective treatments for seasonal affective disorder (SAD), jet lag and some of the negative health effects of shift work.
The biological clock is located in the brain's suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) -- a tiny region within the hypothalamus, a section of the brain that controls hormone production. The SCN maintains a 24-...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - February 3, 2015 Category: Science Source Type: news
'Happy lamps' are installed in train carriages to help treat winter depression
Travellers on the 7.06am from London Paddington to Penzance, Cornwall, were the first to experience the 'therapy carriage' - which was designed with lights to alleviate seasonal affective disorder (SAD). (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - February 2, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Winter Blues?
Almost 10% of the US population living in wintery climates experience seasonal affective disorder, sometimes called the winter blues. Natural supplements can help.read more (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center)
Source: Psychology Today Depression Center - January 21, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Carolyn C. Ross, M.D., M.P.H. Tags: Depression natural remedies for depression sad mood seasonal affective disorder winter blues Source Type: news
Reverse Seasonal Affective Disorder: SAD in the Summer
While many of us are familiar with SAD, there are, in fact, people who get SAD in reverse. For a small group of people, the dark days of winter don’t elicit depression, but renewed vigor and improved mood.read more (Source: Psychology Today Depression Center)
Source: Psychology Today Depression Center - January 14, 2015 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Jordan Gaines Lewis Tags: Depression Environment Happiness Neuroscience circadian circadian rhythm melatonin sad seasonal affective disorder sleep summer winter Source Type: news
