The problem is that even though mental health issues like depression and anxiety are on the rise (and have been for years), treatments haven’t really changed. If your symptoms are severe, you will likely be offered medication and perhaps psychological treatments. But many people don’t want to take pills, and treatment isn’t for everyone. But there is good news, as recently highlighted in Nature, a leading scientific journal, with promising research exploring possible causes – and treatments. These include: DR MICHAEL MOSLEY: The problem is that even though mental health problems like depression and anxiety are on the rise (and have been for years), treatments haven’t really changed PRESS-UPS AND FASTING When I was in medical school, we were told that adults don’t grow new brain cells, so we have to take care of the ones we have (at the time I thought this was a subtle dig at the culture of med students drinking and destroying their brain cells). But during the 1990s, when researchers began doing postmortem studies of human brains, they found signs of new cell growth in areas of the brain, such as the hippocampus, that help regulate mood and memory. So we continue to create new brain cells, even in old age, in a process known as neurogenesis. But more recently, brain scans have shown that chronic stress alters this delicate balance, accelerating the death of existing brain cells while slowing the growth of new ones. Not only does this cause problems for things like memory, but it’s thought it could also be a trigger for depression and anxiety (though exactly how is unclear). The best form of resistance exercise to stimulate BDNF appears to be push-ups and squats, because they lead to large bursts of blood in the brain, which in turn encourages more BDNF. Image: file image This could also explain how some antidepressants work, as we know they can trigger cell growth in the hippocampus and other areas of the brain. One of the ways they do this is by stimulating the release of a chemical called BDNF, which acts as a fertilizer for the brain. There are drug-free methods to help boost BDNF and thus grow new brain cells, including resistance exercise and intermittent fasting. The best form of resistance exercise to stimulate BDNF appears to be push-ups and squats, because they lead to large bursts of blood in the brain, which in turn encourages more BDNF. This is one reason I do at least 30 squats and press-ups most mornings. When it comes to intermittent fasting, both time-restricted eating (where you only eat during a limited time, such as 10am to 8pm) and the 5:2 method (where you dramatically reduce your intake calories for two days per week) have been shown to enhance BDNF. A ZAP ON THE BRAIN Another way to boost your mood could be to stimulate your brain with small electric shocks. The most radical version of the electroshock approach is called deep brain stimulation (DBS), which involves implanting electrodes deep into the brain in areas that regulate your mood. DBS was developed to treat tremors caused by Parkinson’s disease, and when it works it’s impressive. Although it doesn’t have as dramatic an impact on depression, an analysis of 17 studies, published last year in the journal Frontiers in Neuroscience, concluded that it worked in more than half of depression cases resistant to other treatments. A much less invasive approach is to deliver weak electrical currents to specific parts of the brain through electrodes attached to the scalp – this is said to suppress a type of brain wave more common in depressed people. In a 2019 study from the University of North Carolina, 32 patients with severe depression were treated this way, and when they were reexamined after a few weeks, 70 percent reported markedly improved symptoms. PHOTOTHERAPY If you don’t like electric shocks, what about phototherapy? Your body works with an internal clock that tries to keep your body in sync with the world around you. At the start of the day it is exposure to bright morning light that resets your internal clock and prepares you for the day. But with the arrival of artificial light, these days we spend a lot of time indoors and stay up late, which is bad for our body clocks and our brains – and our moods, as it affects the production of hormones that help in its setting. At the start of the day it is exposure to bright morning light that resets your internal clock and prepares you for the day. Image: Morning commuters in London walk to work across London Bridge An immediate way to boost your mood is to take a brisk 20-minute walk first thing in the morning, which will help reset your body clock. Or you could try 30 minutes in front of a SAD lamp, a light box that produces 10,000 lux (a measure of light intensity), similar to a bright summer day and about 50 times more intense than you’d get indoors. In a small study published in July, researchers from the University of Basel in Switzerland assigned 22 women with severe postpartum depression to either 30 minutes a day of bright light therapy (10,000 lux) or dim red light (the control group). six weeks: 73 percent of women treated with bright light were no longer depressed at the end of the study, compared to 27 percent in the control group. AVOID USED FOOD At least half the average Brit’s calories now come from hyper-processed junk food (the kind of food that comes in bright packaging with a long list of strange ingredients) – and there’s a good chance it’s having a bad effect on our brains. In a recent study, researchers at Florida Atlantic University surveyed more than 10,000 people about their eating habits and mental health and found that the more junk food people ate, the more likely they were to report “mentally unhealthy” or “stressful” days . Why are highly processed foods so bad for the brain? In addition to being full of salt, sugar and fat, it tends to be low in fiber and essential vitamins, which leads to chronic inflammation throughout the body, including the brain. Image: file image This follows a seminal study, published in 2017, by Australian researchers where people with moderate or severe depression ate a healthier Mediterranean diet — after a few months, about a third were able to stop taking medication. Why are highly processed foods so bad for the brain? In addition to being full of salt, sugar and fat, it tends to be low in fiber and essential vitamins, which leads to chronic inflammation throughout the body, including the brain. This in turn appears to lead to the rewiring of neural circuits, causing depression or anxiety. EAT MARMITA One vitamin that appears to be important for mood is vitamin B6, which is found in tuna, salmon, fortified cereals, and one of my favorite spreads: marmite. A recent study from the University of Reading found that B6 in large doses helped reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression in young people. To get a decent dose of vitamin B6, marinate salmon fillets in a mixture of marmite, soy sauce, honey and chilli. It sounds terrible, but it works! One vitamin that appears to be important for mood is vitamin B6, which is found in tuna, salmon, fortified cereals and one of my favorite spreads: Marmite
