Mindfully Healing

Largest study to date builds evidence that vitamin deficiency is linked to chronic headaches. Low levels of vitamin D are linked to chronic headaches, finds the largest ever study on the subject to date. A Finnish study of 2,601 men found that 68% had deficient vitamin D levels. Those reporting chronic headaches had lower levels of vitamin D than those who did not. Men with the lowest levels of vitamin D had twice the risk of chronic headaches as those with high levels of vitamin D. Chronic headaches were also

Risks of spanking children confirmed by 50 years of research. The more children are spanked, the more aggressive and anti-social they are. What is termed ‘spanking’ has similar effects on children as physical abuse. The conclusions come from studies conducted over 50 years which included more than 160,000 children. The researchers also found that being spanked was linked to more mental health problems and cognitive difficulties later on. Dr Elizabeth Gershoff, the study’s first author, said: “Our analysis focuses on what most Americans would recognize as spanking and not on

Although few people know this depression symptom, it’s frequently reported by sufferers. People experiencing mood disorders like depression often say their thinking has become ‘fuzzy’. Now a large study has shown that the effect is real. Published in the journal Brain, the study tested the concentration of 612 women, two-thirds of whom had been clinically depressed or had bipolar disorder (Ryan et al., 2015). The results showed that women with mood disorders did worse on the test. Almost all those who performed in the bottom 5% had mood disorders. Brain

Why early life stress causes depression. Early life stress decreases the adult ability to feel enthusiasm and experience pleasure. This is one of the reasons that experiencing stress early in life is a major risk factor for depression. Studies show that neglected or abused children are almost twice as likely to experience depression later in life. One of the causes is thought to be how neglect and abuse affects the way the brain processes reward. Dr. Jamie Hanson, the study’s first author, explained: “Our analyses revealed that over a two-year