If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, here’s a strategy that may help boost your mental health: Spend the next week observing your daily habits. You can jot them down in a journal to keep track.
How well are you sleeping? Are you eating foods that nourish you? Did you make time for a favorite hobby and exercise? Did you gather with friends or loved ones?
Your answers to these questions may help explain your mood — and your risk of depression too.
In fact, a study finds that people who maintain a broad range of healthy habits, from good sleep to physical activity to strong social connections, are significantly less likely to experience episodes of depression.
Researchers identified seven healthy habits and found that people who maintained most of them — five or more— had a 57% lower risk of depression, “which is really quite a massive amount,” says study author Barbara Sahakian, a clinical psychologist and neuroscientist at the University of Cambridge.
1. The power of rest
At the top of the list is a good night’s rest. Sleeping seven to nine hours per night, on average, reduced the risk of depression by about 22% in the study. “A lot of us think of sleep as a kind of a passive process, but it’s an incredibly active process,” Sahakian says.
2. Exercise is an elixir
There’s a solid body of evidence linking physical activity to improved moods. A previous study, based on data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveys, found that people who exercise regularly report fewer days of bad mental health.
3. Good nourishment is a necessity
The researchers found that people who maintained a healthy pattern of eating were less likely to have an episode of depression. “I always recommend the Mediterranean diet or the MIND diet,” says Sahakian. Multiple studies show that a plant-forward approach — full of greens, vegetables, berries, whole grains, lean proteins including beans and healthy fats including nuts — can help reduce the risk of disease.
4 & 5. Limit alcohol and don’t smoke
People think of alcohol as a pick-me-up, but actually alcohol is a central nervous system depressant that slows down brain activity. The more you drink, the more you chase the temporary high, which can increase the risk of dependence. And when it comes to smoking, there’s loads of evidence that tobacco is not a healthy habit.
6. Limit sedentary time by cutting back on screen time
At a time when cultural norms and the pull of technology are leading to more time in front of screens, there’s growing evidence that this can harm our physical and mental health. “Sedentary behavior is very bad,” Sahakian says.
Humans are meant to move, and though binge-watching your favorite streaming shows may be fun in the moment, if this behavior sets in as a daily habit, you’re probably spending too much time on the sofa and not enough time interacting with people or moving.
This is a particular concern for young people who spend a lot of time on social media. At a time when teenagers are facing high rates of depression, anxiety and loneliness, there is mounting evidence that social media can exacerbate and even cause these problems.
7. Cultivate friendships and social connections through hobbies
This may sound obvious, but spending time with people we like, especially when we’re engaged in activities we like, helps boost our mood. Another study, published in Nature Medicine, based on surveys of people in 16 countries, finds that people 65 and older who have hobbies report higher life satisfaction and less depression.
Excerpted from “These habits can cut the risk of depression in half, a new study finds” from NPR. Read the full article online.
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Source: NPR | These habits can cut the risk of depression in half, a new study finds, https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/09/19/1200223456/depression-anxiety-prevention-mental-health-healthy-habits | © 2023 npr
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