DEPRESSION

DEPRESSION

Depression really is a modern age disease. If we take a look at the above graph we can see that the average rate for depression for the generation of people who are currently over the age of 60 is 10%. Which when you think about it is pretty darn high. The generation of individuals who are currently 45 features a rate double that of the 60-year-olds generation. The rate of depression is 20%. And if we glance to the left the generation that's currently round the age of 25 (which is most of you guys) is already at 25%. If we assume this line continues at the rate is it, it's estimated that 1 in 2 people will have experienced depression by the age of 60. That's half of the population. There's definitely an issue here. And it's very apparent that this issue is caused by the massive changes in society today. Because the generation of individuals who are currently 60 years old lived a really different life from you guys. They had no access to the web , no smartphones, there have been no sorts of social media like Facebook and Instagram, there were no such way to order things right to their front door. It's clear that depression occurs due to huge change in environment. So what we can do to cure depression? Well, a professor by the name of Steven Ilar di dedicated his entire career to deciding this question. He and his team conducted dozens of studies and came to a conclusion. There are 6 things you need to work on inorder to cure your depression. These 6 things are all results of the massive amounts of change that we've undergone in the past couple of decades. 

1. Physical Activity 

Physical Activity is something we used to do A LOT of. If you think about it not too way back we were busy call at the fields tending to our crops all day or within the woods looking for food. On average we used to exercise for at least 4 hours a day. Think about your own life … what percentage hours are you exercising per day? Most people with office jobs have virtually no exercise. This is a huge difference, But just how effective is the exercise in regards to treating depression. Well...Researchers compared Zoloft (which is one among the leading pharmaceutical drugs on the market right now) with aerobics . In this case, it wasn't even a lot of exercise it was only 30 minutes of brisk walking, 3 times a week.

The patients who were prescribed the exercise did even as well as those that took the medication. It is found that the patients who were using Zoloft were 3 times more likely to become depressed again after a 1 year follow-up. One of the explanations why researchers think exercise is so effective is due to what it does to your brain. When you exercise important neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin have increased activity levels. These same neurotransmitters cause depression once they are at low levels. And These are the same neurotransmitters all those anti-depressants out there are targetting. So why take those drugs once you can just exercise and have an equivalent result, with none of these nasty side effects, and on top of all that having a healthier better looking body.

2. Omega-3 Fatty Acids 

The supplement community is usually split between which supplements you ought to take. However it's almost universally accepted that Omega-3 Fatty Acids (which usually comes in the form of Fish Oil) is a must have supplement. Hell even famous Olympic swimmers were asked if they might just take one supplement for the remainder of their life, most responded with animal oil . But why exactly are Omega-3 Fatty Acids so beneficial? To understand this you have to understand how our body deals with fats. These two fats are called essentials fats because we are unable to produce them on our own. We must get them from outside sources. Omega-6 fats are pro-inflammatory while Omega-3'sare anti-inflammatory. Omega-6's are found in grains and seeds, animals that eat them or are fed them, and particularly nutriment which is cooked in them. Omega-3's, on the other hand, are found in grasses, plants, algae and the animal that eat them such as fish and free-range animals. The ideal balance of Omega-6 to Omega-3's is anywhere from 1:1 – 3:1. This is the balance that most of our ancestors were able to maintain with their natural diets. But when researchers checked out the ratio in modern-day Americans they found that our ratio was a whopping 17:1. This means the average American is heavy on the inflammatory side, and that's never a good thing. Because if you check out all of the main diseases that plague the fashionable world like cancer, heart condition , allergies, they're all under the category of inflammatory diseases. So with this data scientists hypothesized that perhaps if you started supplementing Omega-3's you'll combat all of this. They conducted dozens of studies and located that not only did people that suffer from depression feel better. But this supplementation also helped with a variety of other diseases like the ones we just mentioned. They found that the perfect dosage for those that have Depression is 1000-2000mg EPA (which is one among the acids in Omega-3's). Something very important to note is that if you do decide to purchase fish oil supplements you must refrigerate them or else they will oxidize ze and essentially become toxic for your body. You must also make sure the brand of fish oil you are purchasing uses some method to purify the oil, as the majority of fish nowadays are farm bred and contain many toxins.

3. Sunlight 

Sunlight is very important for 2 reasons. The first reason is fairly documented , and it deals with a special little vitamin called vitamin D . Vitamin D comes from your skin when it's exposed to sunlight and is primarily liable for things like your bone health,your system , and muscle health. However, researchers have also found that lack of vitamin D will cause problems such as cancers, diabetes, and especially mental health. Vitamin D is actually becoming a very big problem as so many of us are spending more and more time indoors during corona virus. In fact, over 40% of people nowadays have vitamin D deficiency to some degree. That's a lot of people. So that's reason number 1 to getting more sunlight – in order to get more vitamin D. 

Second reason is something that you wouldn't really expect. See there's something very special about sunlight that normal indoors light can not provide for us. Sunlight is many many times brighter than indoors light. It turns out that our bodies need sunlight in order to set our circadian rhythms right. This is essentially the bodies internal clock that makes sure you feel tired at the right time, makes sure you get certain hormones at the right time and makes sure you feel sleepy at the right time. All of these problems have been shown in studies to be a direct link to depression. Imagine feeling tired all day and being unable to sleep. These are common problems that the majority people with depression have. The only problem is that this clock needs to be adjusted all of the time. If you were to lock yourself in a black room your body's clock would start malfunctioning. You'll think it's day when it's night and your hormones will be all over the place. We need bright natural sunlight at least once a day in order to set these clocks right. Research suggest simply walking outside when the sun is high for just 10 minutes can properly adjust your cycadian rhythm and combat all these potential side effects. 

4. Healthy Sleep 

Researchers found that disrupted sleep is one of the most potent triggers of depression. They found that folks who slept at extremely abnormal times that differed a day were more susceptible to developing depression. This means that if you're the type of person who stays up all night watch shows or playing games you fall into this category. Healthy sleep translates into 7-8 hours of roll in the hay some people being outliers. One of the large complaints that you simply guys probably have are, “well it always takes me forever to nod off , so i can not really control what proportion sleep I get.” there are a few of straightforward tips to combat this. 

1. Don't use a computer or phone an hour before you plan on going to sleep as it prevents the production of melatonin the hormone which makes you sleepy. 

2. Only use your bed for sleep. This programs your brain to associate it with sleep 

3. Do activities during the day. The ideal day, which is something that our ancestors had was packed with activities so that by the time it was bed time, they were able to fall asleep easily. 

5. Anti-Ruminative Activity 

Researchers found that the more we ruminate(which is essentially thinking about the past) the more likely we are to get depressed. You might think well it's perfectly normal to think about your past a lot isn't it? Well in small quantities it's fine but with uprising of technology and the internet more and more people are spending more time alone. The problem with spending time alone is that you tend to ruminate A LOT. You think about something embarrassing that happened over a year ago. You think about how you used to be bullied in the 5th grade.These sorts of thoughts which will bring you into depression if repeated enough. In order to combat these researchers suggest that you find engaged activities to partake in. This covers a good spectrum of things like any social affair like clubs, sports, parties. This also includes Any Solo engaged activities like working on your art/projects. The great thing about finding engaging activites is that they're exciting enough that you simply don't really have time to believe the past. And if they're engaging enough, by the top of the day when you're close to attend sleep you will not spend an hour in bed rolling around thinking about that time so and so said something mean to you. You'll be tired enough that your mind are going to be quiet and you will quickly to sleep.

6. Social Connection 

The 6th and final factor is perhaps the foremost important Social Connection. We humans are social creatures, we've always stuck in groups. What made us so durable as a species was our ability to figure as a team and overcome any obstacle. This level of teamwork meant humans used to spend the majority of their days with other humans. This is not the case anymore. In fact half Americans report having no close friends. There are countless studies that support the idea that having a strong social network is vital for a healthy life. In fact a recent study conducted by the University Of Michigan found that bonding with other humans releases certain hormones that reduce stress and anxiety significantly. Researches have shown that social isolation will literally cause your brain to shrink. Socializing is simply THAT important. One of the most reasons i think social connection is such an enormous problem nowadays is thanks to a scarcity of face to face interactions. We spend so much time on social media communicating, but we barely spend any time face to face. Communicating over social media isn't nearly as satisfying as speaking with someone in person. At a biological level this is often true also , the hormones produced in online social media interactions is significantly different than those produced face-to-face. Humans got to be face-to-face so as to create long lasting trust and a deep relationship. Socializing and making friends is something that requires practice and tons of calibration. Nowadays we will hide behind screens and talk via text. The ability to interact with someone face to face is a skill that is rarely ever practiced. Luckily for you it's my job to teach you as much of these skills as possible. 

These are the 6 factors you need to keep in mind in order to combat your depression. These 6 factors have been shown time and time again to work, so I'd advise you to take them very seriously. If you found value in this content make sure you share it and subscribe the blog.