Strange New Study Offers Good News on Strenuous Exercise and Mood

Exercise is good for you. But strenuous exercise has been shown to worsen your mood. This unexpected natural supplement can prevent that.

It is a strange recent scientific finding that strenuous exercise, like marathon running, negatively affects mood. There are several possible reasons, including changes in serotonin and cortisol, dehydration, low blood sugar and inflammation.

Science has recently established that the microbiota in your gut communicate with the emotional centers of your brain. There is a large and growing body of evidence that supplementing probiotics can improve depression, stress and anxiety.

This new double-blind study gave either a placebo or probiotics to 14 marathon runners for 30 days before running a marathon. The probiotic supplement included Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus lactis, Bifidobacterium lactis, and Bifidobacterium bifidum.

Total mood disorder (TMD) is a broad indicator of mood, including tension, depression, anger and fatigue on the one hand and vigor on the other. After the marathon, TMD worsened in the placebo group. But the probiotics prevented the worsening, meaning that probiotics can prevent the negative emotional effects of strenuous exercise.

The probiotics also prevented inflammation.

This intriguing study suggests that taking probiotics can prevent the negative effects of strenuous exercise on mood.

Nutrients. 2024;16(21):3761.

 

Lemon Balm Proves Versatile for Mental Health

Mental health is taking a beating in the 21st century. Depression, anxiety, stress and insomnia are rapidly on the rise. This safe, gentle herb can help.

Recorded uses of lemon balm for insomnia and anxiety go back well over 2,000 years. It has been used traditionally all over the world, including in the medical systems of China, India, Persia and Europe.

This new double-blind study compared lemon balm extract to placebo in 100 people with moderate depression, anxiety, stress or insomnia.

At the end of the three week study, there was significantly greater improvement in the lemon balm group on the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-42) than in the placebo group. There was also significantly greater improvement on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Lemon balm also led to significantly greater improvement in quality of life scores.

This study scientifically validates the long history of use of lemon balm for calming and improving sleep.

Front Pharmacol. October 19, 2023;14:1250560.

 

This Ancient Herb is Emerging as a Leading Herb for Anxiety and Insomnia

This ancient herb is showing impeccable timing. Though it’s been revered for over 2,500 years, it is proving to be perfect for the problems of today.

Sleepless nights and anxious days. The answer to both could be this ancient herb from India’s Ayurvedic system of medicine.

This new systematic review and meta-analysis of 5 controlled studies showed that ashwagandha is effective for people who are struggling with anxiety and/or insomnia.

The combined results from the studies found that ashwagandha significantly reduces scores on the Hamilton Anxiety Scale while it significantly improves scores on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Ashwagandha was effective for helping people fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.

This study helps solidify a fast growing body of evidence supporting the use of ashwagandha for stress, anxiety and insomnia.

Hum Psychopharmacol. 2024 Nov;39(6):e2911.