August 2010 - Mental Health Update

Tackling teenage binge drinking

Some teenagers' personalities make them more likely than other teenagers to develop problems with alcohol. Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London studied 2,506 teenagers with an average age of 13.7. They tested them...

Published Tue, Aug 31 2010 1:44 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Child Psychology, Alcohol Problems

Can't sleep? Blame your spindles

Some people seem to be able to sleep through an earthquake while others wake up when someone treads on a squeaky floorboard. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have been looking into this phenomenon and measuring people's brain waves to...

Published Tue, Aug 10 2010 3:53 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Neuroscience, Sleep Disorders

Smokers' brains show subtle changes

Researchers from Yale University have been studying the brains of people trying to give up smoking. The participants in the study were using cognitive therapy to try and give up, a treatment which stresses the long-term benefits of not smoking. The participants...

Published Fri, Aug 06 2010 5:33 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Neuroscience, Smoking

Teenage internet 'addicts' at higher risk of depression

Teenagers who are compulsive internet users are more likely to be depressed. Researchers from the School of Medicine in Sydney and Sun-Yat-Sen University in China studied over 1,000 teenagers - who had an average age of 15 - and asked them about their...

Published Tue, Aug 03 2010 3:54 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression - in adolescence

Brief intervention makes a big difference to teenagers in A&E

Brief motivational interviewing is a technique in which people are encouraged to think about their goals and how their current behaviour does, or does not, contribute towards achieving them. Researchers from the University of Michigan have been carrying...

Published Wed, Aug 04 2010 6:40 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Child Psychology, Alcohol Problems

Slowing down the dementia epidemic

Researchers estimate that 820,000 people in the U.K. have dementia - a number predicted to double by 2050. A team of researchers in France and the U.K. have been looking at the best ways to prevent more people developing the condition and have concluded...

Published Fri, Aug 06 2010 5:08 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alzheimer's Disease, Depression, Diabetes

Trust and truthfulness. Why thinking the best of people helps you to spot the worst

People who are more trusting are actually better at spotting liars than those who are more cynical. Researchers from the University of Toronto showed people job interviews of 2nd year M.B.A. students. Some of them were telling the truth while others were...

Published Mon, Aug 16 2010 7:04 AM by Mental Health Update

More evidence for meditation benefits

Researchers at the University of Oregon have added further evidence about the beneficial effects of meditation. The researchers had previously shown that meditation can reduce levels of anxiety, depression, anger and fatigue. In their latest study they...

Published Tue, Aug 17 2010 3:41 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Neuroscience, Meditation

Abused women's long-term suffering

The psychological ill effects of being in an abusive relationship can last for years after the relationship has finished. Researchers from Ohio State University studied 2,400 mothers over three years. Some were in relationships where there was no abuse...

Published Fri, Aug 27 2010 5:54 AM by Mental Health Update

Mindfulness, conditional goal setting and depression

People sometimes say to themselves 'I'll be happy when I've got a new car,' or 'I'll have achieved domestic bliss as soon as I've painted the front room.' Psychologists call this way of thinking Conditional Goal Setting...

Published Fri, Aug 27 2010 1:41 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Depression, Mindfulness

Even gentle exercise boosts brain power

Even gentle exercise three times a week could help to improve people's cognitive functioning, maintain networks in the brain and fight off the mental decay associated with aging. Researchers from Illinois University studied 100 people, aged between...

Published Tue, Aug 31 2010 2:28 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Exercise and Mental Health, Cognition

Keep calm and get married

Past studies have shown that people who are married or in a long-term relationship tend to be healthier than those who are single and new research suggests that they are also better at dealing with stress. Researchers from Chicago University studied 500...

Published Thu, Aug 19 2010 3:48 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Stress

Brothers and sisters boost mental health

Children between the ages of 10 and 14 could be protected from depression if they have a sister. Researchers from Brigham Young University in Utah studied 395 families with more than one child, at least one of whom was an adolescent between the ages of...

Published Fri, Aug 06 2010 5:54 AM by Mental Health Update

Gum disease and Alzheimer's disease

People with gum disease are almost twice as likely to suffer from coronary artery disease as other people and new research suggests they may also be at risk of lower brainpower too. Researchers from New York University studied 152 70-year-old people measuring...

Published Thu, Aug 05 2010 6:36 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Alzheimer's Disease

Could 'Special K' be a solution for bipolar depression?

Ketamine could help people with bipolar disorder shake off depression. Ketamine was first introduced in 1962 and is legally used as a human, and animal, anaesthetic. It is also used as a 'party' drug when it is known, among other things, as 'Special...

Published Wed, Aug 04 2010 7:10 AM by Mental Health Update

Filed under: Bipolar Disorder, Ketamine