Scientists studied 12,000 people and found this surprising link between fiber and mental health

 Your competent? doctor doesn't need this for you because they prevented depression with EXACT 100% RECOVERY PROTOCOLS, right? Sarcasm tag here! 

Scientists studied 12,000 people and found this surprising link between fiber and mental health

Depression is a complicated condition that nearly 48 million Americans grapple with. While talk therapy and antidepressants are the mainstays of treatment, a growing body of research has found that making certain lifestyle tweaks such as exercising more and doing your best to eat a healthy diet can also help to support your mental health. Now, new research suggests focusing on fiber could do your mental health a solid, too.

It’s worth noting this now: The study didn’t find that ramping up your fiber intake alone will magically cure your depression. Instead, the researchers found a link between higher fiber intake and fewer depression symptoms.

If you have depression and want to do everything you can to try to feel better, leaning into this macro a little more might help you to feel a little better—and even help your gut health along the way. Here’s why doctors say this is worth considering.

Meet the experts: Zohra Lassi, PhD, study co-author and associate professor in the School of Public Health at Adelaide University; Davide Cappon, PhD, director of neuropsychology at Tufts Medical Center; and Hillary Ammon, PsyD, a clinical psychologist at the Center for Anxiety and Women’s Emotional Wellness.

What did the study find?

The study, which was published in the journal Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, analyzed data from 12,000 people who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants were also asked about their mental health, with researchers analyzing their symptoms based on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), a common tool used by doctors to screen for depression and depression severity.

The researchers found some interesting links between fiber intake and mental health. Overall, the participants’ dietary fiber intake dropped from 16.52 grams a day before the pandemic to 15.95 grams a day during the pandemic. The researchers also found that eight percent of participants reported depressive symptoms before the pandemic, while 10 percent reported them during the pandemic.

But after combining the data, the researchers discovered that there was a 14 percent lower risk of having symptoms of depression for every extra five grams of fiber intake before the pandemic. This association got a little weaker for the study participants as a whole during the actual pandemic (but, to be fair, there was a lot happening during the pandemic that could’ve affected someone’s mental health). Worth noting: The protective link between eating fiber and mental health stayed true for women during the pandemic, but not for men.

What’s behind this?

The study found a link between eating more fiber and fewer symptoms of depression, making it tough to say that one led to the other. Still, doctors say there’s likely something here.

One possibility is the gut-brain axis. “Fiber is fermented by bacteria in the gut, producing compounds called short-chain fatty acids,” explains Zohra Lassi, PhD, a study co-author and associate professor in the School of Public Health at Adelaide University. “These compounds are involved in processes including inflammation, immune function, and communication between the gut and the brain.”

Hillary Ammon, PsyD, a clinical psychologist at the Center for Anxiety and Women’s Emotional Wellness, agrees that this is likely at the heart of the link. “Fiber can act as prebiotics that fuel microbes in the digestive tract,” she says. Ammon points out that recent research suggests that people with depression may have lower levels of short-chain fatty acids in their guts.

“What this research may be suggesting is that people [who] consume more fermentable fiber may have healthier gut microbes, which in turn, produces more short-chain fatty acids, which ultimately can reduce inflammation, impact brain functioning, and improve mood,” she says.

But it’s also possible that the reverse is true. “People experiencing fewer depressive symptoms may also eat healthier,” says Davide Cappon, PhD, director of neuropsychology at Tufts Medical Center. “Future studies should follow people over time and include biomarkers of inflammation and gut health to better understand whether fiber itself is driving the association and through what mechanisms.”

Does the type of fiber matter?

There are two main types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber dissolves in water to create a gel-like substance in your gut, while insoluble fiber passes through your gut mostly unchanged.

It’s not clear if the type of fiber matters, Lassi says. “We measured total dietary fiber intake and did not have information that allowed us to distinguish between different types of fiber,” she says. “Different types and sources of fiber can have different physiological effects, so this is an important question for future research.”

How much fiber do people need to get the perks?

Overall, the study participants didn’t have as much fiber intake as dietary guidelines recommend. (It’s generally recommended that adults consume 25 to 38 grams of fiber a day, or about 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories you take in.) But the researchers found that ramping up that intake a little and at least nearing the recommended amounts each day was linked to better mental health.

“The main message is that diet may be one part of the mental health picture, and fiber appears to be part of that conversation,” Lassi says. But she cautions against loading up on fiber supplements in an effort to prevent or manage depression.

“A practical approach is to include more naturally fiber-rich foods such as vegetables, fruit, whole grains, beans, lentils, and nuts as part of a healthy diet,” she says. Overall, Lassi emphasizes that depression is complicated. “Depression is influenced by many biological, psychological, and social factors, and diet is only one part of that much bigger picture,” she says. But if you want to add more fiber to your plate, go ahead. It may do your mind—and your gut—a solid.

The 6 Pillars of Mental Health (and How to Achieve Each One) by Super Age

 I'm pretty good in all of these. Life is great!

The 6 Pillars of Mental Health (and How to Achieve Each One)

Younger Stroke Survivors Have More Difficulty Concentrating

 You're so fucking incompetent you only describe a problem; OFFER NO SOLUTION! In the business world that would be actionable grounds for IMMEDIATE FIRINGS!

In my esteemed view, this is so fucking simple, 100% recovery, so they can get back to work immediately! You're complete blithering idiots if you can't see that!

Send me personal hate mail on this: oc1dean@gmail.com. I'll print your complete statement with your name(If you can't stand by your name don't bother replying anonymously) and my response in my blog. Or are you afraid to engage with my stroke-addled mind? No excuses are allowed! You're medically trained; it should be simple to precisely state EXACTLY WHY you aren't solving to 100% recovery protocols with NO EXCUSES! I've never received any communications from any stroke association. You'd think they would want to talk to their fiercest critic, but no, they are hiding under a rock someplace, probably don't even know I exist! Swearing at me is allowed, I'll return the favor. Don't even attempt to use the excuse that brain research is hard.

Younger Stroke Survivors Have More Difficulty Concentrating

Younger stroke survivors, especially those out of work, had increased days of poor mental and physical health.

HealthDay News — Younger stroke survivors have more difficulty concentrating and doing errands alone than older stroke survivors, according to a study published online Feb. 26 in Geriatrics.Molly M. Jacobs, Ph.D., and Charles Ellis Jr., Ph.D., from the University of Florida in Gainesville, examined how functional, mental, and physical health outcomes differ between younger (younger than 50 years) and older (50 years and older) stroke survivors.

The researchers found that younger stroke survivors were more likely to report difficulty concentrating or remembering compared with older adults (41.1 versus 23.2 percent) and to report difficulty doing errands alone (27.11 versus 23.67 percent); however, they were less likely to report difficulty walking or climbing stairs (34.3 versus 47.6 percent). Compared with older adults, younger adults with stroke reported significantly more poor mental health days (10.81 versus 5.76). There was a consistent association seen for being out of work or out of the labor force with greater odds of functional limitations (odds ratio, 2.07 for activity difficulty) and with higher counts of poor mental and physical health days in adjusted models. Significantly higher odds of difficulty concentrating (odds ratio, 2.02) and increased days of poor mental and physical health (incidence rate ratios, 1.27 and 1.26, respectively) were seen for younger stroke survivors who were out of the labor force.

“With the growing rate of stroke among individuals under 50, the medical establishment has to acknowledge that young stroke survivors require age-specific rehabilitation strategies that include different components than they do for older stroke survivors,” Jacobs said in a statement.

Abstract/Full Text

This Is the Powerful Link Between Movement and Mental Health by Debbie Hampton

 Does your incompetent? doctor understand the requirement to get stroke survivors 100% recovered!  Oh no, your doctor  DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT 100% RECOVERY AND IS TOTALLY IMCOMPETENT! Yet is still getting paid for shitworthy work!

This Is the Powerful Link Between Movement and Mental Health

We’ve all been advised to move our bodies mostly for our physical health — to keep weight in check, strengthen muscles, and protect our hearts. But what if the real magic of movement isn’t in your muscles at all?

It’s happening in your brain.

Science keeps confirming what many of us have known instinctively all along: physical activity is one of the most powerful tools you have to support and strengthen mental health. Moving your body literally changes your brain, lifting mood, sharpening focus, easing stress, and protecting against cognitive decline.

And now, the evidence is stronger than ever.

A sweeping umbrella review in the British Journal of Sports Medicine  found that exercise deserves far more than a supporting role in mental-health care. It needs to be part of the very foundation — as vital as therapy, medication, or mindfulness.

In a world where most people sit more than they move, that finding has huge implications for how we think about health, happiness, and our living and working habits.

Here’s What the Research Tells Us

Specifically, the review  analyzed 97 meta-analyses encompassing 1,039 randomized controlled trials and 128,119 participants. Across adult populations, physical-activity programs led to moderate improvements in symptoms of both depression and anxiety compared with standard care. In plain language:

Moving your body isn’t just about fitness. It’s a scientifically backed strategy for better mental health.

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Broad populations, strong results

• The review included people with no diagnosed mental-health disorder, people with depression or anxiety, and people living with chronic diseases like HIV or kidney disease, among others.

• Most studies showed that physical activity reduced depression and anxiety scores by a meaningful amount, and the results were fairly consistent across the different groups. For overall psychological distress, the benefits were even stronger.

• Notably, research indicated that higher-intensity physical activity appeared associated with greater mental health improvements.

• Interestingly, the greatest benefits were seen with shorter programs. While improvements continued over the long term, they tended to be smaller and more gradual than the initial gains seen early in the intervention.

Comparison with standard treatments

Although the review didn’t directly compare exercise with antidepressants or therapy in the same studies, the findings suggest that regular physical activity can be just as effective for improving mood and in some cases, may even have added advantages, like fewer side effects and other health benefits.

Prevention as well as treatment

Separate meta-analyses show that even modest physical-activity levels correlate with lower incidence of future depression. For example, adults achieving half the recommended activity volume had 18 percent lower risk of depression, and those meeting recommended levels had 25 percent lower risk.

Why Movement Matters for Brain Health at Every Age

We know that mental health, cognitive performance, and resilience are deeply interconnected, with physical, psychological, and environmental factors all playing a role. This research on physical activity directly reinforces that perspective on whole-body wellness, and it begins in a person’s childhood.

Today, even children’s brains are being affected by a growing movement deficit. Gym and recess time are continually shrinking, while hours spent sitting—first at school desks, then at home in front of screens—are expanding. This lack of daily physical activity doesn’t just impact their physical health. It influences how their developing brains wire for attention, memory, emotional regulation, and stress resilience. If we want sharper, calmer, more creative and mentally healthy adults tomorrow, we must protect and prioritize movement in childhood today.

1. From Brain to Body and Back

Movement isn’t only about muscles or cardiovascular fitness. It boosts circulation, supports growth of new brain cells, regulates stress hormones, and improves sleep quality and immune health. All of these processes feed directly into attention, memory, and mood. When students or professionals neglect movement, they aren’t just skipping “gym time.” They’re skipping foundational support for brain function and emotional balance.

2. Sedentary Work and School = Hidden Risk

In offices and classrooms alike, screens and sitting dominate. The BJSM review underscores that this life pattern quietly increases mental-health risks across the board. Whether we’re talking about adults in meetings or children in classrooms, incorporating movement is not optional. It’s essential if we want to protect focus, creativity, mental health, and emotional stability.

3. Movement as Preventive Brain Care

Because physical activity also decreases the onset of depression and anxiety, it’s not only relevant when mental health challenges appear—it’s a powerful preventative. For professionals, that means better long-term performance and reduced burnout. For kids, it means stronger concentration, emotional regulation, and resilience that carries into adulthood.

4. Reframing the Narrative

Too often, fitness is thought of as an elective purely for physical or aesthetic rewards. The evidence reframes movement as a core mental health and cognitive performance foundation and superpower. When done consistently, physical activity is not just “good to do”—it’s necessary for learning, focus, career, and lifelong brain and mental health.

What This Means for Workplaces, Schools, and Families

Based on the evidence, movement should be treated as essential infrastructure for both mental and cognitive health, not just a perk or afterthought. The same principle that applies to offices also applies to classrooms and homes: our brains need us to move our bodies at every age.

When children sit for most of the day—at school desks, during homework, and in front of screens—their brains lose out on a key driver of growth and regulation. Regular movement boosts blood flow, strengthens neural connections, and enhances emotional regulation and focus. For adults, those same mechanisms sustain creativity, clarity, stress resilience, and healthy aging.

Here’s how we can make movement part of our culture at every level:

Workplaces and Teams

• Flexible schedules: Allow employees to step away for midday walks, gym sessions, or stretch breaks. Short, regular activity woven into the workday improves focus, mood, and productivity.

• Built-in movement breaks: Embed “reset movement moments” into meetings, including ten minutes for a moving, walking, gentle stretching, or mindful breathing between long sessions.

• Wellness as mental health: Frame workplace fitness not as a perk, but as a core health and wellness and success strategy.

• Leadership modeling: When business executives and management prioritize movement, it models and normalizes healthy behaviors across the team and organization.

• Smart workspace design: Encourage standing desks, walking-meetings, outdoor collaborative spaces, and onsite gyms and fitness activities.

• Measure what matters: Include physical-activity engagement in organizational performance and wellbeing metrics. The science is clear. Movement directly supports an organization by improving focus, morale, and cognitive performance.

Schools and Educators

• Protect recess and physical education: These aren’t just fun breaks from learning. They’re essential time for brain, mental, and physical health.

• Incorporate movement into lessons: Plan activities that get kids up and moving to enhance memory, attention, and problem-solving.

• Limit extended sitting: Build in frequent movement breaks in classrooms can reduce restlessness and improve emotional regulation and behavior.

• After-school activity: Encourage parents and communities to support outdoor play, sports, and creative movement, which is key for healthy neural development.

Individuals and Families

• Schedule movement as non-negotiable: Treat it like an important aspect of your life, like a non-negotiable appointment for you and your family.

• Mix formats: Walking, biking, yoga, dancing, active play, yard work, house work, gardening, and more all count. Find what’s enjoyable and sustainable for you and your family members and do it.

• Short and consistent wins: As little as 30–40 minutes of moderate activity, three to five times a week, can deliver meaningful mental and physical benefits for adults and youth.

• Use movement as a reset: When stress or screen fatigue sets in, for you or children, short bursts of activity can restore calm, clarity, focus, and energy.

Realistic Expectations

While the research is robust, it’s important to be realistic and remember:

• Not every study is applicable to everybody, and the results are going to vary by person.

• Exercise isn’t a “miracle cure” for whatever ails you. However, it is a powerful tool and consistent support for maintaining mental and brain health.

• Higher-intensity and more frequent activity tends to provide greater benefits, but any movement at all is way better than none.

• Consistency matters most. Your brain thrives on routine patterns of activity.

• Movement complements, not replaces, therapy, medication, or other professional care.

The Takeaway

This research sends a clear message: The question isn’t how to fit one more workout into your week. It’s how to make movement a natural part of your day. Start small—move for a few minutes between tasks, dance in your kitchen, take the stairs, or step outside for a quick walk. When I’m working at the computer, I use bathroom breaks or coffee warm-ups to do lunges, squats, or jumping jacks. I keep hand weights by my desk. If my hands are free for a moment, I stand up, walk in place, and use the weights.. It shapes how we think, feel, and perform—whether in the classroom, workplace, or home.

The question isn’t how to fit one more workout into your week. It’s how to make movement a natural part of your day. Start small—move for a few minutes between tasks, dance in your kitchen, take the stairs, or step outside for a walk. When I’m working at the computer, I use bathroom breaks or coffee warm-ups to do lunges, squats, or jumping jacks. I keep hand weights by my desk. If my hands are free for a while, I stand up and walk in place while using the weights.

Every bit of movement is a message to your brain that you’re alive, engaged, and adaptable. When it becomes a natural part of your daily life—not an obligation you must do three times a week, but an act of self-care—you’re not just strengthening your body. You’re nurturing your mind, improving your mood, protecting your future brain, and building the capacity to live, learn, and thrive well at every age.

Stomach–brain synchronisation is associated with poorer mental health

 Really? What about all this research?

gut-brain axis (35 posts to June 2016)

gut microbiota (33 posts to June 2016)

gut microbiota dysbiosis (2 posts to March 2022)

gut microbiota transplants (1 post to October 2023) You need to be aware of this problem.

Stomach–brain synchronisation is associated with poorer mental health

Edwin S. Dalmaijer edwin.dalmaijer@bristol.ac.uk Affiliations & Notes Show Outline

Abstract

In common parlance, ‘being in touch with your body’ is often used positively. However, in a recent study, Banellis, Rebollo, and colleagues show that better stomach–brain synchronisation is actually associated with increased anxiety and depression scores. These findings add an interesting dimension to debates on the role of interoception in mental health.

Keywords

Main text The brain is intimately connected to the rest of the body to maintain homeostasis. It can be figuratively described as conducting the visceral orchestra. Key to this process is interoception: monitoring and actively predicting internal physiological signals [1]. For over a century, researchers have centred these peripheral signals in theories of emotion and, more recently, as a contributor to mental health [2]. New insights into the mechanism behind this link are presented in a recent publication by Banellis, Rebollo,et al., who found that increased synchronisation between brain and stomach was associated with poorer mental health [3]. While traditional (ex vivo) anatomical work has identified connections between brain and stomach, more recently, the combination of electrogastrography and functional magnetic resonance imaging has been used to study the gastric network in living human brains [4]. This approach allows for identifying the sequence of brain areas that covary with the slow (0.05 Hz) normogastric rhythm of the stomach. Using this approach, Banellis, Rebollo, et al. mapped the neurogastric synchrony of 243 participants. They also mapped participants’ psychological profile using a battery of mental health and lifestyle questionnaires. These data are challenging to analyse due to their high dimensionality and the likely tendency for variables to covary more strongly within each data modality. An elegant solution was found in canonical correlation analysis, which identifies pairs of highly correlated canonical variates across data modalities. The result was a single pair in which the stomach–brain variate loaded negatively on posterior frontal and parietal regions, including posterior superior frontal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, and posterior intraparietal sulcus. Higher scores on this variate thus meant lower stomach–brain synchrony. The psychological variate loaded negatively onto symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress, fatigue, and a variety of other markers of poor mental health, and positively on wellbeing and quality of life scores. Higher scores on this variate thus meant better mental health. Because the variates are correlated, the results showed that higher general mental health was associated with lower stomach–brain connectivity.Banellis, Rebollo,et al. carefully avoided causal claims, as it remains unclear whether higher neurogastric connectivity was cause, consequence, or only consonant with poorer mental health. Nevertheless, the direction of the association is surprising: it goes against the common idea that ‘more’ interoception (‘listening to your body’) should be better for mental health. This contrast, however, is only superficial. Healthy interoception is adaptive and aligned with the state of the body [2], and increased neurogastric coupling could reflect increased monitoring of the stomach for the wrong reasons.

The idea of context-dependent interoception is echoed in the interpretation of somatic signals. Recent studies in this field have found no direct associations between pain characteristics and anxiety or depression symptoms in people with chronic pain [5], nor between mental health scores and lab-assessed pain sensitivity in a community sample [6]. However, those who thought of their body as an adversary were less willing to experience pain or to engage in valued daily activities and they showed higher anxiety scores [5]. In addition, the self-reported experience of somatic symptoms (including gastrointestinal discomfort) did correlate strongly with depression scores [6]. Thus, mental health does not appear to be associated with objective sensitivity to internal signals, but rather their subjective experience or interpretation.

In the study by Banellis, Rebollo, et al. [3], the relationship between mental health and neurogastric coupling was found to be selective, in the sense that no associations with cardiac rhythms were found. This is noteworthy, because specific aberrations of stomach rhythms (collectively referred to as ‘proto-nausea’) are associated with the experience of disgust [7]. This is of transdiagnostic relevance, as disgust is a risk and maintenance factor in conditions such as eating disorders [8], obsessive compulsive disorder, and specific phobias [9]. Disgust renders current therapeutic tools less effective due to its ‘cognitive impenetrability’, likely because of its close association with the stomach. Recent experimental work suggests that pharmacologically normalising stomach rhythm reduces disgust avoidance [10]. If replicated in clinical samples, this could offer a potential adjuvant to cognitive behavioural therapy.

In sum, Banellis, Rebollo, et al. found that poorer mental health was associated with better neurogastric synchronisation. This is key empirical evidence that ‘more interoception’ is not always better. Instead, the findings align with the idea that interoception is gated by attention to bodily signals, which can increase due to their negative subjective experience. These new findings also underscore the need to better understand the role of the stomach and related emotions across diagnostic categories. Perhaps the folk wisdom should be updated: ‘Listen to your body, but only if it has something useful to say’.

Association Between Physical Activity Dose and Mental Health Among Stroke Survivors

 

Why can't your stroke medical 'professionals' deliver recovery instead of this useless association crapola? Are they that fucking incompetent? I'd fire all of you!

Association Between Physical Activity Dose and Mental Health Among Stroke Survivors

Ajith Kumar Vemuri, PhD Seyyed Sina Hejazian, MD https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8448-1539, Alireza Vafaei Sadr, PhD https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5733-6678, Aishwarya Chandrasekaran, MS https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1378-1198, Sasan Bahrami, MD, Shouhao Zhou, PhD https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8124-5047, Jonathan Hakun, PhD, Christopher Sciamanna, MD, Vida Abedi, PhD https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7689-933X, and Ramin Zand, MD, MPH https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9477-0094 ramin.zand@gmail.comAuthor Info & AffiliationsJournal of the American Heart Association

New online

https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.124.04118

Abstract

Background

Although physical activity correlates with reduced depressive symptoms among survivors of stroke, how frequency, intensity, and duration of physical activity relate to mental health is unknown. This study aims to find the association of physical activity doses recommended in 2011, 2014, and 2021 American Heart Association/American Stroke Association guidelines with mental health burden (number of days of poor mental health). Analysis was expanded to find the optimal dose linked to mental health burden.

Methods

We used data from the 2011 to 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a nationally representative survey. The mental health burden between guideline‐adherent and nonadherent groups was compared. Propensity score matching was used to balance the 2 groups with respect to sociodemographic factors and comorbidities. The relative difference in mental health burden between the groups is reported. The impact of duration, frequency, and intensity was analyzed using nonlinear regression, adjusting for potential confounders. We further performed a comparative analysis among survivors of myocardial infarction.

Results

Survivors of stroke who adhered to 2011, 2014, and 2021 guidelines had 0.6, 0.8, and 0.3 fewer days of poor mental health, with relative differences of 11.1%, 14.8%, and 5.8%, respectively. Among survivors of stroke adhering to 2014 guidelines (3–4 sessions/week, 40 minutes/session), younger (18–64) individuals showed greater relative differences in mental health burden at 15.7%. For those adhering to 2021 guidelines (4 moderate 10‐minute or 2 vigorous 20‐minute sessions), older (≥65) individuals had higher relative differences at 11.1%. Regression analysis showed that the optimal dose is 4 to 6 weekly sessions of moderate physical activity, each lasting 45 minutes.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that physical activity doses recommended in 2011, 2014, and 2021 American Heart Association/American Stroke Association guidelines are associated with lower mental health burden. Furthermore, the amount of physical activity associated with lower mental health may vary by subpopulations (eg, age). Randomized control trials are needed to validate the optimal dose.

Personality Traits Strongly Linked to Mental Health Risks

 Is your competent? doctor looking at these to ensure you don't get depressed or have anxiety post stroke?

Personality Traits Strongly Linked to Mental Health Risks

Summary: A major study of over 16,000 participants found that personality traits explain about 25% of the overall risk for mental health problems like depression, anxiety, and phobias. Traits such as higher neuroticism, higher agreeableness, and lower conscientiousness were particularly associated with general mental health risk.

The researchers emphasized that while personality is a strong predictor, it is only one factor among many, including genetics and life experiences. The findings suggest that understanding personality could help create better-targeted mental health interventions.

Key Facts:

• Personality Predicts Risk: About 25% of mental health risk is tied to personality traits.
• Neuroticism Linked to Risk: Higher neuroticism, lower conscientiousness, and higher agreeableness predicted general mental health issues.
• Multiple Factors Matter: Personality is a strong factor but does not solely determine mental health outcomes.

Source: University of Edinburgh

Common mental health conditions are more closely related to people’s personalities than previously thought, a study suggests.

Personality traits explain about a quarter of the overall risk of mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and phobias, the study found.

Researchers say the findings show personality is one of the most reliable predictors for the onset and persistence of mental health problems.

Researchers at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Tartu in Estonia analysed data from more than 16,000 members of the Estonian Biobank – a collection of health data from volunteers across the country.

They surveyed people’s personality according to the five traits psychologists define as the main dimensions of human personality: extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, openness to experience and agreeableness.

They also looked at more nuanced personality traits – such as tendencies to feel embarrassed, needing reassurance and needing help from others – as predictors of general mental health problems. 

The researchers also looked at both the general risk of experiencing different types of mental health problems and the risk of some specific problems that only some people experience, such as fear, sleeplessness, fatigue, inattention, and hyperactivity.

Each participant described their personality traits and mental health, and each participant was also rated by someone else who knew them well.

They found that personality traits were more strongly related to mental health problems than suggested by previous studies.

About 25 per cent of the differences in people’s risk of mental health problems could be traced to their personality traits.

On top of the general risk, personality traits explained another quarter of the risk for specific mental health problems.

People with a higher general mental health risk tended to have higher neuroticism – a tendency to feel negative emotions.(Not me)

They also tended to have higher agreeableness – a positive orientation towards other people – and lower conscientiousness – a tendency to be organised and hardworking.  (That's me)

However, specific mental health problems varied in their associations with personality traits.  

Some areas of mental health, such as sleep problems, were not particularly strongly correlated with any aspect of personality. 

Senior Researcher, Professor René Mõttus, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, said: “By combining data from two sources, we were able to overcome common problems in personality assessments, such as response bias and other types of measurement error. This allowed us to estimate the associations much more accurately.”  

The researchers stress that people’s personalities do not determine their mental health problems.

Lead author, Helo Liis Soodla, of the University of Tartu, said: “Many people whose traits might statistically predict poor mental health report great well-being. Conversely, many people who experience mental health problems at some point in their lives do not appear to be at risk based on their personality traits.

“In any given individual, a number of things can affect mental health, from genetic risk variants to stressful childhood events. Each factor on its own accounts for only a tiny proportion of the risk of poor mental health. And much is simply down to luck.”

The researchers say the more we know about the potential of traits to increase mental health risk, the more likely we are to be able to design successful interventions to reduce the risks.

Funding:

The work was funded by the Estonian Research Council.

About this mental health and personality research news

Author: Joanne Morrison
Source: University of Edinburgh
Contact: Joanne Morrison – University of Edinburgh
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: Open access.
“Assessing the Overlap of Personality Traits and Internalizing Psychopathology Using Multi-Informant Data: Two Sides of the Same Coin?” by René Mõttus et al. Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science

Coffee Has A Surprising Effect On Mental Health from PsyBlog

 

And I'm doing it to lower my risk of dementia and Parkinsions. This research is good news for me.

How coffee protects against Parkinson’s Aug. 2014  

Coffee May Lower Your Risk of Dementia Feb. 2013

Coffee drinkers rejoice! Drinking coffee could lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease 

And this: Coffee's Phenylindanes Fight Alzheimer's Plaque December 2018

I think I'm in this category:  I never get the jitters or flushed skin.

Genetics determine how much coffee you can drink before it goes wrong

I'm doing a 12 cup pot of coffee a day to lessen my chances of dementia and Parkinsons. Tell me EXACTLY how much coffee to drink for that and I'll change. Yep, that is a lot more than the 400mg. suggested limit, I don't care! Preventing dementia and Parkinsons is vastly more important than whatever problems it can cause! 

The latest here:

Coffee Has A Surprising Effect On Mental Health

How coffee consumption is linked to both mental and physical health.

Moderate coffee consumption is linked to reduced depression risk and lower levels of Parkinson’s and dementia.

Not only that, but the review of more than 200 studies found that drinking 3 to 4 cups of coffee a day is linked to many other benefits.

These include lower levels of heart disease, reduced risk of some cancers, diabetes and liver disease.

The study’s authors write:

“Coffee consumption was consistently associated with a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease, even after adjustment for smoking, and across all categories of exposure.

Decaffeinated coffee was associated with a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease, which did not reach significance.

Consumption had a consistent association with lower risk of depression and cognitive disorders, especially for Alzheimer’s disease.”

Coffee was also associated with a lower risk of several cancers:

• prostate cancer,
• endometrial cancer,
• skin cancer,
• and liver cancer,

Risk of type 2 diabetes, gallstones and gout was lower in those drinking coffee as well.

Coffee’s apparent effect was particularly strong for liver conditions, such as cirrhosis.

The evidence for drinking decaffeinated coffee was not as strong.

So, if you don’t drink coffee already, should you start?

Writing in a linked commentary, Professor Eliseo Guallar, an expert in public health, gives the answer:

“Should doctors recommend drinking coffee to prevent disease?

Should people start drinking coffee for health reasons?

The answer to both questions is “no.” “

But if you do already drink coffee, then how much should you drink?

Professor Guallar explained:

“…the lowest risk of disease is associated with drinking three to five cups of coffee a day.

Higher intake may reduce or reverse the potential benefit, and there is substantial uncertainty, both in individual studies and in meta-analyses, about the effects of higher levels of intake.

Conclusions on the safety of coffee should thus be restricted to moderate intake, generally considered as ≤400 mg of caffeine a day (about four or five coffee drinks).”

The research was an ‘umbrella review’ which is a kind of review of the reviews.

It aggregates data from lots of different studies including many participants.

However, the way the studies were designed, it cannot tell us that drinking coffee causes these health benefits.

It just tells us there is a link to be explained.

The study was published in The British Medical Journal (Poole et al., 2017).

Higher vitamin D levels linked to improved mental health

 Pretty much useless, NOTHING ON AMOUNTS, or what test to take to determine your levels.

Taking 60,000 international units (IU) a day of vitamin D for several months has been shown to cause toxicity. This level is many times higher than the U.S. Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for most adults of 600 IU of vitamin D a day.

In order for vitamin D to reach toxic or dangerous levels in the body, it needs to exceed 100 nanograms (ng) per milliliter (mL). Excess vitamin D is defined as blood vitamin D levels over 100 ng/mL, while vitamin D intoxication or hypervitaminosis D is defined as serum levels over 150 ng/mL.

Be careful out there.

Higher vitamin D levels linked to improved mental health

Key takeaways:

• Higher levels of vitamin D were associated with improved physical functioning and depressive symptoms.
• PCPs should encourage consumption of foods with vitamin D when indicated, one researcher said.

CHICAGO — Vitamin D levels may be associated with mental health — particularly, depressive symptoms, according to research presented at the annual NUTRITION meeting.

“We know that vitamin D is an essential nutrient for the body,” Jacqueline A. Vernarelli, PhD, the director of research education and an associate professor at Sacred Heart University, told Healio. “Vitamin D deficiency is related to heart disease, poor bone health, and certain types of cancers. There have been some studies that have looked at the relationship between vitamin D deficiency and mental health, but none using a large population sample.”

Vernarelli and research partner Kayla D. Champagne, MPH, analyzed data from 4,641 adults who participated in the 2017-2018 NHANES survey to assess possible connections. Depression was evaluated with the PHQ-9 questionnaire, and serum vitamin D levels were presented as 25-hydroxyvitamin D2 + D3 (nmol/L).

“We found that the amount of vitamin D in your blood was related to mental health and physical functioning,” Vernarelli said. “Adults with lower levels of vitamin D had more depressive symptoms. Further, adults with depression had significantly lower intake of vitamin D than adults without depression.”

In addition, higher serum vitamin D levels were connected to improved physical functioning. The researchers also noted that patients who had clinical depression also had significantly lower vitamin D intake from food sources (4.3 vs. 3.3 µg; P = .004). Therefore, they wrote that public health messaging encouraging consumption of foods rich in vitamin D could be an important dietary strategy to support mental health.

Since “vitamin D is related to mental health,” Vernarelli said primary care providers should “consider testing for vitamin D status as an important part of the whole-health evaluation of patients.”

“PCPs should encourage consumption of food fortified with vitamin D or supplementation when indicated,” she said. “Having enough vitamin D in the bloodstream is important for helping the body function properly — this includes physical and mental health.”

Sources/Disclosures

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Source: Vernarelli JA, et al. The association with vitamin D and depression in US adults. Presented at: NUTRITION; June 29-July 2, 2024.

Disclosures: Champagne and Vernarelli report no relevant financial disclosures.

A Peek Inside the Brains of ‘Super-Agers’

 Is your competent? doctor testing you for these traits? Why not?

A Peek Inside the Brains of ‘Super-Agers’

This paragraph is instructive:

Experts don’t know how someone becomes a super-ager, though there were a few differences in health and lifestyle behaviors between the two groups in the Spanish study. Most notably, the super-agers had slightly better physical health, both in terms of blood pressure and glucose metabolism, and they performed better on a test of mobility.(I managed to do 14 and I'm 68 so I guess I passed. Getting an ejection seat recliner would mean you'll never pass the power test!) The super-agers didn’t report doing more exercise at their current age than the typical older adults, but they were more active in middle age. They also reported better mental health.(I haven't been depressed a day in my life and I never will!)

The Personality Trait Linked To Good Mental Health

I have almost no spiritual beliefs, nothing outside of myself and my friends will improve my already great mental health.

The Personality Trait Linked To Good Mental Health

This type of people are less likely to be neurotic.

People who are more spiritual have better mental health, psychological, research finds.

Spiritual people feel a greater connection with the rest of the universe.

Being spiritual may boost people’s mental health because it reduces self-centredness.

Dr Dan Cohen, the study’s first author, said:

“In many ways, the results of our study support the idea that spirituality functions as a personality trait.

With increased spirituality people reduce their sense of self and feel a greater sense of oneness and connectedness with the rest of the universe.

What was interesting was that frequency of participation in religious activities or the perceived degree of congregational support was not found to be significant in the relationships between personality, spirituality, religion and health.”

Three surveys asked people about their personality, spirituality and mental and physical health.

The study included Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims and Buddhists.

The results showed that people with faith had lower levels of neuroticism, which indicates better mental health.

Spiritual people were also more likely to be extraverted.

Dr Cohen said:

“Our prior research shows that the mental health of people recovering from different medical conditions, such as cancer, stroke, spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury, appears to be related significantly to positive spiritual beliefs and especially congregational support and spiritual interventions.

Spiritual beliefs may be a coping device to help individuals deal emotionally with stress.”