Health and fitness: Is your mind being wrecked by stress?
Overwork and anxiety lead to cognitive issues, reducing our ability to focus, concentrate and remember things in the long term, a study has found. Here’s what you can do to de-stress.
Headaches, insomnia, chest pains and high blood pressure are just some of the well-known side effects of stress. Now a study has found that it not only muddles our capacity for thinking but damages cognitive function, reducing our ability to focus, concentrate and remember things in the long term.
In a trial involving more than 24,000 people aged 45 and older, a team from the Emory University, the University of Alabama and other institutions assessed perceived stress levels over a decade using a psychological questionnaire. Annual follow-ups were carried out for each participant and they were given a stress rating based on their responses. The participants’ cognitive function was also assessed with set tasks such as counting backwards from 20, stating the months of the year in reverse and memory tests. After adjusting for lifestyle factors such as poor diet and exercise they found that those who reported chronic, elevated stress were 37 per cent more likely to have poor cognitive function.
“We know too much stress can adversely affect physical and mental health,” says Ambar Kulshreshtha, an associate professor of preventive medicine and epidemiology at Emory University and co-author of the study. “What our study shows is that stress can have harmful long-term effects on brain health as well.
“Every second patient I see in my clinic has some stress-related symptom or condition. Stress is ubiquitous and now that we know it can harm brain health the longer it goes on, the more reason there is to find ways to reduce it in our lives.”
Previous studies have shown that cumulative stress can damage the prefrontal cortex, shrinking the brain and triggering a loss of brain connections that are involved in cognition and memory. “Chronic stress is also one of the risk factors for degenerative brain conditions such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease,” he says. “Since there are no cures for these, the best approach is to try to prevent them and that includes developing a toolbox of stress-reduction techniques.”
Here is how to destress
Don’t hit the chips
Comfort-snacking on salted nuts and chips when you are stressed is among the worst things you can do, as scientists have shown that they can increase stress hormones by as much as 75 per cent. A trial conducted at Edinburgh University and funded by the British Heart Foundation and Kidney Research UK suggested salt raises resting levels of stress hormones such as cortisol in animals – and the same is likely to be true for people. A high salt diet might also result in heightened anxiety, the researchers suggested. “Understanding how high-salt food changes our mental health is an important step to improving wellbeing,” says Matthew Bailey, professor of renal physiology at the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Cardiovascular Science and one of the paper’s authors. “Our study tells us that high salt in our food also changes the way our brain handles stress.”
Run for at least 10 minutes
Exercise is known to be a powerful stress-buster but running could beat other forms of activity, according to Jeff Edwards, associate professor of physiology and developmental biology at Brigham Young University. In an animal study published in the journal Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, Edwards showed that running 5km daily for four weeks produced greater long-term potentiation, a term that describes the strengthening of connections between neurons. “It’s empowering to know that we can combat the negative impacts of stress on our brains just by getting out and running,” he says.
If 5km is a stretch, getting out for just 10 minutes at a gentle pace is enough to improve blood flow to the bilateral prefrontal cortex, part of the brain that controls mood, according to a study by exercise scientists at the University of Tsukuba in Japan.
Eat more tuna and chickpeas
Stress is thought to result partly from disruption of the delicate balance between the excitatory neurons, which carry information around, and the inhibitory ones, which prevent runaway activity. Eating more B vitamins, found in leafy greens, tuna and chickpeas, is known to inhibit this disruption thanks to its ability to boost the body’s production of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), a chemical that lowers anxiety. A few years ago researchers at the University of York showed that people asked to consume a teaspoon of Marmite, which is also packed with B vitamins, every day for a month appeared to have a 30 per cent reduction in their brain’s responses to stressful visual images compared with those who ate the same amount of peanut butter.
Vitamin B6 supplements also have a pronounced effect on GABA production, found a study led by Dr David Field, a researcher in the school of psychology and clinical language sciences at the University of Reading. “Vitamin B6 helps the body produce a specific chemical messenger that inhibits impulses in the brain,” he says. “Our study links this calming effect with reduced anxiety among the participants.” Eating more turkey, tuna and chickpeas would provide some vitamin B6, although Field says the levels used in his trial – a course of 100mg of B6 – “suggest that a daily supplement would be necessary to have a positive effect on mood”.
Do Kundalini yoga daily
Researchers at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine found Kundalini yoga to be more effective than a stress management course at helping people to overcome burgeoning anxiety. Professor Naomi M Simon of the NYU Department of Psychiatry, who led the study, divided 226 male and female participants, all with anxiety, and asked them to try for 12 weeks either cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), a stress-management course or Kundalini yoga, a form of yoga suitable for beginners that involves chanting, singing, breathing exercises and meditation with an instructor. The yoga group were also asked to do 20 minutes’ daily practice at home without an instructor.
While CBT was found to be the most effective, with 71 per cent of people reporting improved symptoms, yoga unexpectedly reduced anxiety in 54 per cent of participants compared with 33 per cent in the stress management group. “Yoga and meditation are widely used by many people for successful stress relief,” says Dr Olivia Remes, a research associate in mental health at the University of Cambridge and author of This Is How You Grow After Trauma. “But something as simple as deep breathing for a few minutes can help to calm the brain and focus your thought.”
Do something, anything, badly
“Aiming for perfectionism in everything is a common trait of stressed people,” Remes says. “And yet because they think they need to do everything perfectly, they often don’t even start something and that leaves them feeling in a rut.” Her advice is not to wait for motivation before taking action. “The antidote to procrastination and rising stress levels is to take the plunge and do something badly. Don’t put off dance lessons because you have two left feet, just do it badly to start with and you will be amazed how taking that step lifts your mood and leaves you more motivated.”
Get on your bike
A Spanish study involving 788 adults showed that routinely cycling to work correlated with more significant stress reduction than other modes of transport, while another team, from Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business, showed that cycling cut stress for at least the first 45 minutes after arriving at work. “Any form of moderate exercise can help to lower stress,” Remes says. “You don’t need to do a lot to start benefiting and my advice is to begin with even 20 minutes a week of something like cycling and building up from there.”
Focus on immediate rewards
“The reward of a big long-term goal, such as running a marathon or getting a promotion at work, may be great, but it can seem like a mountain far off in the distance,” Remes says. “It might feel like a very long journey to get there, which can be demotivating and a source of anxiety.
“Focus on the benefits of the activity you need to do now to reach that end goal eventually.”
Immerse yourself in nature
Countless studies have confirmed that nature has a stress-busting effect and a review of evidence on this so-called “biophilia hypothesis” found that getting outdoors improves many of the health issues stress influences, including cognitive function. Remes recommends leaving gadgets at home twice a week and walking in greenery.
“It’s most effective if you don’t have a real plan and walk aimlessly in a park, letting your senses guide you. Touching the trees around you, taking off your shoes and feeling the grass beneath the soles of your feet and dipping your toes in cold water can have profound antistress effects.
“Even if all you can do is look out the window and see trees, grass, bushes or water, it can instil positive feelings that take stress down.”
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