Are you feeling anxious? Enter the club. There’s the cost-of-living dilemma, the looming prospect of rising gasoline prices, and the continual push to merely stay afloat.
Before the invention of Covid, a poll conducted by the Mental Health Foundation revealed that 75% of Britons felt unable to cope with stress during the preceding year.
In addition to “bad” stress, there is also “good” stress, which motivates you to overcome obstacles and achieve success (I’m thinking of you, Lionesses).
Occasionally, a little additional stress is just what the doctor prescribed. This was the finding of a recent study conducted by the University of Georgia in the United States, which discovered that exposure to moderate levels of stress not only makes people more resilient but also reduces the likelihood that they would acquire mental health issues like depression and anxiety.
The study, which was published in the journal Psychiatry Research, involved tests on more than 1,200 young individuals who were asked to fill out questionnaires assessing their stress levels, answering questions such as ‘how frequently have you found yourself unable to complete all of your responsibilities?’
In addition, they were given cognitive tests that tested their memory, task switching ability, and processing speed (how quickly their brains work).
After analyzing the data, researchers determined that exposure to moderate levels of stress improves cognitive capacities and reduces the likelihood of developing mental health disorders.
Stress may teach us coping strategies that assist us to conquer future obstacles.
There is, of course, a narrow line, and the researchers note that while some stress can be beneficial for the brain, prolonged exposure to high levels of stress can be quite harmful.
These findings reinforce a long-held belief of mine: that exposure to physical or mental stress can make us stronger.
Hormesis is the term for this phenomenon. This is not simply a version of “joining the army will make you a man”; hormesis is a method of describing the health benefits of being consistently challenged.
Consider anything as basic as exercise. When you run or lift weights, you are generating microscopic tears within your muscles. Your body responds by performing repairs, which is what strengthens your muscles.
Consuming bitter vegetables is another illustration. Plants generate phytochemicals, some of which serve as natural insecticides to deter herbivores like us from consuming them.
They are bitter because they contain potentially harmful compounds.
However, several of the most nutritious vegetables, such as cabbage and broccoli, are so bitter that even adults struggle to like them.
It appears that the hazardous phytochemicals are present in such low concentrations that they cannot hurt us, yet they are powerful enough to trigger a stress response in our cells, which subsequently activates genes that make our cells stronger and healthier.
Once you begin to view the world in this manner, you realize that many activities we initially find stressful, such as eating bitter vegetables, going for a run and lifting weights, or even practicing intermittent fasting — for which I am famous — are incredibly advantageous in the long run.
The difficulty appears to be part of the benefit. The fact that chronic starving is extremely unhealthy does not imply that brief bouts of intermittent fasting are somewhat unhealthy. As long as you eat correctly the rest of the time, there are numerous benefits to reducing your caloric intake for brief durations.
Hormesis may also explain the benefits of cold showers and swimming in cold water, which I have been doing for some time. Initially, saturating oneself with cold water is a shock to the system; I still gasp when I do it.
However, if you continue doing this, you will find that it not only helps you manage the tension induced by cold-water immersion but also with other stressors in your life, such as work pressure and bad sleep.
In a speech that launched the race to put a man on the moon, President Kennedy famously stated, “We chose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are simple, but because they are difficult.”
Consider this the next time you are on the fence about going for a run, a swim, or simply accepting a new challenge.
Planting a tree could provide brain protection
If you live on a major road or cycle frequently (like I do), you should be alarmed by a new report from the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, which, after reviewing over 70 research, concludes that air pollution raises the risk of heart disease, cancer, and dementia.
Automobiles, buses, and trucks emit PM2.5 – minute particles that penetrate deeply into the lungs and are subsequently transported to the brain via the bloodstream.
Another study, published in July in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, indicated that children whose mothers were exposed to greater amounts of nitrogen dioxide (another prevalent air pollutant) during pregnancy were more likely to have behavioral issues and lower IQs.
What then can you do? First, you may attempt to avoid becoming caught in traffic, because even with the windows closed, you would still be exposed to the toxins emitted by other vehicles. Several years ago, I participated in a study that required me to wear a pollution monitor while walking, riding, or driving through Central London. By far, the worst results were when I was driving. Additionally, you may like to put trees in your garden.
In 2019, Lancaster University evaluated the potential of nine tree species to reduce air pollution and discovered that silver birch, yew, and elder were able to employ the hairs on their leaves to capture the microscopic polluting particles, reducing levels by more than 70%.
Please do not purchase wood-burning stoves, as they contribute more to particulate air pollution than all vehicular traffic combined.
The new Prime Minister must prioritize obesity war
Now that Boris Johnson has resigned, I fear the end of our fight against obesity.
Boris had personal motives for wanting to address this issue; he stated that he had been hospitalized with Covid because of being “very obese.” Will his replacement be equally enthusiastic?
Liz Truss stated that the public “doesn’t want the government telling them what to eat” and that she will repeal Boris’s proposed ban on “buy one, get one free” promotions on things such as chocolate, chips, and cakes.
Although she and Rishi Sunak claim to be committed to easing the NHS problem, it is unclear how they intend to combat the ever-increasing rates of obesity, which is one of the primary causes of the crisis.
The only good news is that a key component of Boris’s anti-obesity campaign remains intact (though probably hanging by a thread). This is a proposal to restrict advertisements for junk food aimed at children.
According to a study by Sheffield University, restrictions on junk food advertisements on the Transport for London network in 2019 resulted in 95,000 fewer cases of obesity, averted or delayed 2,857 cases of diabetes, and will save the NHS £218 million.
Let’s hope that our next prime minister will have the courage to take on the fast food corporations.
