“Brain rot” is Oxford’s word of the year for 2024, and it makes perfect sense: emotions are shrinking as a result of using online media. If you’re just reading that description and worried about your blue matter, don’t panic! Researchers are finding promising – and surprising – ways to boost our mental health and de-clutter our minds. Here are nine stories about the topic that resonated with our readers this year.
1. Writing beats by hand to tap for learning and memorization
Yes, typing is often faster than writing by hand. But more and more studies are finding profound brain benefits when we write letters and words by hand. For children, it can improve letter recognition and learning; and when adults write notes by hand it can lead to a better understanding of information theory.
Brain imaging studies suggest that it is related to the necessary fine-tuning between the electrical and visual systems, which deeply affect the brain. Some artists even say that handwriting brings out their creativity. So if you feel tired – try to write down your thoughts with pen and paper.
2. Gut bacteria can affect your mood
Can what you eat make you more resilient to stress? Maybe! A recent study found that the guts of people dealing with stress shared two traits better: Their microbiomes had more pro-inflammatory bacteria and were it has a strong “gut barrier” that keeps toxins and germs out of the blood.
Scientists already know that our gut and our brain communicate. (Actually the gut produces about 90% of serotonin and about 50% of dopamine.) So will eating fermented foods like kimchi or yogurt or taking probiotic supplements help you? to stay cold?
It’s not that easy, scientists say, because the gut microbiome is a complex ecosystem. However, researchers are working to identify biomarkers in gut bacteria that could one day help make decisions about how to use existing treatments – or develop new treatments. Learn more about germs and mental health.
A diagram of the human microbiome. The bacteria in our gut can affect our mental health, research finds.
COURTESY KULYK/Getty Images/RF Science Photo Library
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COURTESY KULYK/Getty Images/RF Science Photo Library
3. Working late in adolescence can lead to depression and poor health in middle age
Your body already knows this: Sacrificing sleep for work can wreak havoc on your mental health. Now research is finding that working nights in particular and flexible shift times can leave people vulnerable to depression and illness.
Work should bring money to support us, says researcher Wen-Jui Han, but many people work themselves sick, and they are “more and more miserable as time goes by.”
About 16% of American workers worked outside of daylight hours in 2019; Black men and women with less education bear the brunt of these shifts disproportionately. Han says he hopes the study will stimulate more discussion about how to better support people to live happy and healthy lives. Here is a link between shift work and stress.
4. About 40% of dementia cases can be prevented or delayed by improving daily habits
When it comes to healthy habits, small changes can go a long way. Research is continuing to find that we can reduce the risk of dementia. Changes in our sleep, diet, social life and exercise patterns are all increasing. Even people with genetic risk factors can benefit.
Scientists have now developed an online tool – Brain Care Score – to help people measure and assess risks to their brain health. (You can check your information here.)
A recent study found that every 5-point increase in brain maintenance score was associated with a 27% lower risk of developing dementia, stroke and depression.
“What surprised us was how strong it was,” says Dr. Kevin Sheth, director of the Center for Brain and Mental Health at Yale University and co-author of the study. Sheth says her findings have led her to change some of her habits – she’s swapped out sugary desserts for fruit in some meals, and added leafy greens to her diet. Start boosting your brain health.
5. Talking to your “parts” can help you deal with stress and possibly change your life.
Have you ever felt paralyzed by stress? Are you tired of that inner voice that criticizes your choices? A therapy called Internal Family Systems, or IFS, is gaining popularity. It is based on the idea that each of us has many parts or feelings inside us – for example, people can have an inner critic, an anxious person, a protector. This process involves learning to embrace all parts of yourself, treat them with compassion and find out what they are telling you.
Some patients have called it “life-changing.” Although some experts say the evidence is not there yet, some small studies show that IFS can help people with certain problems including PTSD, depression and anxiety. And more research is ongoing.
An increasing number of doctors are trained in the IFS, but you can try to know your “inner family” on your own. Start here.
6. Weight training can help with anxiety and depression (among other things)
Strength training is good for your bones, your joints, your heart – and it turns out, it helps your mood too. A review of more than 30 clinical trials found that people who did strength training at least two to three times a week had a reduction in symptoms of depression. And some research has found that it can reduce anxiety, too.
And a little goes a long way. While it’s still common to see female weightlifters on social media, women don’t have to be bodybuilders to see the benefits. A recent study finds that women need less exercise than men to improve their aerobic and muscle strength. If lifting weights at the gym isn’t your thing, try doing exercises using resistance bands or using your own body weight, such as squats or push-ups.
Find out more about many benefits of resistance training.
Gary Yeowell/Getty Images
Gary Yeowell/Getty Images
7. Foods that are widely consumed are linked to mental health, too
Americans eat more than half of their daily meals from highly processed foods – think fast food, sugary drinks, and packaged junk food. Researchers say there is consistent evidence that eating too much of these foods is linked to illness, including mental health problems.
In fact, a new comprehensive analysis found an approximately 20-50% increased risk of depressive symptoms in people who eat a diet that contains too much food.
It is not yet clear how much is too much. Researchers say it can vary depending on people’s lifestyles. The FDA is considering a label that would mark foods that are high in sodium, sugar and fat. But in the meantime, if the food contains many ingredients that you cannot find in your kitchen, that is a sign that it is completely prepared.
Here’s the skinny on the results processed foods in our brains and bodies.
8. Scientists are learning how the brain removes waste and what that means for Alzheimer’s disease, headaches, depression and more.
Experts have noticed another miracle of sleep. In order to stay healthy, our brain needs to wash away the waste produced by the billions of cells that keep it functioning. New research finds that during deep sleep, slow electrical currents work to rewire our neurons, effectively turning them into tiny pumps that push fluid from deep in the brain to the surface. From there the waste is taken to the liver and kidneys to be removed from the body.
Problems clearing waste from the brain may be the cause of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, headaches, and even depression. So finding ways to help the disabled brain to clean itself it can help create treatments for many different diseases.
New insights into the brain’s detoxification system may one day help researchers understand and prevent many different brain disorders.
Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images
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Andriy Onufriyenko/Getty Images
9. A high-fat, low-carb diet may help some people with mental illness
In the past few years, some patients have started trying the ketogenic diet, which is high in fat and very low in carbs, to manage mental health symptoms. Researchers have identified, and now, about a dozen clinical trials are underway, testing the effect of food on mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and depression.
There are several working theories as to why it might help. For one, diet brings blood sugar and insulin sensitivity under control, both of which are linked to mental health problems. It can also provide a solution for dysfunction in mitochondria, the powerhouse of our cells, which can lead to a healthy brain.
The first results from the studies are promising. The only problem? Some doctors are concerned the diet – which involves giving up common foods such as bread and sweets – may be too difficult for some patients to follow.
Learn more about the wave of keto diet research for mental health.
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