An organism found in dirt may lead to an anxiety vaccine, say scientists

Can dirt help us fight off stress? Groundbreaking new research shows how.

University of Colorado Boulder
  • New research identifies a bacterium that helps block anxiety.
  • Scientists say this can lead to drugs for first responders and soldiers, preventing PTSD and other mental issues.
  • The finding builds on the hygiene hypothesis, first proposed in 1989.
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Surprising Science

What stress can do to the body (and what you can do about it)

Stress affects everyone, but there's something you can do about it.

  • Stress can physically impact your brain, your ability to learn, your immune system, your cardiovascular system, and your gastrointestinal tract.
  • Spending 90 minutes in nature can reduce brain activity associated with depression, lower blood pressure, anxiety, and boost your immune system
  • There are ways to manage stress, but, if you feel like you can't manage your stress, you should reach out to a health professional.

Stress can do a lot to the body, so if you're stressed it's important to find a healthy way to mediate the impact of that feeling you're feeling.

Why? Though there are instances in which stress can indeed temporarily improve and sharpen memory, stress is generally seen to be a detriment to memory. The area of the brain in which your short-term memories are converted into long-term memories is highly susceptible to stress. Chronic stress also weakens the muscle of the brain and sees it decrease in weight.

Stress can also impact your ability to learn, cause mood disorders, and impact your spatial memory — i.e., the part of the brain that records information about one's environment. Furthermore, it can lead to the suppression of your immune system and there is a positive link in research between stress and cardiovascular disease. There's a gender difference worth noting with the latter, too, as women — as the authors of an EXCLI Journal article note — "begin to exhibit heart disease ten years later than men, which has been attributed to the protective effects of the estrogen hormone." Stress also can impact the gastrointestinal tract in a variety of ways.

But just because stress can do all these things doesn't mean that stress will do all these things, especially if you take the following steps.

It's worth noting that these examples are generalized examples. The reason for this is that if you look at the scientific literature concerning coping with stress, you'll come across one exceedingly specific examples after the other, i.e., Chinese students studying, African-Americans with Type 2 diabetes, mothers with children who have type 1 diabetes, being a consultant physician in Saudi Arabia, and many more. It certainly doesn't invalidate the advice that follows, but it's a dynamic worth noting.

1. Take a stroll in nature.

We've written about it before, but it's worth emphasizing again: Spending 90 minutes in nature can reduce the activity in your brain associated with depression, lower blood pressure, anxiety, boost your immune system, and so much more. Even 5 minutes makes a difference.

2. Do regular exercise.

Even if you're only spending 30 minutes a day on exercise, it will have an impact. A string of Doctors from Spain noted in a paper published in 2015 that "Regular exercise has multi-system anti-aging effects." One reason could be that exercise — as noted in another paper published in 2015 — "enhances protein stability, creating a cellular environment capable of resistance to exercise-induced stress".

So practice your jump shot. Conquer the treadmill while listening to 'Beautiful Anonymous'. Do push-ups when you wake up. You might just take the necessary physical steps to ease your sense of stress in the process.

3. Talk to your physician.

Not in the mood to exercise? Not in the mood to go outside? If so, you might find what William Shanahan, a consultant psychiatrist, told The Financial Times to be worth your attention: "[People] have to get past the view that because they have shown some vulnerability and a sense that they're bleeding in public that somehow the sharks are going to come and swallow them alive … Probably the first person to talk to is your general practitioner, actually. Keep it simple."

People are capable of managing their stress, but they don't have to carry the burden alone. Keep it simple.

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Mind & Brain

Commute wearing you out? Try looking at this

The secret to a calmer trip to work could be hidden in plain sight.

Photo by Patrick Tomasso on Unsplash

With an unfortunate abundance of traffic jams and train delays, getting to and from work can sometimes be a job in itself — and a stressful one at that. But your surroundings might just hold the solution you've been looking for.

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Personal Growth

If money can make you happy, does debt make you sad?

Does money, even when borrowed, make us happier – or does the state of owing money add to our dissatisfaction and stress?

A man dressed as banker swims with a giant mock Swiss bank note during the 71st 'Coupe de Noel' Christmas swimming cup in Lake Geneva on december 14, 2008 in Geneva. (Photo credit: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images)

Humans have long debated the adage ‘Money can’t buy you happiness.’ Popular opinion suggests that, indeed, it cannot, but more recently researchers have challenged this notion. Based on extensive studies, investigators found that money, or income, can contribute to your happiness. In our capitalist society, income leads to increases in happiness to the extent that funds are required to attain the things that lead to happiness. By meeting needs for shelter or food, allowing the purchase of a home or groceries, or opening the window to experiences such as adventure or travel, money can increase our sense of satisfaction with life. 

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Personal Growth

Mind fitness: How meditation boosts your focus, resilience and brain

Consider stress junk food for your brain, while meditation is the gym that can repair and reshape you after years of a bad brain diet.

Meditation is like a gym for your brain. If you follow through and exercise (in this case, your brain) every single day... pretty soon you'll see results. Psychologist and science journalist Daniel Goleman posits that meditation truly leads you to an "altered state" similar to psychotropic drugs, albeit in a much more lasting and positive way that Goleman calls an "altered trait". Meditation is the opposite of stress in that with meditation we can unlearn stress; consider stress junk food for your brain and meditation as the gym that can repair and reshape you after years of a bad brain diet! Goleman's new book is Primal Leadership: Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence.

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Mind & Brain