How Stress Is Making You Lose Your Mind

Posted: 11/03/2014 8:24 am EST Updated: 1 hour ago

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Stress is affecting your brain much more than you think. Sure, you've experienced the distraction, forgetfulness, negativity or anxiety that comes from stressful situations, but did you know it's also shrinking your brain? Hormones released in response to stress not only affect brain function, they also change the physical structure of your brain.

The stress hormone cortisol can kill, shrink, and stop the generation of new neurons in a portion of the brain called the hippocampus. (1) The hippocampus is critical for learning, memory and emotional regulation, as well as shutting off the stress response after a stressful event is over: all much-needed processes in both our professional and personal lives.

Chronic stress can also shrink the medial prefrontal cortex. (2) This negatively affects decision making, working memory, and control of impulsive behavior. Stress also has the ability to affect stem cells, inhibiting access to the prefrontal cortex, where we plan complex cognitive behavior and moderate social interaction. The result is a brain that is less capable of learning and memory, and more prone to anxiety and depression.

To make matters worse, these same stress hormones can increase the size and activity of a portion of the brain called the amygdala. (3) The amygdala is critical in the formation and storage of memories associated with highly emotional events. It pairs an event with a feeling, and this connection is stored away in our long-term memory so we can either avoid the event or seek it out in the future. The changes cortisol creates increase negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, and aggression.

These brain alterations can have significant consequences on the way we interact with others, our ability to learn, remember, make decisions and accomplish long-term goals. They also make it more difficult to successfully manage stressful situations in the future, leading to a vicious cycle.

Fortunately, we've discovered a very effective antidote to these negative effects: exercise. Exercise can help build a stress-resistant brain in addition to increasing cognitive function and brain size.

Exercise helps spur the release of a substance called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which helps in the development of healthy brain tissue and reverses the negative effects of stress. (4) Think of it as fertilizer for the brain. It keeps existing neurons vital and healthy and also encourages the growth of new ones. The more we exercise, the more BDNF we create, and the more neurons are generated, particularly in the hippocampus.

Exercise also releases human growth hormone (HGH), which is vital to the growth and development of all brain and body cells. HGH counteracts the natural cellular atrophy of aging and pumps up brain volume. (5) A single bout of sprinting for 30 seconds can generate a six-fold increase in HGH, with levels peaking two hours later. (6)

And thankfully you don't have to do hour-long workouts to get many of these benefits. A recent analysis of 10 studies found that five-minute doses of exercise have the biggest effect on enhancing mood and combating stress. (7) Whenever you have a few minutes, do something that gets your heart rate up and/or challenges your muscles. It's a positive, constructive way to deal with stress and can help keep you from losing your mind!

Citations:

1) Sapolsky, Robert M. (1992) Stress, the Aging Brain, and the Mechanisms of Neuron Death. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

2) Ansell, E., Rando, K., Tuit, K., Guarnaccia, J., Sinha, R. (2012) "Cumulative Adversity and Smaller Grey Matter Volume in Medial Prefrontal, Anterior Cingulate, and Insula Regions." Biological Psychiatry. 72 (1): 57- 64.

3) Pittenger, C., Duman, R. (2008) "Stress, Depression, and Neuroplasticity: A Convergence of Mechanisms." Neuropsychopharmacology Reviews. 33: 88- 109.

4) Cotman, Carl W., Berchtold, Nicole C. (2002) "Exercise: a Behavioral Intervention to Enhance Brain Health and Plasticity." Trends in Neurosciences. 25(6): 295-301.

5) Ratey, John. (2008) Spark. New York: Little, Brown and Company. 256.

6) Ratey, John. (2008) Spark. New York: Little, Brown and Company. 256.

7) Barton, J., Pretty, J. (2010) "What is the Best Dose of Nature and Green Exercise for Improving Mental Health? A Multi-Study Analysis." Environmental Science & Technology. 44: 3947-55.

Good news for Men Prostate cancer could be 'switched off' with injection

Scientists have worked out how to stop tumours growing in a breakthrough which could switch off many cancers and even prevent blindness

Prostate cancer could be switched off with an injection which prevents further tumour growth Photo: Alamy

By Sarah Knapton, Science Editor

11:24AM GMT 10 Nov 2014

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Prostate cancer could be ‘switched off’ after scientists discovered a way to prevent deadly tumours from spreading.

Bristol and Nottingham universities found that a single molecule plays a crucial role in the forming of new blood vessels.

Tumours need a constant supply of nutrient enriched blood to survive and grow. So stopping the production of blood vessels prevents cancer cells from multiplying and spreading.

When scientists injected mice three times a week with a drug to stop molecule SRPK1 from working, their tumour growth halted.

"We reasoned that inhibition of SRPK1 activity could stop cancer progression,” said Dr Sebastian Oltean, the study's co-author from the University of Bristol's School of Physiology and Pharmacology.

“Indeed, we show in this paper that if we decrease SRPK1 levels in prostate cancer cells we are able to inhibit tumour vasculature and growth."

Some 40,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year in the UK and 10,000 die from the disease.

Because the treatment targets blood vessels, it is likely it could be used for other types of cancer and even for age-related macular degeneration, the most common form of blindness.

Professor David Bates, co-author from the University of Nottingham's Division of Cancer and Stem Cells, said: "Our results point to a novel way of treating prostate cancer patients and may have wider implications to be used in several types of cancers."

SRPK1 plays a vital role in 'angiogenesis' - an essential process through which tumours are able to form blood vessels and obtain necessary nutrients to fuel their growth.

By analysing samples of human prostate cancer, researchers observed that SRPK1 increases as the cancer gets more aggressive.

Biotech company Exonate, a spin-out drug development company from the University of Nottingham, aims to develop SRPK1 inhibitors as treatments for diseases with abnormal vessel development such age-related macular degeneration and cancer.

This study has been funded by Prostate Cancer UK, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Richard Bright VEGF Research Trust.

Dr Matthew Hobbs, Deputy Director of Research at Prostate Cancer UK, said: "There's no denying that there are too few treatment options for the 40,000 men that face a diagnosis of prostate cancer every year in the UK - especially for those with advanced disease.

“Prostate cancer continues to kill over 10,000 men annually and there is an urgent need for new treatments if we are to significantly reduce this figure.

"Although it's early days, each finding like this represents a crucial block in building up our understanding of what can slow down and stop the progression of prostate cancer. This understanding will give us the foundations needed to develop new targeted treatments for those men in desperate need."

Byron's Health & Wellness Club stress-busting back massage

Until fairly recently, I was probably like most men when it comes to visiting a spa - rather dubious and slightly dismissive. But when I visited Byron's Health  & Wellness Spa as a guest I was treated to men's stress-busting back massage and head massage , any semblance of doubt evaporated.

I was greeted at the start by the therapist, who instantly put me at ease. 

Proceedings began with therapist  working her way around my back and shoulders.

She quickly picked up on the fact that my left side was much weaker than the right and honed in on that area.

It was just what I needed - although I have to admit to wincing a couple of times as she put pressure on my shoulders... but the whole massage was most enjoyable.

As she maneuvered her fingers around my cheekbones and eyes, I drifted off into another world. The cool and tingly oils  combined with the soft warm feel of the face towels left me feeling the benefit.

After the treatment, I rested for a good hour in the relaxation room and had a fresh Juice. Byron's   is such a relaxing place where you can switch off and unwind. The treatment was exactly what the doctor ordered.