Peak Health Wellness Insights Issue 41
Mental Resilience
Probiotics alone or combined with prebiotics may help ease depression
A meta-analysis of research on the gut-brain axis has demonstrated significant improvement in depression symptoms with probiotic or combined pre-probiotic use. Probiotics generally help increase the diversity of good bacteria in the gut and prebiotics help those bacteria grow and flourish. While more research is needed in this area, these initial findings suggest that probiotics may be able to help reduce the productions of inflammatory chemicals and/or manage the chemical tryptophan, which is important in the gut-brain axis and as a result, help to manage depression.
Sleep
Social jet lag and using an alarm to wake up causes chronic health issues
New research shows that the strain we put on our bodies by forcing our natural biological clock to conform to society’s clock, which is dictated by school and work schedules, puts a tremendous amount of strain on our bodies and causes what scientists now call ‘social jet lag’. Researchers have found that going to sleep and waking up at ‘unnatural’ times is associated with a higher likelihood of smoking and consuming more caffeine and alcohol, as well as negatively impacting hormone regulation and increases our risk of being overweight or obese.
Nutrition
Vegetarian proteins are helpful for building ageing muscles, but still are not as potent as animal protein
A new study finds that animal protein is more effective than plant protein at maintaining skeletal muscle mass as we age. Findings shows that transitioning to a plant-based diet can be detrimental to muscle health during ageing due to the resulting major reduction in total protein intake; larger doses of plant proteins are required to achieve a comparable response to animal proteins for building muscle.
Fitness
Lifting weights makes your nervous system stronger, too
A new study has demonstrated that weight training strengthens your nervous system, specifically your reticulospinal tract (RST), one of our two major neural highways connecting the brain to the spinal cord. Findings show that strength training regimens increase the electrical response of this neural track.
Productivity Tip
Stay on task by staying away from personal tasks during working hours
Habit Hack of the week
Avoid interactions with family and friends
Constant communication or disruptions from family and friends during the work day can cause your mind to wander into a casual and less focused/productive state of mind