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Walk Away the Blues. Seasonal Affective Disorder Helped By Walking

from Holistic Health News.com --
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), affects between 10 million and 25 million Americans according to Dr. Norman Rosenthal, National Institute of Mental Health. The likelihood that one will suffer from SAD increases the further one goes North in the winter, and women are four times more likely to experience SAD than men and the age group 20 to 40 is most vulnerable.

SAD is still undergoing a great deal of research. The exact cause is not known nor are its treatments well defined. Researchers, such as Dr. Rosenthal, are studying the link between lack of sunlight and the effects on melatonin, serotonin and other hormones as well as the lack of sunlight and its affect on the body's circadian rhythms. Current treatments are exploring the effect of light therapy and antidepressants on SAD. However, all treatment plans include exercise. In some cases, exercise itself may help to prevent or manage SAD.

Physiologically, exercise stimulates the brain to release hormones called endorphins, normally credited for suppressing sensations of pain and producing a sense of well-being. Endorphin production usually begins about 15 to 20 minutes into an exercise session and peaks after about 45 minutes. Repetitious movements, such as walking, running and cycling, also increase levels of serotonin.

Religion & Women

from  NY Times, Op-Ed by Nicholas D. Kristof --
Religions derive their power and popularity in part from the ethical compass they offer. So why do so many faiths help perpetuate something that most of us regard as profoundly unethical: the oppression of women?

It is not that warlords in Congo cite Scripture to justify their mass rapes (although the last warlord I met there called himself a pastor and wore a button reading “rebels for Christ”). It’s not that brides are burned in India as part of a Hindu ritual. And there’s no verse in the Koran that instructs Afghan thugs to throw acid in the faces of girls who dare to go to school.

Yet these kinds of abuses — along with more banal injustices, like slapping a girlfriend or paying women less for their work — arise out of a social context in which women are, often, second-class citizens. That’s a context that religions have helped shape, and not pushed hard to change.

Fairy Sightings

from Suite101.com --
What, no fairies you say? Balderdash. It's all a manner of where you are looking. In the UK in particular, fairies are still considered an avid part of existence and helpers to those of the hills. One area in particular, Bredalbane Hills in the UK, is legend for a race of beings known as the Urisk. Considered to be half man/ half fairy they are shunned by both races and looked upon as outcasts.

In 1825, the Quarterly Review published an article detailing something of their character with the following anecdote: "To the very great annoyance of a Highland miller, and to the injury of the machinery, his mill, he found, used to be set to work at night when there was nothing in it to grind. One of his men offered to sit up, and try to discover who it was that did it; 'and, having kindled a good turf-fire, sat by it to watch. Sleep, however, overcame him, and when he awoke about midnight, he saw sitting opposite him a rough shaggy being.  Nothing daunted, he demanded his name, and was told that it was Urisk. The stranger, in return, asked the man his name, who replied that it was Myself. The conversation here ended, and Urisk soon fell fast asleep. The man then tossed a panful of hot ashes into his shaggy lap, which set his hair all on fire. In an agony, and screaming with the pain, he ran to the door, and in a loud yelling tone several of his brethren were heard to cry out, "What 's the matter'with you?" "Oh! he set me on fire!" "Who?" "Myself!" "Then put it out yourself" was the reply. Read more at Fairy Sightings
 

Is Laughter the Best Medicine?

from HolisticFuture.com --
Feeling rundown? Try laughing more. Some researchers think laughter just might be the best medicine, helping you feel better and putting that spring back in your step.

"I believe that if people can get more laughter in their lives, they are a lot better off," says Steve Wilson, MA, CSP, a psychologist and laugh therapist. "They might be healthier too."  "The effects of laughter and exercise are very similar," says Wilson. "Combining laughter and movement, like waving your arms, is a great way to boost your heart rate."

Yet researchers aren't sure if it's actually the act of laughing that makes people feel better. A good sense of humor, a positive attitude, and the support of friends and family might play a role, too.

"The definitive research into the potential health benefits of laughter just hasn't been done yet," says Robert R. Provine, professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Maryland and author of Laughter: A Scientific Investigation.

But while we don't know for sure that laughter helps people feel better, it certainly isn't hurting. People who believe in the benefits of laughter say it can be like a mild workout—and may offer some of the same advantages as a workout.

We change physiologically when we laugh. We stretch muscles throughout our face and body, our pulse and blood pressure go up, and we breathe faster, sending more oxygen to our tissues.

One pioneer in laughter research, William Fry, M.D., professor of psychiatry at Stanford University Medical School, claimed it took ten minutes on a rowing machine for his heart rate to reach the level it would after just one minute of hearty laughter.

And laughter appears to burn calories, too. Maciej Buchowski, a researcher from Vanderbilt University, conducted a small study in which he measured the amount of calories expended in laughing. It turned out that 10-15 minutes of laughter burned 50 calories.

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