I've always been a fan of gaming - I've found great benefit for my child, adolescent and adult clients alike. However, this has not been a popular position, with many people believing that gaming is bad for you. I've found that gaming can improve confidence, contribute to a person's ability to work towards goal achievement with others (team games like Overwatch), decrease fears about scary things (playing a vampire sim in Sims4 greatly reduced an adolescent client's fears of vampires and "things that go bump in the night"), and can even initiate and grow valuable online friendships. Here are two recent news stories that discuss research supporting the benefit(s) of gaming, as well as acknowledging that gaming does NOT stunt brain development... Video game playing causes no harm to young children's cognitive abilities, study finds. Date: February 7, 2023 Source: University of Houston Summary: Despite old fears that bad effects follow excessive video game playing or questionable game choices, researchers found those factors mattered little, if any, in children's brain health. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/02/230207191554.htm Video gaming may be associated with better cognitive performance in children, study suggests. Date: October 24, 2022 Source: NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse Summary: A study of nearly 2,000 children found that those who reported playing video games for three hours per day or more performed better on cognitive skills tests involving impulse control and working memory compared to children who had never played video games. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/10/221024130852.htm
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Georgia Ede, MD an amazing, Harvard trained Psychiatrist who emphasizes the food-mood connection wrote this article (below) for Psychology Today. This is from 2019 but still very applicable. In fact, her and another physician who advocates Low-Carb published a study July of 2022 showing significant benefits to treatment refractory mental illness using a Keto diet (Low-Carb is a form of Keto). Click here to see that study, the infographic for the study is below: You can also learn more about this topic by watching one of Dr. Ede's presentations on YouTube linked at the bottom of this post. Article: 8 Reasons to Try Low-Carb for Mental Health Benefits for neurotransmitters, inflammation, and more.Interest in low-carbohydrate and ketogenic diets continues to rise as people discover their potential to help with stubborn physical health problems, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes—but could this same strategy help with mental health problems as well? Low-carbohydrate diets have tremendous potential in the prevention and management of psychiatric disorders. The field of nutritional psychiatry is admittedly in its infancy, and rigorous clinical trials exploring the effect of dietary changes on mental health are few and far between, but a tremendous amount of science already exists detailing how high-sugar diets jeopardize brain health, and how low-carbohydrate diets support brain health. For people with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, ADHD, psychotic disorders, PTSD, autism spectrum disorders, and other psychiatric disorders who prefer not to take medication, don’t improve with medication, can’t tolerate or afford medication, only partially benefit from medication, or have bothersome side effects from medication, trying a simple, low-carbohydrate diet (or even a stricter ketogenic diet, particularly in cases of more serious or stubborn chronic symptoms) is well worth trying, with very few exceptions. This statement is based on my study of the science in combination with my clinical experience with patients in the real world. Low-carbohydrate diets are safe for almost everyone and can lead in many cases to significant improvements in psychiatric symptoms. In my professional opinion, their many potential benefits far outweigh their low risk of side effects. When side effects do occur, they are generally harmless and temporary, although there are clear exceptions. People currently taking psychiatric medication (or medication of any kind) or who have a history of serious mental health symptoms, such as suicidal ideation, mania, or psychosis, should not embark on a low-carbohydrate diet without additional information and professional support, as medication levels can be affected, and some symptoms may temporarily worsen during the initial weeks of adaptation. If you take psychiatric medication and are considering a low-carbohydrate diet, please read my Psychology Today post, "Ketogenic Diets and Psychiatric Medications," and consult with your prescribing clinician. While dietary changes can’t always completely replace medications, they can improve overall health and make good sense as a viable alternative to medication in some cases, or as a complement to conventional care in other cases. Without further ado, here are eight reasons to try a low-carb or ketogenic diet for mental health: 1. Improve blood glucose control. The higher your blood sugar, the higher your brain sugar . . . so every time your blood sugar spikes to unhealthy highs, you’re flooding your brain tissue with excess glucose. There are many ways that high glucose levels are toxic to brain cells, including the formation of sticky, dysfunctional proteins called “Advanced Glycation End products” or AGEs. Low-carbohydrate diets are very effective at lowering blood glucose levels. Protect your precious neurons from glucotoxicity. 2. Lower blood insulin levels. Persistently or repeatedly high insulin levels can cause the insulin receptors on the surface of the blood-brain barrier to become insulin-resistant, meaning they can become damaged, desensitized, and dwindle in number. With fewer healthy, responsive insulin receptors on the surface of the blood-brain barrier to escort insulin into the brain, insulin levels inside the brain will fall. Low brain insulin is dangerous, because brain cells require insulin to process glucose and turn it into energy. This sluggish glucose-processing problem is called “cerebral glucose hypometabolism,” and it is a major risk factor for neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Low-carbohydrate diets can be very helpful in lowering blood insulin levels. Protect your precious neurons from energy deficits. 3. Reduce inflammation. High-sugar diets promote excessive, unnecessary inflammation inside the brain, triggering the release of various inflammatory cytokines—tiny SOS signals that recruit first-responder cells to the scene. Inflammation of this type is well established as a root cause of most psychiatric and neurological diseases. Low-carbohydrate diets have been shown to reduce markers of inflammation. Protect your precious neurons from overheating. 4. Boost antioxidant defenses. High-sugar diets cause excessive, unnecessary oxidative damage. Flooding cells with too much glucose all at once leads to a spilling over of oxygen free radicals, which are normally mopped up by our own natural, internal antioxidant molecules (such as glutathione). Left to run amok, these excess free radicals terrorize the cellular neighborhood, damaging proteins, lipids, DNA, and other important cell components. They can even damage the blood-brain barrier, allowing risky, uninvited guests into the brain. Low-carbohydrate diets naturally help improve your internal antioxidant capacity. Protect your precious neurons from internal attack. 5. Energize mitochondria. High-sugar diets damage mitochondria, the energy-generating organelles inside brain cells. As a highly metabolically active, electrical organ, the brain is an energy hog, demanding about 20 percent of the body’s energy supply, despite representing only 2 percent of the body’s total weight. Mitochondria must be in tip-top shape at all times to provide cells with a steady supply of high-quality energy. Low-carbohydrate diets—particularly ketogenic diets—have been shown to improve the health and vitality of mitochondria. Protect your mighty mitochondria from power failures. 6. Stabilize stress hormones and appetite. Refined carbohydrates, like sugar, flour, fruit juice, and processed cereals, place your hormones on an invisible, internal roller coaster. Every time your blood sugar and insulin spike to unnaturally high levels, they soon crash back down, triggering the release of stress hormones, including adrenaline. Adrenaline surges, which can occur four to five hours after consuming too much sugar, can contribute to panicky, “hypoglycemic” symptoms, like anxiety, sweating, shaking, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and carbohydrate cravings. Low-carbohydrate diets help smooth out the highs and lows in blood sugar that lead to hormonal instability in the first place. Protect your precious neurons from hormonal havoc. 7. Rebalance neurotransmitters. It is a little-known fact that high-sugar diets can wreak havoc with neurotransmitter levels in a number of ways, including through disruptive effects on the kynurenine pathway. The kynurenine pathway helps regulate the activity of serotonin, melatonin, dopamine, GABA, and glutamate—all important neurotransmitters in symptoms of psychiatric disorders. Diets too high in refined carbohydrate promote inflammation and oxidation (see above), which shifts the brain into emergency mode. The kynurenine pathway responds to the alarm by stealing tryptophan away from its serotonin and melatonin synthesis duties to help generate more glutamate instead. As a result, serotonin, melatonin, and GABA activity go down, dopamine activity goes up, and glutamate levels can skyrocket to up to 100 times their baseline levels. You can think of glutamate as the brain’s gas pedal—keeping your foot on this gas pedal for too long too often can cause what is called “glutamate excitotoxicity,” which is very damaging to the brain. Ketogenic diets have been shown to regulate neurotransmitter levels and reduce glutamate toxicity. Protect your precious neurons from glutamate overdrive. 8. Raise BDNF levels. High-sugar diets can reduce levels of an important molecule called Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor. BDNF is a key player in neuroplasticity—in other words, BDNF helps the brain cope with, respond to, and recover from stress. Healthy BDNF levels contribute to resilience—something we all need, as stress is a normal part of life. Low-carbohydrate diets—particularly ketogenic diets—have been shown to raise BDNF levels. Protect your precious neurons by stress-proofing them with BDNF. More Information If you are curious to learn more about low-carbohydrate diets and mental health, I compiled a library of resources including lots of free videos, articles, podcasts, presentations, and other helpful information. Note: A low-carbohydrate diet is not the only nutritional strategy worth considering; improving overall dietary quality with a whole-foods pre-agricultural diet (aka "paleo-style" diet) or a whole-foods post-agricultural diet (aka "Mediterranean" diet) may be helpful for some, especially for those without a significant degree of insulin resistance. However, neither of these approaches typically lower insulin and blood glucose levels as reliably as low-carbohydrate diets do. Bottom Line Most of us have been feeding our brains improperly our entire lives and have no idea how much better we could feel if we ate differently. A whole-foods, low-carbohydrate diet is a safe and healthy option for most people that can help improve brain metabolism, mental health symptoms, and overall health. See the original post on Psychology Today Watch one of Dr. Ede's presentations on YouTube: Tetris used to prevent post-traumatic stress symptoms (and it works!!) 3 April 2017 University of Oxford, Medical Sciences Division https://www.psych.ox.ac.uk/news/tetris-used-to-prevent-post-traumatic-stress-symptoms A single dose psychological intervention, which includes using the computer game Tetris, can prevent the unpleasant, intrusive memories that develop in some people after suffering a traumatic event. Researchers have been able to demonstrate how the survivors of motor vehicle accidents have fewer such symptoms if they play Tetris in hospital within six hours of admission after also having been asked to recall their memory of the accident. The results of the study, which was conducted by researchers at Karolinska Institutet with colleagues at Oxford University and elsewhere, are published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can affect people who have experienced war, torture, rape, road accidents or other kinds of situations in which they felt their life, or that of another person, was in danger. While most people do not develop PTSD after trauma, one of the core clinical symptoms in those who do involves recurrent and intrusive memories of the trauma (colloquially referred to as ‘flashbacks’). Evidence based treatment for PTSD includes trauma-focused cognitive behavioural therapy, however we lack preventative interventions to prevent the build-up of symptoms. 'This first week after trauma can be important for our patients, who have to go home, recover and look after themselves, which can be hard to do if you’re getting intrusive memories of the trauma, often several a day.' - Dr Lali IyaduraiEmily Holmes, professor of psychology at Karolinska Institutet’s Department of Clinical Neuroscience, has spent many years studying the kind of preventative effects that behavioural interventions – such as a procedure including the computer game Tetris – can have on reducing intrusive memories after experimental trauma. Previously she has studied healthy individuals in controlled laboratory environments. Now, she and her Oxford colleague Dr Lali Iyadurai have taken their model for the first time from the laboratory into a clinical environment to study patients who had a traumatic motor-vehicle accident. Earlier studies show that roughly one in four people who have been in such accidents develop PTSD. 'Our hypothesis was that after a trauma, patients would have fewer intrusive memories if they got to play Tetris as part of a short behavioural intervention while waiting in the hospital Emergency Department,' says Professor Holmes. 'Since the game is visually demanding, we wanted to see if it could prevent the intrusive aspects of the traumatic memories from becoming established i.e. by disrupting a process known as memory consolidation.' The study involved 71 motor vehicle accident victims, of whom half received the intervention (recalled the trauma briefly and then played Tetris) while waiting in the hospital emergency department, and half performed another task, all doing so within six hours of the accident. Results showed that the researchers’ hypothesis was right: those who had played Tetris had fewer intrusive memories of the trauma in total over the week immediately following the accident than the controls. The researchers also found that the intrusive memories diminished more quickly. The primary outcome of the research was the number of intrusive memories in the first week after the trauma. Further research is needed on larger patient groups to see if the psychological benefits of the intervention persist for a longer time – such as a month, which is the shortest time at which a PTSD diagnosis can be made. Also, to examine if similar games can be used for people who already have PTSD. A significant proportion of refugees, for example, show symptoms of PTSD. 'Anyone can experience trauma,' says Professor Holmes. 'It would make a huge difference to a great many people if we could create simple behavioural psychological interventions using computer games to prevent post-traumatic suffering and spare them these grueling intrusive memories. This is early days and more research is needed.' The researchers at Karolinska Institutet (Sweden) and The University of Oxford (UK) have collaborated with colleagues at the Medical Research Council’s Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge (UK), Ruhr University (Germany), and University of East Anglia (UK). The study was supported by funding from several bodies including the UK National Institute for Health Research, UK Medical Research Council, and The Wellcome Trust. The full paper, ‘Preventing Intrusive Memories after Trauma via a Brief Intervention Involving Tetris Computer Game Play in the Emergency Department: A Proof-of-Concept Randomized Controlled Trial’, can be read in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. Media coverage Playing Tetris could help stave off PTSD Daily Telegraph, 29/03/2017, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/03/28/tetris-can-prevent-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-oxford-university/ How Tetris therapy could help patients BBC News online, 28/03/2017, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-39407196 Playing Tetris soothes stress after trauma The Times, 29/03/2017, http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/playing-tetris-soothes-stress-after-trauma-03cg7gt6m Playing Tetris in hospital after traumatic incident could prevent PTSD, scientists say The Independent, 28/03/2017, http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/tetris-ptsd-hospital-oxford-study-symptoms-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-video-games-ruth-abrahams-a7653731.html Tetris ‘can prevent painful flashbacks for crash victims’ Evening Standard, 28/03/2017 Tetris aid to PTSD The Sun, 29/03/2017, p.14 Playing Tetris ‘beats PTSD flashbacks’ Daily Mirror, 29/03/2017, http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/health/playing-tetris-could-prevent-car-10114832#ICID=nsm Playing Tetris ‘can help stop post-traumatic stress flashbacks’ ITV News online, http://www.itv.com/news/2017-03-28/researchers-say-playing-tetris-can-ward-off-ptsd/#provider_moreover Playing Tetris ‘can help ward off PTSD symptoms’, study suggests, Sky News online, 28/03/2017 http://news.sky.com/story/playing-tetris-can-help-ward-off-ptsd-symptoms-study-suggests-10816543 Playing Tetris can help treat PTSD symptoms: Swedish-British study, Xinhua News Agency (China), 28/03/2017, http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-03/29/c_136165545.htm Playing Tetris can help treat PTSD symptoms: Swedish-British study, Global Times (China), 29/03/2017, via Xinhua, http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1040069.shtml Radio: BBC Radio Oxford, Howard Bentham, 28/03/2017, 16:37 & 17:06 TV: BBC One, South Today, 28/03/2017, 22:39 Tetris could help PTSD symptoms, Oxford Mail, 29/03/2017, p.18, http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/15186970.Video_game_could_help_treat_car_crash_victims__claims_study/ Can playing Tetris ease our minds after a trauma? A study suggests it can, The Washington Post, 30/03/2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/03/30/can-playing-tetris-ease-our-minds-after-a-trauma-a-study-suggest-it-can/?utm_term=.3bca17c966db Can playing Tetris help slow the onset of PTSD? Researchers think it might, Global News Canada, 30/03/2017, http://globalnews.ca/news/3345938/can-playing-tetris-help-slow-the-onset-of-ptsd-researchers-think-it-might/ Playing Tetris may help prevent post-traumatic stress disorder, DNA India online, 30/03/2017, http://www.dnaindia.com/health/report-playing-tetris-may-help-prevent-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-2374981 Radio: BBC Radio London, Georgey Spanswick, 30/03/2017, 21:37, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04vydpj Radio: BBC Radio Oxford, Georgey Spanswick, 30/03/2017, 21:37 Playing Tetris may help prevent post-traumatic stress disorder, says new study, Economic Times (India), 01/04/2017, http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/playing-tetris-may-help-prevent-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-says-new-study/articleshow/57960589.cms Playing Tetris can help in prevention of post-traumatic stress disorder, Hindustan Times (India), 31/03/2017, http://www.hindustantimes.com/health-and-fitness/playing-tetris-can-help-in-prevention-of-post-traumatic-stress-disorder/story-ShIy6KVFGnUYKKTkP0L55H.html Playing Tetris may help prevent PTSD, The Hindu online, 29/03/2017, http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/gadgets/playing-tetris-may-help-prevent-ptsd/article17740295.ece Playing Tetris may help prevent PTSD: study, Business Standard India online, 29/03/2017, http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/playing-tetris-may-help-prevent-ptsd-study-117032900751_1.html Tetris to treat PTSD?, Global News Canada, 19/04/2017 http://globalnews.ca/video/3382669/tetris-to-treat-ptsd |
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