Research - Fatigue
Vitamins and Minerals Can Boost Energy and Enhance Mood
Vitamin and mineral supplements can enhance mental energy and well-being not only for healthy adults but for those prone to anxiety and depression, according to a July 15 panel discussion at the 2013 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Food Expo® held at McCormick Place.
Bonnie Kaplan, Ph.D., professor in the faculty of medicine at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, said Monday vitamins and mineral supplements can be the alternative to increasing psychiatric medicines for symptom relief of anxiety and depression. The supplements, she said, also can provide the mental energy necessary to manage stress, enhance mood and reduce fatigue.
In a series of studies she recently conducted in Canada, Kaplan found of the 97 adults with diagnosed mood disorders who kept a three-day food record, a higher intake of vitamins and minerals were significantly correlated with overall enhanced mental functioning.
Other vitamins that have been known to enhance mood, said C.J. Geiger, Ph.D., president of Geiger & Associates, LLC, and research associate professor in the division of nutrition at the University of Utah, include 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5 HTP), Vitamins B and D, as well as ginkgo biloba and Omega 3.
In her research, Geiger has found most adults define energy throughout the day as peaking mid-morning, falling to a valley in the afternoon after lunch and recovering with a pickup in late afternoon, settling back down before bedtime. However, these peaks and valleys did vary with gender, age and climate. She said many adults are known to use coffee, soft drinks, chocolate and candy bars as well as energy drinks, bars and chews with high sugar boosts to maintain energy throughout the day. She found other adults ate more frequent, smaller meals to sustain energy while making time for lots of rest and exercise.
Source : Science Daily
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Aromatherapy with Peppermint, Basil, and Helichrysum Essential Oils for Mental Exhaustion and Burnout Relief
Varney E, Buckle J
Burnout is characterized by exhaustion related to chronic pressure at work or home. Aromatherapy may help alleviate symptoms of burnout. Lavender aromatherapy may reduce stress by inducing relaxation; however, this may not be optimal for burnout since it may exacerbate symptoms by increasing sedation and the inability to concentrate. Therefore, the authors decided to evaluate 2 stimulating essential oils to address the fatigue, and a balancing essential oil to address anxiety. Peppermint (Mentha × piperita) essential oil has been shown to increase alertness and mental clarity. Basil (Ocimum basilicum) essential oil has been shown to reduce mental fatigue and has antidepressant properties. Helichrysum (curry plant; Helichrysum italicum) essential oil is known for its calming and soothing properties. Rose (Rosa spp.) water, as opposed to rose essential oil, was used as the control because it has a subtle aroma, and it is not known to have any therapeutic effects. The purpose of this randomized, double-blind, controlled pilot study was to assess the effect of inhalation of essential oils on the symptoms of mental exhaustion or burnout.
Adults (n = 14; aged 25-46 years) with self-assessed mental exhaustion or burnout participated in the study conducted at a private psychotherapy practice in Andover, Maine. The included subjects responded to an email sent to friends and colleagues. Subjects randomly received an aromatherapy mixture or placebo (rose water) in plastic personal inhalers. The aromatherapy mixture contained 4 drops of jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) oil, 10 drops of peppermint essential oil (SunRose Aromatics; Bronx, New York), 8 drops of basil essential oil (Florihana Distributors; France), and 2 drops of helichrysum essential oil (Florihana Distributors). The control inhalers contained 4 drops of jojoba oil and 20 drops of rose water (Heritage Products; Virginia Beach, Virginia). A 0-10 point assessment scale was used to rate mental fatigue or mild burnout, where 10 = no burnout, feeling alert, focused, hopeful, and optimistic and 0 = extreme burnout, lack of attention at work, negative feelings, lack of focus, and drowsiness. The subjects rated mental fatigue/burnout 3 times per day. During week 1, baseline measurements were taken (no aromatherapy). During week 2, subjects inhaled the aromatherapy once per hour during working hours (i.e., approximately 7 times per day). Week 3 was the washout period, and subjects recorded their feelings without the use of aromatherapy.
At baseline, both groups had mild "difficulty focusing, drifting attention, feeling neutral or, just going through the motions of the day" (a score of 4 out of 10). During week 2, the aromatherapy group had a 21.1% improvement and the placebo group had an 11.3% improvement. During week 3, some of the improvement persisted; compared with baseline, the aromatherapy group had an 8.7% improvement and the placebo group had a 7.1% improvement. No statistics were run, which is appropriate since the n was so small (n = 7 per group).
This study is limited by its small size and the fact that 99% of the subjects were women. Another limitation was that the subjects were self-diagnosed, and that burnout was mild. The study was well blinded in that subjects could not discern the odors. Compliance was not very good for all subjects (although the percentage of compliance was not reported). Some subjects reported that it was helpful to take a breathing break, which in itself could have provided some benefit. This aspect needs to be controlled for in future studies. Another subject reported concern with colleagues seeing her use an inhaler throughout the day. The findings from this pilot study will be helpful to guide future, better-designed studies. Inhaling a mixture of peppermint, basil, and helichrysum essential oils several times a day appears to reduce the symptoms of moderate mental exhaustion and/or burnout.
Source : American Botanical Council via Effect of inhaled essential oils on mental exhaustion and moderate burnout: A small pilot study. J Altern Complement Med. 2013;19(1):69-71.
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On the Fatigue-Reducing Effects of Green Tea
Eri WATANABE1), Mari KIMURA1), Jiro IMANISHI2)
1) Department of Immunology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine 2) MUIM Center for Integrative Medicine, Meiji University of Integrative Medicine
Abstract
Objective: On the psychological, physiological and immunological parameters, the effects of green tea drink were comprehensively investigated.
Design: This study used a randomized cross-over design.
Methods: After a 120-minute computer fatigue task, participants were randomized into two groups: one tasked to drink green tea and the other water. Blood collection, measurement of the P300 event related potential and questionnaire were executed three times: before and after the computer fatigue task and then, 30 minute after drinking green tea or water. These data were then compared. High Frequency (HF) and average Low Frequency/High Frequency Ratio (LF/HF) were calculated.
Result: In a state of fatigue, drinking green tea showed dominance of the parasympathetic nervous system, an improvement in their attentiveness, and elevation of NK activity; thereby, reducing fatigue, particularly, mental fatigue.
Conclusion: This study comprehensively showed the fatigue-reducing eggect of green tea in psychological, physiological and immunological parameters. It is hereby, suggested that green tea is indeed, helpful in reducing fatigue.
Source : Japanese Journal of Complementary and Alternative Medicine
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Deep ocean mineral water accelerates recovery from physical fatigue
Chien-Wen Hou1, Yung-Shen Tsai1, Wei-Horng Jean2, Chung-Yu Chen1, John L Ivy3, Chih-Yang Huang4,5,6† and Chia-Hua Kuo1,4*†
1 Laboratory of Exercise Biochemistry, Taipei Physical Education College, Taipei, Taiwan
2 Department of Anesthesiology, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei, Taiwan
3 Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
4 Graduate Institute of Basic Medical Science, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
5 School of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan
6 Department of Biotechnology, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan
Abstract
Background
Deep oceans have been suggested as a possible site where the origin of life occurred. Along with this theoretical lineage, experiments using components from deep ocean water to recreate life is underway. Here, we propose that if terrestrial organisms indeed evolved from deep oceans, supply of deep ocean mineral water (DOM) to humans, as a land creature, may replenish loss of molecular complexity associated with evolutionary sea-to-land migration.
Methods
We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover human study to evaluate the effect of DOM, taken from a depth of 662 meters off the coast of Hualien, Taiwan, on time of recovery from a fatiguing exercise conducted at 30°C.
Results
The fatiguing exercise protocol caused a protracted reduction in aerobic power (reduced VO2max) for 48 h. However, DOM supplementation resulted in complete recovery of aerobic power within 4 h (P < 0.05). Muscle power was also elevated above placebo levels within 24 h of recovery (P < 0.05). Increased circulating creatine kinase (CK) and myoglobin, indicatives of exercise-induced muscle damage, were completely eliminated by DOM (P < 0.05) in parallel with attenuated oxidative damage (P < 0.05).
Conclusion
Our results provide compelling evidence that DOM contains soluble elements, which can increase human recovery following an exhaustive physical challenge.
Source : Journal of International Society of Sports Nutrition
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