ISLAMABAD, Feb 12 (Online): Researchers estimate that 5% of the global adult populationTrusted Source lives with depression \u2014 a mental health condition negatively affecting a person\u2019s mood.
\nDepression rates increased during and after the COVID-19 pandemicTrusted Source and continue to rise due to issues such as inequalityTrusted Source, employment lossTrusted Source, and inefficient social supportTrusted Source.<\/p>\n
As treatment for depression many times includes medication, antidepressant drug use has also increased.
\nWhile antidepressant medication is generally safe to use, it can have side effects such as stomach issues, headache, problems sleeping, sexual dysfunction, weight gain, and anxiety feelings, which can sometimes make a person\u2019s quality of life worseTrusted Source.
\nFor this reason, people with depression may look for alternate therapies such as herbsTrusted Source and supplementsTrusted Source, meditationTrusted Source, acupunctureTrusted Source, dietary changesTrusted Source, yogaTrusted Source, and psychotherapy.<\/p>\n
Now, researchers from the University of California \u2013 San Francisco have found that people with depression have higher body temperatures than those who do not, suggesting novel therapies used to lower body temperature \u2014 such as heat therapy through a hot tub or sauna \u2014 might provide a mental health benefit.
\nThe study was recently published in the journal Scientific ReportsTrusted Source.<\/p>\n
Depression linked to higher body temperature
\nAccording to Dr. Ashley Mason, associate professor of psychiatry at the UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences and the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Health at the University of California \u2013 San Francisco, and lead author of this study, depression is a major detriment to quality of life and the treatments currently available are not meeting the clinical needs of the population.
\nThis led to Dr. Mason and her team examining a potential link between depression and a higher body temperature.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe link is particularly fascinating because there (is) data showing that when people recover from their depression \u2014 regardless of how they got better \u2014 their temperature tends to regularize,\u201d she explained to Medical News Today. \u201cThen we have newer data suggesting that temperature-based interventions may reduce depression symptoms. For example, data have shown that using heat-based treatmentsTrusted Source, in particular infrared sauna, causes acute increases in body temperature.\u201d
\nDr. Mason said that these increases in body temperature engage the body\u2019s self-cooling mechanisms \u2014 such as sweating \u2014 and can lead to subsequent decreases in body temperature \u2014 a person sweats, they cool themselves down.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd one study showed that decreases in a person\u2019s body temperature in the days after a single heat treatment correlated with decreases in their depression symptoms over that same time period,\u201d Dr. Mason continued. \u201cSo what\u2019s exciting here is that the link might operate in multiple ways \u2014 what\u2019s new is that we might be able to intervene directly on body temperature to address depression symptoms.\u201d
\nHigher temperature linked to more severe depression symptoms
\nFor this study, Dr. Mason and her team analyzed data from more than 20,000 study participants from 106 countries. The participants all wore a device measuring their body temperature and self-reported their body temperatures and depression symptoms each day for seven months.<\/p>\n
At the conclusion of the study, researchers found study participants had higher body temperatures with each increasing level of depression symptom severity.
\n\u201cOur finding that increasing levels of depression was associated with increasing body temperature is novel,\u201d Dr. Mason said.
\n\u201cPrior studies have shown a link between depression (yes\/no) and increased body temperature, but our study is the largest study of its kind that we know of that shows what\u2019s called a dose-response association \u2014 the greater the depression, the greater the body temperature. We found what the prior data suggested we would find.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201a\u2014 Dr. Ashley Mason
\n\u201cThere are many unanswered questions about the link between body temperature and depression,\u201d said Dr. Mason.
\n\u201cInflammation may be a factor, and we are looking at this in our ongoing work. Thermosensory pathways may also play a role \u2014 these pathways relay sensory information from our periphery (think, our skin) to our central nervous system. We can think of them as \u2018gateways\u2019 to neural systems that impact our mood and cognitive function,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Sauna vs. ice bath for treating depression
\nThe research team believes these findings highlight the potential for new depression treatments focused on lowering body temperature.
\nIn the study, they state these findings may support the use of interventions that temporarily raise body temperature, such as hot yoga, hyperthermic bathsTrusted Source, and infrared saunasTrusted Source.
\nA study published in August 2016 also found that whole-body hyperthermiaTrusted Source \u2014 a treatment used to slightly raise a person\u2019s body temperature \u2014 may also be a potential therapy for depression.
\n\u201cIronically, heating people up actually can lead to rebound body temperature lowering that lasts longer than simply cooling people down directly, as through an ice bath,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are actively studying heat treatments, in particular sauna treatments, as a body-based intervention for depression symptoms here at UCSF in the heart of San Francisco. We have an ongoing trial right now for individuals with clinical depression where we are pairing sauna treatments with cognitive behavioral therapy for depression,\u201d she says.
\nResearch has also looked at the opposite by using cold therapies such as cryotherapy and ice baths as a potential depression treatment.
\nA study published in June 2020 reported that whole-body cryotherapyTrusted Source helps reduce mental health deterioration in mood disorders, such as depression.<\/p>\n
Research published in December 2021 found a single immersion in cold waterTrusted Source can help improve a person\u2019s mood.
\nMore research needed on body cooling methods
\nMNT also spoke with Dr. Gary Small, Chair of Psychiatry at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, about this study.
\nDr. Small said he was not surprised that body temperature correlates with symptoms of depression.
\n\u201cPrevious research has shown that hot bathsTrusted Source help mitigate mood symptoms, and this study suggests that our body\u2019s ability to cool down from such warmed states may yield the antidepressant effect,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe observed relationship does not prove a causal link \u2014 it is possible that when people get depressed, their ability to physically remain cool is impaired. However, a more plausible explanation from this research is that the body\u2019s ability to cool off through perspiring improves mood.\u201d
\n\u2014 Dr. Gary Small
\n\u201cFuture controlled prospective studies comparing different methods for cooling off would help mental health professionals develop more efficacious body-temperature strategies for mitigating mood,\u201d Dr. Small added<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD, Feb 12 (Online): Researchers estimate that 5% of the global adult populationTrusted Source lives with depression \u2014 a mental health condition negatively affecting a person\u2019s mood. Depression rates increased during and after the COVID-19 pandemicTrusted Source and continue to rise due to issues such […]<\/p>\n
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