Urban Stress

Researchers have discovered that growing up or living in the city affects how stress is processed in the brain. “Previous findings have shown that the risk for anxiety disorders is 21 percent higher for people from the city, who also have a 39 percent increase for mood disorders,”

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"In addition, the incidence for schizophrenia is almost doubled for individuals who are born and brought up in cities.

"These values are a cause for concern and determining the biology behind this is the first step to remedy the trend."

 The team of researchers studied the brain activity of volunteers from urban and rural areas as they attempted to solve arithme­tic problems under the stresses of time and negative feedback from the investigators an experi­mental protocol called the Mon­treal Imaging Stress Task (MIST). 


Their findings were published in Nature on June 22nd.

The scientists found that for city-dwellers there was greater brain activity in the amygdala - an area of the brain involved in the regulation of emotion and mood - when they became stressed.

 In individuals who were raised in an urban area, there was also more activity in a part of the brain known as the cingulate cortex, which is involved in the regulation of stress.


"These findings suggest that dif­ferent brain regions are sensitive to the experience of city living during different times across the lifespan," said Pruessner of the Douglas Men­tal Health University Institute, noting that "future studies need to clari­fy the link between psychopathology and these affects in individu­als with mental disorders."

These findings contribute to our understanding of urban environmental risk for mental disorders and health in general.

In good health tonight a brand new study published today by wallet hub is creating a lot of buzzes using factors like crime personal bankruptcy rates commute time also divorce rates they came up with a list of America's most stressed-out cities. Here are at the top for Memphis Tennessee number three in Birmingham Alabama number two Mobile Alabama number one believe it or not is Detroit so we went out to find out what is traffic school construction my girlfriend my line is now winning football game while Detroiters say there is plenty to be stressed out about mo said there's no way we're the most stressed I would say we are a little bit more stressed I don't want to say we're the most stressed city I mean the world stressed you know perhaps it's the pressure we put on ourselves I think that we're rebuilding ourselves so we're constantly trying to prove ourselves to other people perhaps it's all that construction no matter what's driving our stress experts say it's taking a hefty toll it decreases your memory it increases your risk of infections and cancer it increases your risk of all of the common heart disease stroke memory loss kidney failure diseases that are associated with arterial aging so it is the greatest ager we know of dr. Michael Rosen says our reaction to stress dates back to primitive days when life was based on the choice of fight or flight so how can we better manage the stress of modern life you've got to get a plan to deal with it and that by dealing with it you help yourself to the most important way of doing is doing the unfinished tasks dealing with the issue and when it comes to dealing with the D Justin Williams says Detroit is what you make it if you go into it with the mindset thinking that you know it's a stressful place then you know you're going to be stressed out by the same things that everybody else has to deal with in any other metro area so to ease stress dr. Rosen recommends five minutes of meditation once in the morning and in the evening people we talked to said they also find stress relief from listening to music going to the gym sleep spending time outdoors or with family also prayer but find something that works for you to try to relax this is why they always show us those before and after pictures as a president leaves office of the what the four or eight years have done because it's in the weight of the world on your shoulders he has no doubt about it

    Tony

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