Authors: A.R. Turagabeci, K. Nakamura, M. Kizuki, & T. Takano.Citation: Health & Quality of Life Outcomes (2007): 5(61); 1-9Background: Family is a “social determinant of health”, which means that it has a powerful influence on people’s state of overall well-being. But this is a complicated issue, as “family” means different things to different people. Some people experience family

Authors:  J.D. Meyer, K.M. Crombie, D.B. Cook, C.J. Hillard, & K.F. KoltynCitation: Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise (2019); 51(9):1909-17Background: Exercise has been shown to reduce depression and is as effective as prescription drugs and behavioral therapies. The benefits of exercise on mood occur both acutely, after a single session, as well as chronically, after repeated sessions.

Authors: A.N. Sullivan Bisson, S.A. Robinson, & M.E. LachmanCitation: Sleep Health (2019); 5(5): 484-97Background: Sleep disorders are extremely common, affecting between 50 and 70 million adults. Many people use medications (over the counter and prescription) as sleep aids, which may lead to dependency and often have adverse side effects. Physical activity is known to benefit sleep, but it

Authors: K.M. Crombie, A.G. Brellenthin, C.J. Hillard, and K.F. Koltyn.Citation: Pain Medicine 2018; 19:118-123Background: It is well known that exercise reduces pain in a process called hypoalgesia. For years, it was thought that this was primarily mediated through the body’s internal (endogenous) opioid system. Non-opioid systems are also known to be involved, but these have been poorly understood.

Authors: S. Baumgart, A. Baumbach-Kraft, J. LorenzCitation:  Brain Sci. 2020, 10, 721; doi:10.3390/brainsci10100721Background: Massage therapy has long been used as a means of accessing emotions through the skin and nervous system. Previous research has shown that touch in the form of massage can reduce both pain and depression. The effectiveness of massage therapy has been shown to be

Authors: Y. Kudo & M. SasakiCitation: Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (2020), 1064-1075Background: Massage therapy has been shown to have a relaxing and comforting effect which may benefit sleep. Warm baths have been shown to have similar effects. These interventions may improve sleep through effects on sleep quality and efficiency, the autonomic nervous system, and subjective well-being.Objective: The objective

Authors: M.C.Reddan, H.Young, J.Falkner, M.Lopez-Sola & T.D.WagerCitation: Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience (2020), 1064-1075Background: Several types of touch (including gentle stroking, massage, and handholding) have been shown to reduce pain. Similarly, social support can reduce pain, which may in part be due to support provided through touch. Pain relief through hand holding is most effective when the support

Authors: J. McPartland, A. Giuffirda, J. King, E. Skinner, J. Scotter & R. Musty.Citation: JAOA, 2005, 105(6):283-292.Background: Osteopatic manipulation has long been recognized to work on several levels, inducing musculoskeletal, neurological, and biochemical changes. One of the biochemical levels that has been investigated is that of the endocannabinoids in the endocannabinoid system (ECS). This system is considered the

Authors: M. Sibers, S.V. Biedermann, L. Bindila, B. Lutz, J. FussCitation: Psychoneuroendocrinlogy, 126 (2021) 1015173: 1-7Background: It is deeply ingrained in current biological and health sciences education that the “runner’s high” is a function of increases in endogenous opioids. This idea holds that as a consequence of intense aerobic exercise, opioids are released in the body and create

Authors: Lucas Elms, Scott Shannon, Shannon Hughes, and Nicole Lewis. Background: In the US Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has a lifetime prevalence of 6.1%, making it a relatively common condition. In addition to anxiety, PTSD is characterized by re-experiencing traumatic events, avoidance of distressing factors, and alterations in mood, arousal, and cognition. There is accumulating evidence that

Authors: Jack M. Hobbs, Allegra R. Vazquez, Nicholas D. Remijan, Roxanne E. Trotter, Thomas V. McMillan, Kimberly E. Freedman, Yuren Wei, Keith A. Woelfel, Olivia R. Arnold, Lisa M. Wolfe, Sarah A. Johnson, Tiffany L. Weir. Background: CBD is a “lipophilic” or lipid-soluble molecule, meaning that it dissolves in oil. This presents a challenge, because fat soluble molecules

J Bone Miner Res 2015 Oct;30(10):1905-13. doi: 10.1002/jbmr.2513. Epub 2015 May 10.Authors: N. Kogan, E. Melamed, et al. Background: Bones contain a fully functional endocannabinoid system (ECS), which is one of the systems that CBD interacts with. The ECS is known to regulate bone mass and skeletal remodeling. Osteoclasts, the cells that break down bones, are

Authors:C. Silvestri, E. Pagno, S. Lacrois, T. Venneri, C. Cristiano, A. Calignano, O.A. Parisi, A.A. Izzo, V. Di Marzo & F. Borrelli.Background:Inflammatory Bowel Disorders (IBD) affects around 3 million Americans. A clinically important observation is that IBD is associated with alterations of the gut microbiome. While CBD is known to affect inflammation, it was hypothesized

Background:The FDA recently requested that human research looking at the effect of CBD on liver function be conducted. In response, 12 CBD companies funded a research study looking at CBD and liver health over a 7-month period. Previously, in 2019, findings from a mouse study suggested that extremely high levels of CBD might cause liver

The Effects of Cannabidiol and Analgesic Expectancies on Experimental Pain Reactivity in Healthy Adults: A Balanced Placebo Design Trial Authors: Martin J. De Vita, Stephen A. Maisto, Christina E. Gilmour, Lauren McGuire, Elizabeth Tarvin, and Dezarie Moska. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pha0000465   Who was it? Fifteen healthy men and women aged 18-30 years participated in this study. Subjects

SleepSleep is an incredibly important predictor of health: getting less than 6 hours of sleep on a continuous basis makes you 48% more likely to die of heart disease and 15% more likely to have a stroke1. Although scientists are still not really sure why sleep is so good for us, they’ve recently discovered that

Buying CBD in the US today can be a dizzying experience. The sheer volume of products is overwhelming, many of which claim to have unique and distinctive properties. Among the newer CBD products on the market are water soluble ones, which claim to offer better absorption and to be more bioavailable to the body. That

There are many CBD products available today that are designed to be applied directly to the skin. The skin is the largest organ in the body, whose main function is to provide a barrier between the environment and the inside of the body. The skin protects us from many things, including UV radiation, allergens, chemicals,

Depression affects 322 million people worldwide1 with a lifetime prevalence of 20%2. In the United States, $71 billion is spent treating depression each year by individual patients, government, and insurance programs, and depressive disorders are the sixth most costly health condition overall3. Depression tends to be chronic with high rates of recurrence and remission4.  Depression is widely