HealthTrekker - Health And Wellness Tips

Health & wellness tips + hacks. -Backed by !SCIENCE! and studies, not bros & Voodoo. Why just survive when you can thrive? Become "The Better You", 1% at a time – starting today. If you're already healthy & want to nerd-out on how to get even more rad, HT is the place for you.

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For information only. This content is not medical care, advice, diagnosis, or recommendations.

Dazed & Confused Part Deux: Fix Your Brain & Your Life By Disconnecting From The Smartphone “Matrix”

Filed Under: Aging

Dazed & Confused Part Deux: Fix Your Brain & Your Life By Disconnecting From The Smartphone “Matrix”
jean marc cote smartphone mental health

Ancient Brains Are No Match For The Smartphone’s Digital Opiates:

Way back in 2007, I met a colorful character who worked at a gas station.

He somehow had the money to not only buy the brand new “Jesus Phone”, but to pay for the yacht-owner-expensive data plan.

And by 2011, only ~30% of non-gas-station Americans had a smartphone.

That number is much much higher now, and it’s drastically changed the way we do just about everything.

But for every miracle-save by a Door-Dasher or an Uber driver, there is also a downside.

The truth is both our short time using the internet, and even shorter time using smartphones are something our primitive brains are not ready for.

And a UTA team has the numbers on just how bad that is…

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Exercise Vs. Prescription Meds For Depression & Anxiety. A Suprisingly-Strong All-Natural Remedy Wins!

Filed Under: Exercise

Exercise Vs. Prescription Meds For Depression & Anxiety. A Suprisingly-Strong All-Natural Remedy Wins!
exercise medication depression man silhouette sunrise


You Can Actually Run Away From The Dark Clouds Of Depression & Anxiety:
For some time now, psychologists and sufferers alike have been trying to decode the puzzles of Anxiety & Depression.

How can we fix them and why do they happen in the first place.

Well, at least more than the Lao Tzu quote on it tells us.

And quite recently, there have been some real controversies over whether or not the medications we have for them even really work; or how.

Given all the wandering-about with different doses, types, and figuring out treatment-resistant problems, who could blame them?

As you might have guessed, some rockstar (sorry, Paul Stanley!) researchers looked into many different ways to treat these mental health problems, and they came back with one really promising answer…

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Meditation’s Effect On Gut Health. Ancient Asian Secret Proves Mind Over Microbes Not Just A Fantasy

Filed Under: Mind/Brain

Meditation’s Effect On Gut Health. Ancient Asian Secret Proves Mind Over Microbes Not Just A Fantasy
meditation gut health golden temple on hill


Meditation Vs. Gut Health. Maybe Ancient Practices Were Pretty Clever After-All?:
A doctor friend once told me that when he went to his first lecture class the professor started it with this statement,

“Half of what we’re about to teach you is wrong. The problem is, we don’t know which half.”

How many times have people turned to supplements, kung fu, ufos, etc. to fix a problem that wasn’t getting solved in the standard way?

Probably more than once. Even with their less-than-great record of success.

So it will come as no surprise that as modern science advances, it occasionally circles-back to what used to be ancient superstition.

And a small team from China is making the case yet again, that meditation is a kind of magic…

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Light Exposure Vs. Mood: Brown Researchers Find Light Gets Into Your Brain In Many Unexpected Ways

Filed Under: Mind/Brain

Light Exposure Vs. Mood: Brown Researchers Find Light Gets Into Your Brain In Many Unexpected Ways
light exposure mood sad sunlight through trees


Light Exposure & Mood. Getting Into Your Brain In New & Unexpected Ways:
Let’s take a moment to appreciate the fact that just like cats, we are all solar-powered.

The sun is out and we’re all getting enough vitamin d for a change.

Hopefully it’s doing us some good, and we’re not getting too much exposure.

But in a while things will change, and people most sensitive to sunlight are really going to notice its absence.

-After they come down off a 3-day pumpkin-spice bender of course.

And while SCIENCE so far has only vitamins, anti-depressants, and fancy light-boxes for those affected,

They might just get a lot more help in the future if Brown University researchers have anything to say about it…

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People Who Think Leisure Is Wasteful Have Worse Mental Health. -All Work And No Play Makes Jack A Dull Boy!

Filed Under: Mind/Brain

People Who Think Leisure Is Wasteful Have Worse Mental Health. -All Work And No Play Makes Jack A Dull Boy!
leisure wasteful miserable london station rush


People Who Hate Leisure Are Miserable. (+yes, these people do exist):
Haven’t seen enough YouTube videos on the toxicity of “Hustle Culture” (no, not that disco dance from the 70s) yet?

Well, look no further!

Now there are a set of studies out on the general psychological profile in it, so take THAT Gary Vaynerchuck and Ali Abdaal!

Recent work by OSU, Rutgers, & Harvard researchers shows people who take themselves too seriously to have fun are also at-risk for several other problems.

And besides the risk of being a colossal buzz-kill at every possible event in life, those might turn out to be -not- just psychological problems, either…

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Nutrition Vs. Depression: Adding Mushrooms To Your Diet Can Help Mood, & They Don’t Have To Be Magic!

Filed Under: Mind/Brain

Nutrition Vs. Depression: Adding Mushrooms To Your Diet Can Help Mood, & They Don’t Have To Be Magic!
eating mushrooms depression happy face on pavement by feet


Mushrooms & Depression. Eating The Right Fungus Helps Your Mind!:
With Big Data and Machine Learning, there is every chance that today’s healthcare will look prehistoric in about 100 years.

And to look forward, we sometimes start by looking back; and remembering that ancient man was not really stupid.

Some crazy folk-healing witch living on the edge of a forest 1700+ years ago likely used some pretty weird stuff to fix people’s health problems.

That weird stuff probably also worked.

So in another chapter of what be called a Superfood, researchers are finding out that another weird thing might have a few more health tricks up its sleeve than anyone in the past 1700 years imagined (except witches)…

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The Health Benefits Of Getting Outdoors: The SAD, Dark, Side Of One Of Humanity’s Greatest Inventions

Filed Under: Mind/Brain

The Health Benefits Of Getting Outdoors: The SAD, Dark, Side Of One Of Humanity’s Greatest Inventions
sunlight through trees getting outdoors health benefit


Getting Outdoors Vs. Your Mood & Sleep. The Heights Of Forest Bathing:
When it comes to keeping yourself healthy, there can be a big difference in philosophies.

For some, health is what you get in a pill after a doctor visit for a problem.

Sort-of like a Biological Mechanic.

But on the other extreme there are ideas focused more on the behavioral end.

Sometimes, they even get close to touching the metaphysical, too.

But as we start getting closer to that end of health, it turns out many researchers find new answers that might have been hidden in plain sight…

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Magic Mushrooms And Depression: Psilocybin Similar To Key Action In Many Successful Treatments

Filed Under: Better Living Through Chemistry

Magic Mushrooms And Depression: Psilocybin Similar To Key Action In Many Successful Treatments
magic psilocybin mushrooms depression woman holding sparklers at night


Psilocybin’s Effect On Depression. Mushrooms Join Album Of Greatest Hits:
So the world loves vitamins and supplements.

Why? Because we believe that they are more “natural” than pharmaceuticals.

We come from the Earth, and so do the vitamins & supplements ultimately.

They also seem to carry fewer serious side-effects when used in moderation.

-Which is the ideal drug. All good direct-effects. None on the side. None bad.

Among the scenarios providers and patients alike are looking for an ideal “drug” to address? -Depression.

Well, Yale’s team just found a very big piece of that puzzle…

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Note: For informational purposes only. Should not be construed as medical advice, diagnosis, recommendations, or substitute for professional care.