Could depression be a consequence of our modern lifestyle depriving us of certain physiological stressors that would have been commonly experienced by our ancestors, such as brief changes in body temperature, caused by a cold swim, perhaps? A new study suggests that this may be the case and that this lack of 'thermal exercise' may cause malfunctioning of the brain.

A 2-3 minute cold shower at 20 degrees C, taken once or twice daily after 5 minutes of adaptation (to reduce shock) was found to effectively relieve depression when carried out over several weeks or months.*

Hi John

Another simple solution to lifting depression is suggested in a book by a neuroscientist who is, herself, a sufferer from the condition. This shows that the answer may actually lie in our own hands - literally - because using one's hands to knit a sweater, prepare a meal or dig the garden, apparently bathes the brain in feel-good chemicals and creates a kind of mental vitamin which is effective against depression.

Entitled 'Lifting Depression' the book draws on innovative research with rats (whose brains are similar to those of humans) to show why using the hands is especially effective. Much of the brain, it seems, is devoted to hand coordination, and one particular circuit in the human brain, which connects movement, feeling and cognition, is closely linked to depression.

In the same way that our modern 'cushioned' lifestyle deprives us of the 'thermal exercise' that our ancestors would have engaged in, it also provides us with a plethora of labour-saving devices which further remove the need to use our hands in the way that even our grandparents would have used theirs. At least using our hands productively, like cold showers, is something that we can add back into our lives without too much difficulty, at minimal cost, so has got to be worth trying before resorting to debilitating and ineffective drugs.

Hello Franky -

This is an interesting theory - that using the hands actually stimulates 'feel-good' chemicals, but is there not another explanation, or at least another important factor? Using one's hands to create - be it knitting a sweater, preparing a meal, digging the garden or even tapping on a computer key board, gives one first a sense of purpose (needing to get the job done) and then a sense of creative achievement - both of which are in very short supply when one is suffering from depression?

Absolutely! And involving one's hands/brain in some practical, creative activity also works as a distraction from however one might be feeling. I've got a chronically ill friend who plays the guitar when he's feeling low and he says that this demands so much concentration - to follow some music and coordinate both hands at the same time - that he loses all awareness of how he is feeling at the time. And he maintains that he always feels tons better after a session on the instrument. All of which makes the 'hands-on' therapy a win-win approach.