When stressed to the max, sometimes\nit feels like you\u2019re stuffed in a box with the sides closing in. While\ntraditional tried and true ways to quell significant stress remain at the top\nof every mental and physical healthcare professional\u2019s go-to list \u2013 and rightly\nso \u2013 several experts are guiding patients to think outside the proverbial box. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are several novel ways people\nare de-stressing and soothing worries within. While medgoo.com does not endorse\nany of these methods*,\nthe ideas may be worth a google or two. We\u2019re just saying…\n\n\n\n
On November\n1, 2018, physician members of M\u00e9decins francophones\ndu Canada (MFdC) began prescribing free visits to the Montreal Museum of Fine\nArts (MMFA).(1)<\/sup> It\u2019s\nbelieved that these novel prescriptions, representing\nthe first such initiative of its kind, can augment conventional treatment\nby enabling patients to enjoy the health benefits of viewing art in a museum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe\nMMFA-MFdC Museum Prescriptions program is a new treatment tool that makes\nmuseum visits accessible to thousands of patients suffering from a variety of\nphysical and mental health problems,\u201d states MMFA on its website. \u201cBy offering\nfree admission to a safe, welcoming place, a relaxing, revitalizing experience,\na moment of respite, and an opportunity to strengthen ties with loved ones,\nMMFA-MFdC Museum Prescriptions contribute to the patient\u2019s well-being and\nrecovery.\u201d(1) <\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n The MMFA, a self-proclaimed pioneer and major player in the field of wellness through the arts, bills itself as a \u201cresearch laboratory for measuring the impact of art on health, with 10 clinical studies currently underway.\u201d These research projects, created in 2017 and supervised by the MMFA Art and Health Committee, include experts in health, art therapy, research, the arts, and philanthropy.(1) <\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Back in the 90s, Carrie Bradshaw\nmay have achieved inner peace with pink Cosmopolitans. That was then; this is\nnow. Today, Americans are opting for a more sober approach to inner peace. Apptopia, provider of mobile app data and insights,\nsays that in 2018 U.S. consumers spent $32 million on\nmindfulness apps, such as Calm, Headspace, and 10% Happier. (2)<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Specific to Headspace, creator of a\nmindfulness and meditation app, the company created a subsidiary called Headspace\nHealth. The offshoot is mindfully hoping to release the world\u2019s first\nprescription meditation app in 2020.(3)<\/sup>\nThe plan is to pioneer\nnew ways to incorporate the Headspace meditation experience into digital\nmedicine, introducing clinically-validated and FDA-cleared meditation programs\ndesigned to treat a broad range of chronic diseases and improve health and\nhappiness around the world.(3)<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Since 2015, Headspace has conducted evidence-based\nresearch studies on the positive health implications of its meditation platform\non clinical conditions, such as asthma and cancer patient quality of life, as\nwell as exploration into areas such as sleep and pain management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Who knew that peace, happiness, and bliss were as close as your phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An Rx for knitting is reported to\ndecrease blood pressure, alleviate depression, and slow the onset of dementia.(4)<\/sup> The craft\u2019s repetitive movement,\n<\/sup>researchers suggest, induces a meditative-like calm that distracts\nknitters from their symptoms.(5)<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Knit\nfor Peace (5)<\/sup>, an international knitting collective that\ndistributes knitted items to needy people around the world, worked with about\n15,000 volunteers to study the health benefits associated with knitting. The reviews\nconclude that knitting \u2013 as a remedial measure \u2013 helps reduce heart rate by an\naverage of 11 beats per minute, induces an enhanced state of calm, and boosts the\nserotonin level, which in turn is calming and mood enhancing. (4)<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Going a step further, researchers propose\nthat knitting may share similar benefits with yoga, providing a distraction from chronic pain, enhancing wellbeing, lowering\nblood pressure, helping to increase intellect, and perhaps helping to fight stress,\nanxiety, and depression.(4)<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n A survey published in the British Journal of Occupational Therapy, which\ninvolved studying more than 3,500 knitters worldwide, concurs \u2013 reporting that knitting\noffers psychological and social benefits that contribute to wellbeing and\nquality of life.(5)<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dare we say it? Knitting may bring\nphysical and mental health benefits as well as warm, comfy mittens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Scottish\nphysicians on the Shetland Islands prescribe nature as a treatment to\nreduce stress and anxiety, lower blood pressure, decrease chronic pain, and\nincrease happiness.(6)<\/sup> The project,\nrepresenting a partnership between NHS Shetland and RSPB Scotland, is the first\nof its kind in the UK and was recently extended after a successful pilot\nprogram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To augment traditional medical care, patients\nreceive calendars and activity lists that lead to bird watching excursions and hill\nwalking along Shetland\u2019s upland moors \u2013 all inexpensive and simple adventures.(7)<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here in the U.S., ParkRx \u2013 aka Park\nPrescriptions \u2013 is gaining momentum. The organization embraces a diverse and\never-evolving national community, including collaboration between park and public land agencies, healthcare providers, social service\nproviders, and community partners.(8)<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n The ParkRx mission is to encourage healthcare providers to prescribe patient visits to parks and\nother natural sites \u2013 in real-time and in the clinical practice setting. The\ngoal, ParkRx says on it website, is to \u201chelp patients improve their health and wellness by\nconvening with nature.\u201d(8)<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Park\nPrescriptions has to date participated in more than 400 studies, which demonstrate numerous physical,\nsocial, and mental health benefits linked to simply enjoying nature.(9) <\/sup>These findings have helped ParkRx\ninitiate two national Park Prescription programs as well as around 85 Park\nPrescription programs across the county.(10)<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n The creators of Personal Zen (11)<\/sup>\nclaim that playing their free, science-based, iOS gaming app for 25 minutes per day can\nreduce anxiety in stressed individuals. In fact, the statement is supported by\nresearch published in Clinical Psychological Science<\/em>, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.(12)<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n The app, purportedly\nbased on 20 years of clinical and neuroscience research, includes\na series of games that reduce anxiety levels by training the brain to have a more\npositive focus.\nThe philosophy here is that a brain can be \u201cexercised\u201d just like a\nmuscle \u2013 eventually achieving buffed mental health. (11)<\/sup> <\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s up to the individual if\nPersonal Zen works or not \u2013 since the app\u2019s star-rating lands smack in the\nmiddle, with 2.5 stars out of 5. (13)<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n * Views, opinions, and assumptions expressed are those of the product or concept creators\/manufacturers and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of medgoo.com. <\/p>\n\n\n\n RESOURCES <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1) MMFA-MFdC Museum Prescriptions: Museum Visits Prescribed by Doctors<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2) Calm and Top Self-Care Apps Grow Revenue 40% YOY <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 3) Headspace Announces \u201cHeadspace Health,\u201d Its New Digital Medicine Subsidiary.<\/a> <\/a><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 4) Knitting should be prescribed on NHS to lower blood pressure, reduce depression and slow dementia <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 5) Knitting is making a comeback, with new research showing it may help with stress and chronic pain <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 6) Nature to be prescribed to help health and wellbeing <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 7) Scottish GPs to begin prescribing rambling and bird watching <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n 8) ParkRx.org<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nClick and Breathe ~ Headspace Health Meditation App Seeks\nFDA Approval <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Spinning a Yarn ~\nKnit for Peace<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Nature Calls ~\nExploring the Great Outdoors <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Playing to Win ~ A\nGaming App Brings Happiness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n