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MIND BODY THE FLIPPER FORMULA Hanging with marine life lifts spirits 
Feeling melancholy? Seek out some marine life. British researchers took 30 women with mild or moderate depression to a tropical island for 2 weeks, where they spent an hour swimming each day - half the women with dolphins, half without. Everyone had stopped treatment for depression at least a month before the trip. Although both groups reported less sadness and anxiety, those who splashed with the dolphins showed a 66 percent drop in standard depression test scores - more than double the 32 percent drop the control group experienced. The improvement was long-lasting: Test scores stayed the same 3 months down the road. That's a relatively quick fix considering antidepressants usually take 4 weeks to even begin working. If swimming with dolphins isn't practical - or something you're comfortable with - you may be able to get much of the same benefit through activities with other animals such as horses, cats, or dogs, says study author Dr. Michael Reveley. - Rodale Copyright 2006. All rights reserved by New York Times Syndication Sales Corp. This material may not be published, broadcast or redistributed in any manner. |
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