A new study conducted by the researchers from the University of Cambridge suggests recalling positive and happy memories could help young people reduce their depression risk later in life.
Depression is considered to be one of the leading causes of disability around the world, with over 300 million people affected. The condition usually emerges during adolescence, which is a vital period as every individual experience changes in their brain structure and chemistry in this phase. Some risk factors that trigger depression include exposure to stress during early life, the death of loved ones, parents' separation, or other family circumstances.
Now, a research team from the University of Cambridge, along with the researchers from University College London, analyzed whether remembering happy experiences could help young people reduce their depression risk. The team studied the data from 427 young people, with an average age of 14 years from Cambridge, as well as the surrounding area. All participants were deemed to be at risk of depression.
The team studied the impact of recalling happy memories on two signs of vulnerability to depression: high morning levels of the stress hormone cortisol and negative self-related thoughts. The results of the study were published in the Nature Human Behaviour.
At the first part of the research, all participants took part in "cued recall Autobiographical Memory Test." The test involved presenting participants a word (either negative or positive), and they were asked to remember a particular memory related to that word. Previous studies have already indicated that depressed people find it difficult to recall a certain memory, so they rely on general recollections instead.
During a semi-structured interview, participants were asked to rate on the frequency of moderate to severe the negative life events happened over the past 12 months. They also self-reported any signs and symptoms of depression over the past two week and negative self-related thoughts. And then, the interviews were repeated after 12 months.
Researchers also collected saliva samples across four days at both the start and after a year of the study to examine morning cortisol levels. They found out that recalling particular happy memories and thoughts were linked to fewer negative self-related thoughts and with lower levels of cortisol after 12 months. Hence, recalling positive events happened in early life could help younger people decreased their risk of depression in one year.
"Our work suggests that remembering the good times may help build resilience to stress and reduce vulnerability to depression in young people," Adrian Dahl Askelund said, the lead author of the study.
