No abstract

With a primary prevention focus, it would be important to help populations engage in stress management. The Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change is one of potentially useful models to formulate interventions. The model describes behavior change as progression through five stages: precontemplation (not ready), contemplation (getting ready), preparation (ready), action, and maintenance. Processes of change (strategies and techniques to enhance the progression) facilitate stage transition. Their use is hypothesized to depend on stage of change. The processes tend to be used the least at the precontemplation stage. Use of experiential processes (affective and/or cognitive strategies such as seeking information) increase over time and tend to peak at the contemplation or preparation stage and then decease. In contrast, behavioral processes (behavioral strategies such as seeking social support) tend to be used most at the action and/or maintenance stage. This study examined relationships between stages and processes of change for effective stress management. Effective stress management is defined as any form of healthy activity such as exercising, meditating, relaxing, and seeking social support, which is practiced for at least 20 minutes. Four hundred and five Japanese college students participated in this study. A paper-pencil survey was conducted at colleges in Japan. The process use was least in precontemplation. Experiential processes peaked in preparation. Except for one experiential process, no significant difference was found between preparation and maintenance. Behavioral processes peaked in preparation, action, or maintenance. Most of these inter-stage differences of processes are in line with the prediction from the model. This study represented an initial but important test of validity of applying processes of change to stress management. The results partially supported its application.

The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between subjective happiness and subjective and objective sleep. The participants were 24 healthy university students (11 males, 13 females; mean age 22.4 ± 2.1). Their subjective happiness was measured by the Japanese Subjective Happiness Scale (JSHS). Furthermore, their subjective and objective sleep evaluation was measured by Ogri-Shirakawa-Azumi sleep inventory MA version (OSA-MA) and a non-contact sheet sensor (SS). The results indicated that participants with higher subjective happiness had objectively shorter sleep onset latency, higher sleep efficiency, and lower heart rate during sleep. On the other hand, no such correlations were found between subjective sleep evaluation with OSA and subjective happiness. These results suggest that subjective happiness is related with the ability to more easily fall asleep and better sleep efficiency.

E ects of the odor of milk that was fermented with lactic acid bacteria and yeast on autonomic nerve activity and mood status were investigated. e odor of fermented milk increases gastric vagal nerve activity and decreases adrenal sympathetic nerve activity in rats. Furthermore, it has been reported that the odor of fermented milk had an anxiolytic e ect based on the results of an elevated plus-maze task in mice. We investigated the e ects of the odor of fermented milk on humans using physiological parameters pupillary light reaction, heart rate variability and a questionnaire Mood Check List-Short form 1; MCL-S.1. Results indicated that the odor of fermented milk increased parasympathetic nerve activity and decreased anxiety in humans. ese results suggest that the odor of milk fermented with lactic acid bacteria and yeast has an anxiolytic e ect due to the modulation of autonomic nerve activity.

A review of research trends in dietary supplements is reported, and the applicability of research methodology of health psychology to contemporary research on dietary supplements is explored. First, an outline was provided of food for speci ed health conditions, as well as functional food and potential issues related to them. en, a eld survey was conducted, which indicated that a majority of dietary supplement users expect direct bene ts on their health and nutrition, whereas they were skeptical about their substantial e ects. e need to investigate the function of dietary supplements in human health and lifestyle by applying research methods typically used in health psychology is proposed as a new trend in dietary supplements and health psychology research in Japan. Examining the e ects supplements on variations in mental and physical health under naturalistic conditions, such as in daily life would be signi cant. Finally, we have discussed the applicability of practical interventions based on methodology established in health psychology to examine the bene ts of dietary supplements to bu er against stress and maintaining health.