Spirituality & Health is a bimonthly magazine that is “for people who wish to explore the spiritual journey—the journey to self-knowledge, authenticity and integration,” according to its mission statement.

Among other things, it presents summaries of studies that relate to how people might enjoy a healthier spiritual life. Three such studies in the September/October issue caught my attention.

Books and depression: A University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study concluded that “adolescents who spend more time reading are much less likely to have depressive disorders than their peers, especially those peers who choose to listen to music.”

Of the 106 participants in the study, 46 were diagnosed with major depressive disorder.

To monitor the students’ emotional health, the researchers called them as many as 60 times during five extended weekends over two months and asked them to report which of these six media they were using: television or movies, music, video games, Internet, magazines or newspapers, or books.

“The researchers found that young people who were exposed to the most music were 8.3 times more likely to be depressed than those who listened to music the least. In contrast, the ones who read books the most were only 1/10th as likely to be depressed.

The other media exposures were not significantly associated with depression.”

While it’s not clear from the study whether depressed young people listen to more music to escape or whether listening to large amounts of music leads to depression, or both, reading books was clearly associated with a decreased likelihood of developing depression.

Meditation: Studies have shown that Buddhist monks who spend thousands of hours meditating have different patterns of brain activity than the rest of us and appear to be happier and less prone to anxiety. But now a new study has found that measurable changes in brain activity show up after only seven hours of meditation.

In a study at the University of Wisconsin- Stout, each participant began with an EEG, which measures the brain’s electrical activity. They were told, “Relax with your eyes closed and focus on the flow of your breath at the tip of your nose; if a random thought arises, acknowledge the thought and then simply let it go by gently bringing your attention back to the flow of your breath.”

Then 11 people were invited to take part in meditation training, while the other 10 were told they would be trained later. The 11 were offered two half-hour sessions a week and were encouraged to practice as much as they could between sessions.

After five weeks, the researchers did an EEG on each person again. On average, each person had done about seven hours of training and practice. But even with that little amount of meditation practice, their brain activity was different from the 10 people who hadn’t had training yet.

Walnuts: Scientists around the world liken regular consumption of small amounts of nuts or nut butters to a decreased risk of heart disease, certain kinds of cancer, gallstones, type 2 diabetes and other health problems.

Now scientists have compared both the amount and the quality of protective antioxidants found in different nuts. And the winner is: walnuts. “They have a combination of more healthful antioxidants and higher quality of antioxidants than any other nut.”

So read, meditate and eat walnuts for a healthier life.