Staying fit and healthy is incredibly important for overall well-being and longevity. You must look after your body and treat it right with diet and exercise. The same applies to mental health and well-being, and staying mentally healthy is just as important. Although the mind and body are often viewed as being separate, mental and physical health are actually closely related. Good mental health can positively affect your physical health. In return, poor mental health can negatively affect your physical health.
This article will explore the connection between our physical and mental health. How does one affect the other, and what steps can you take to make sure you’re looking after both? There’s definitely a connection between your physical and mental health – any healthcare professional, whether they’re a GP or student of an online FNP program, will tell you.
So, if you’d like to learn more about this fascinating topic, continue reading on.
How Mental Health Impacts Physical Health
Your mental health plays a massive part in your general well-being. Being in a good and positive mental frame can keep you healthy and help prevent serious health conditions. Research shows that positive psychological well-being can help reduce the risks of strokes and heart attacks.
On the other hand, poor mental health can indeed lead to poor physical health or harmful behaviors. Take chronic diseases, for instance. Depression, a major mood disorder, has been linked to many chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, cancer, asthma, cardiovascular disease, and even arthritis. Schizophrenia, a major personality disorder, has also been linked to a higher prevalence of heart and respiratory diseases.
Mental health conditions can also mean that dealing with a chronic illness is more difficult for an individual. The mortality rate from issues like cancer and heart disease is much higher among people with depression or other severe mental health conditions.
The Link Between Mental Health, Physical Health, and Sleep
Sleep is a factor here, too. Did you know that people with mental health conditions are more likely to suffer from sleep disorders? They might experience insomnia, which can make it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep. Or they might experience sleep apnea, which leads to breathing problems, which can cause you to wake up frequently, reduce your capacity throughout the day, and lead to other complications as well.
Around half to more people with mental health conditions will also have sleeping problems throughout their lives. Whereas only 10% to 18% of the general population experiences sleeping problems.
While mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, or bipolar disorder may lead to sleep problems, sleep problems can also exacerbate existing mental health conditions, making them worse.
Mental Health and Smoking
People with mental health issues are more likely to smoke compared to those who do not have mental health conditions. Among the population of smokers, people with mental health conditions are much more likely to smoke a greater number of cigarettes.
For example, people experiencing depression tend to have lower levels of the chemical dopamine in their brains. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that influences positive feelings in you. Nicotine, the active drug in cigarettes, triggers the production of the chemical dopamine, so smoking may be used as a way to relieve symptoms of depression and other mental health issues.
However, since nicotine only offers temporary relief for as long as the drug lasts, you may feel a recurring need to smoke, which may lead to possible addiction. It is worth mentioning that people with mental health issues may also abuse other drugs for the same reasons, which can have a variety of poor physical health consequences, such as heart, liver, and lung issues, as well as the risk of transmitted infectious diseases and other problems.
How Physical Health Impacts Mental Health
Your physical health can also have a positive or negative impact on your mental health and well-being.
Exercise and Mental Health
Exercise can have excellent outcomes for your mental health. Almost immediately, as you exercise, you release feel-good chemicals in your brain called endorphins. These chemicals give a feeling of well-being and satisfaction, which is why you feel great during and after intense exercise. Due to these chemicals, you will also feel relaxed and calm after exercising.
There is some fascinating biochemistry behind the mental health benefits of exercise. This is because exercise increases the levels of certain chemicals called endocannabinoids in the bloodstream. Unlike endorphins, which are released only during exercise, these endocannabinoids can transfer easily through the cellular barrier separating the bloodstream from the brain, which is called the blood-brain barrier, where these mood-improving chemicals promote short-term psychoactive effects such as reductions in anxiety and feelings of calm. For this reason, exercise is incredibly rewarding, and regular running or other intensive exercise can have long-term boosts to your mental health and well-being.
Diet and Mental and Physical Health
Another essential part of staying well and healthy, both mentally and physically, is to maintain a consistent and healthy diet. This can be difficult for people if they work full time, where it may always be tempting to grab quick and easy processed meals for lunch or at night, but to maintain good well-being, you need to be more conscious of what you put into your body. You should try to avoid overly sweet, salty, and sugary snack food unless it is a special treat on a rare occasion. Instead, attempt to eat a diet that consists of lean meats such as chicken, fish, or game, lots of nuts, grains, vegetables, and fruit, and only eat red meat once a week or so for some vital iron.
In addition to a healthy diet, you should aim to stay adequately hydrated at all times for mental and physical health. Water is the best drink for this, and you should drink enough so your urine is clear or a very light yellow colour. Dark yellow urine is a sign of dehydration. Your urine is an excellent yardstick for your hydration levels. Avoid sodas, even sugar-free, although one every once in a while is okay. In terms of alcohol consumption, moderation is key, as with all things. A drink or two once or twice a week is fine, but you should avoid binge drinking sessions and definitely don’t drink alcohol every day. If you have a problem with addiction or a severe mental health issue, you should avoid alcohol, as this can exacerbate your addictive nature, lead to other substances, or worsen depression or anxiety.