5 Ways Physical Health Affects Mental Health and Vice Versa
You might not realize it as you grab yet another coffee, skip the gym again, or lock yourself indoors for days on end, but how you treat your body impacts your mental health. The longer you go without giving your body what it needs — good food, sunlight, exercise, sleep, hydration — the more your mental health is likely to be affected. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to get your body, and your mind, into better shape.
1. Bacterial Issues Can Affect the Brain
Bacteria are everywhere, in the air, on surfaces, on your skin, and in your body. Generally, this seemingly omnipresence is nothing to worry about … until it is. You see, many areas of your body have a delicate balance of good bacteria and bad bacteria, and when the good bacteria is doing its job properly, it can fight off bad bacteria with no problem. However, when that balance is off, bad bacteria can create major problems for your body and your mind.
A simple UTI or stomach bug can lead to chronic infections, which can then affect your mental health and cause mental health issues like depression. For this reason, it’s a good idea to keep your gut healthy with probiotic-rich foods like Greek yogurt, apple cider vinegar, and sauerkraut. Also, consider taking probiotics, prebiotics, and even a UTI supplement, if you’re prone to getting UTIs. The more you do to keep your body’s bacteria in balance, the better you’ll feel.
2. Chronic Illness Is Connected to Anxiety and Depression
Speaking of chronic infections, any kind of long-term illness you have can take a toll on your mental health. Whether it’s a bacterial infection, a virus, or something systemic like fibromyalgia or diabetes, the worse you feel physically, the worse you’re likely to feel mentally. While chronic illnesses typically do not have a quick and easy “cure,” which is why they’re considered chronic, you can, and should, take steps to minimize their effects and even reverse the issue altogether.
Chronic illness is linked to mental health issues like anxiety and depression, and, unfortunately, anxiety and depression can exacerbate chronic illnesses. So, you end up in a never-ending downward spiral of pain and upset. Fortunately, you can make both the illness and the symptoms better by taking care of your physical health. Diet, exercise, good sleep, and stress management tools can all have a huge impact on chronic illness and mental health issues.
3. Exercise Impacts Your Moods
Yes, exercise is perhaps one of the biggest factors in how you feel on any given day. Of course, this means that a lack of exercise can be a major contributor to a negative mood and outlook on life. Because exercise increases the serotonin in your brain, which is the happy chemical, too many days without exercise can mean you feel down, depressed, anxious, or just pessimistic about yourself, others, and the world in general. It’s that powerful.
The reverse is also true — the more poorly you feel mentally, the less likely you are to want to get up and go for a run or jump on your bike, so, again, you end up in a negative cycle. It takes you committing, getting up, putting your shoes on, and getting outside for sunshine and movement to break that cycle. Exercising outdoors is ideal because you also get the mental health benefits of sunshine and fresh air. You might find you feel better almost immediately.
4. Sleep and Stress Are Interwoven
Americans love to brag about how they never sleep. It’s a point of pride that must go back to the pioneer days of trudging from dawn until dusk and falling into bed for five or six hours before waking up to do it all over again. However, studies done over the last couple of decades have shown that a lack of sleep is not only bad for your physical health, but it also has a huge impact on your mental health.
Poor sleep over time can increase stress levels, depression, and anxiety. And, of course, higher levels of stress, depression, and anxiety likely affect your sleep. It is essential to reverse this negative trend by implementing good sleep habits like turning off electronics a couple of hours before bedtime, sleeping in a dark, cool room, and getting enough sunshine and movement during the day to make you tired at night.
5. Diet Contributes to Your Good and Bad Days
That cheeseburger probably tastes amazing, and the occasional burger, fries, and shake won’t damage your fundamental health. But a daily routine of eating heavy, highly processed, refined sugar-laden meals will. You likely already know that your diet impacts your physical health, but junk food takes its toll on your mental health as well. Sure, you’re thinking, if your physical health suffers, your mental health suffers. But it’s even more than that.
A poor diet has been directly linked to poor mental health. This food-mood connection means that what you eat will impact how you feel not just physically but also mentally. To increase your levels of serotonin, improve your gut health, and improve your immune and nervous systems (all contributors to your mental health), you must eat well. Include nutrient-rich whole foods with every meal and cut back on the highly processed junk food and refined sugars.
Look, no one is telling you to put your cheeseburger or chocolate shake down, or that you have to run marathons every day. The point here is to manage your physical and mental health in ways that ensure they are working together for your greater overall wellness. Waking up energized and positive, moving through your day with joy, and sleeping well through the night should be goals for everyone. The good news is, for most people, it doesn’t take too much to get there.
