How Diet and Exercise Can Affect Your Mental Well-Being
Stress has become a common part of our modern everyday life. But with the onset of so many stress-related diseases (stress affects the heart, the skin, the immune system, and the brain to name a few) and toxic behaviors (smoking, too much alcohol consumption); it’s become necessary to find simple healthy ways to manage stress and to tend to our mental well-being.
Many think that the only way to reduce stress is to overindulge in certain activities such as eating or sleeping, others choose to go to their doctor’s asking for pills because their stress levels are too high.
But the truth is, we seem to have forgotten that simple dietary and exercise habits can help us take our mental well being in our hands.
Putting in a conscientious effort on diet and exercise goes a long way in helping to reduce stress and deal with anxiety.
Here are 4 simple views on how diet and exercise directly affect your mental and psychological state:
1) Diet: Think clean but do not obsess over. 80 / 20 rule does the mind and body well. That 20% it is ok to eat that slice of pizza.
Stimulants like caffeine and sugar stimulate the secretion of Insulin and mimic the effect of certain stress hormones. This is known as the fight or flight response, which even if it makes us more alert and able to concentrate in the moment, it greatly increases our response rate and intensity to stressful factors making us more prone to anxiety and or food induced fatigue. In the long term, overconsumption of stimulants can cause hormonal imbalances affecting Insulin and Cortisol which in turn can lead to the onset of many stress-related conditions.
Another point, when it comes to eating, it’s important to eat the right food at the right time. many nutrients are essential to maintaining our well being. For example, a lack of fatty acids, vitamin B12 and even Vitamin D (Michiganders NEED more VIT A MIN D) can cause symptoms like fatigue, irritability and lack of concentration in the short term and can lead to neuropsychiatric conditions in the long term. A deficit in amino acids (protein) can also worsen stress and anxiety, because the body uses amino acids to produce the neurotransmitters necessary to calm the mind and promote sleep.
2) Exercise: 3 to 4 sessions of physical activity a week. 20 minutes – 1 hour is great.
There are so many scientific studies on how Exercise greatly affects our health and ability to manage stress. Additionally, exercise is scientifically proven to improve sleep quality and regulate sleep cycles. This in turn helps to regulate Cortisol secretion which is a hormone responsible for stress and the fight or flight response.
Exercise also releases endorphins, which neurotransmitters that make us happy and content. Perhaps the most important neurotransmitter here is Serotonin, which is scientifically responsible for anxiety and depression if its levels are too low in the brain. Exercise helps to secrete Serotonin among other feel good substances, which in turn makes us happier and more apt to manage life stress. Doing difficult tasks makes us healthier.
Conclusion:
In order to manage stress and prevent its effects on one’s physical and mental health, it’s important to have a healthy lifestyle. The body has an amazing way to regulate itself; if we take care of our bodies and minds through a healthy diet and exercise regimen, you would be astonished at some of the results!
Thanks for reading.
- Tom