Physical health is obvious and visibly treatable, making it typically easy to prioritize, or at least be aware of.

On the other hand, mental health remains invisible.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a ‘state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’.  While progress is being made every day to remove the stigma associated with mental health, the connection it holds with our physical health seems less forefront as a society.

New research however is making it very clear that mental health and physical health are indeed, deeply connected. Studies show that an improvement or decline in one, can lead to an improvement or decline in the other. Nowhere is the relationship between mental and physical health more evident than in chronic conditions. New studies show the following relationships between chronic physical conditions and mental health:

·      Poor mental health is a risk factor for chronic physical conditions.

·      People with serious mental health conditions are at high risk of experiencing chronic physical conditions.

·      People with chronic physical conditions are at risk of developing poor mental health.

Research also shows that mental illnesses may be linked to premature aging in several ways:

·      Poor mental health can lead to unhealthy behaviors like poor diet, lack of exercise, and substance use that are bad for physical health.

·      Many mental health conditions and the stress they cause can disrupt sleep, which can harm physical health over time.

·      Stress can cause chronically elevated levels of cortisol, which can disrupt just about every bodily function, including the digestive system, immune system, cardiovascular system, and even reproductive system.

This can put people at risk for a range of medical conditions, including high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancer.

Never has it been so obvious that mental and physical health are fundamentally linked. With all this evidence, what can we do to maintain both our mental and physical health?

1.    Make Regular Exercise a Life-long Habit: The physical and mental health benefits of regular exercise are hard to overstate. It improves muscle mass and function, improves metabolic function, reduces inflammation, strengthens the immune system, improves cardiovascular and respiratory health, and even contributes to better gut microbiome diversity. All those physical health benefits will, in turn, improve mental health because they’re interconnected. But exercise also has direct benefits for the brain, including improved cognitive function, improved executive function, including working memory and impulse control, reduced depression and anxiety symptoms, and reduced stress.

2.    Eat a Healthy Balanced Diet: Diet is one of the most important risk factors of illness, but it can also be one of the most confusing lifestyle changes to make. There’s so much conflicting information out there about what you should and shouldn’t eat. Plus, a lot of diet plans ask you to meticulously track things like fiber, protein, and micronutrients. It’s overwhelming. Instead of trying to follow a diet plan or figure out which trending superfood you should be eating, just follow a few basic principles of good nutrition and then don’t stress about it.

-       Drink more water. Between three to four liters per day is the general recommendation.

-       Eat more fruits and veggies. The recommended five servings work out to about 1 pound per day. Any fresh produce will be good for you, so don’t overthink it.

-       Be mindful of processed foods. Even minimally processed and ready-made foods, like bread or soup, can contain a surprising amount of salt and sugar. If you do enjoy these ready-made options, check the label to try to find low-sodium, low-sugar alternatives.

3.    Make Time to Just Be: So simple, but so easily overlooked.

Stress is a major factor in the harmful interactions between mental and physical health. Find time to not worry about whether you’re eating the right thing, exercising enough, or being productive enough. Take a few minutes each day to sit down with no TV, no phone, no other distractions and just be.

Notice where you are and what you’re feeling right now. That’s it. Don’t think about what you have to do, or what you should be feeling. Just be for a few minutes. This is often referred to as mindfulness, but don’t let the label pressure you into putting criteria around what you should be doing.

The goal is to just check in with yourself and take a break from the noise of life.

Sources: https://ontario.cmha.ca/documents/connection-between-mental-and-physical-health/

https://www.verywellmind.com/the-mental-and-physical-health-connection-7255857