When people are starting on a path toward recovering from negative mental health symptoms, improving their physical health is often low on the list of priorities. But mental health and physical health are deeply interconnected, and learning to improve both can vastly improve your ability to achieve a lasting recovery.
The connections between mental health and physical health are complex, often nuanced, and not always perfectly understood. Yet what is clear is that improving your physical health will almost always improve your mental health and vice versa.
How Living With Mental Health Challenges Affects Your Physical Health
If you or a loved one lives with a mental health disorder, you likely have already observed how your mental health can impact your physical health. Nearly every mental health challenge has a set of physical health symptoms, from insomnia to lethargy and beyond.
Each mental health condition has a unique set of physical effects. These often serve as the first indicator that something is going awry mentally and may represent a sign to start looking into mental health treatment options.
Depression
Depression can lead to debilitating physical health symptoms that quickly spiral out of control. One of the most common — and earliest — signs of a depressive episode is severely disrupted sleep. Depression can lead to either hypersomnia, sleeping too much, or insomnia, where you sleep too little.
These sleep disturbances can have a number of negative mental and physical health impacts of their own, including feelings of grogginess or mental fog and a lack of energy or motivation throughout the day.
But that’s not the only physical health effect of depression. People also frequently experience symptoms like the following:
- Sudden, unintentional weight changes
- Increased risk of cardiovascular issues
- Decreased physical activity
- Higher risk of developing a chronic illness
Experiencing a depressive episode can have a significant effect on your physical health. Working on overcoming your depression is often the fastest way to return to a healthier physical state and start feeling like your best again.
Chronic Stress
Stress is a normal part of everyday life. Yet when you experience stress all the time and never seem able to find relief, it’s labeled as chronic stress. Chronic stress can cause you to develop several mental health and physical health challenges, as well as increase your risk of developing other mental health disorders.
Some of the more common physical effects of chronic stress include:
- Headaches
- Muscle tension or pain
- Digestive problems
- High blood pressure
- Increased stroke risk
- Increased risk of developing diabetes
Stress is your body preparing itself to deal with challenging situations. When you feel stressed, your body releases a hormone known as cortisol, which increases your blood pressure, elevates your blood glucose levels, and suppresses your immune system.
This can give you an extra burst of energy to tackle difficult tasks, but prolonged exposure to stressful situations can leave you at a much higher risk of physical health challenges. People experiencing chronic stress have consistently elevated cortisol levels without enough time to recover from their increased burst of energy.
Anxiety
Anxiety has several direct and indirect effects on your physical health. The experience of anxiety is often predominantly a physical reaction; people tend to face symptoms such as:
- Sweats
- Butterflies in the stomach
- Nausea
- Racing heartbeat
- Hyperventilation
- Muscle tension
Of course, this is just one-half of the anxiety equation. These physical symptoms are paired with a mind that races out of control, overwhelming fear, or other mental health symptoms that are unrelated to your physical health.
However, the body’s reaction to anxiety indicates how anxiety disorders can affect your long-term physical health. Along with countless other medical conditions, people with anxiety disorders are at higher risk of heart attacks, irritable bowel syndrome, respiratory illness, and immunodeficiency disorders.
How Poor Physical Health Can Affect Your Mental Health
In turn, poor physical health is often a risk factor for developing mental health disorders. For instance, countless academic studies have demonstrated a heightened risk of disorders related to anxiety, depression, or substance use when people develop a chronic illness.
But it’s not just a matter of severe illness impacting your mental health. Even much smaller differences in physical health, such as living a more sedentary lifestyle, can drastically increase the risk of developing a number of mental health challenges.
Research has repeatedly shown that low levels of exercise, poor nutrition, and insufficient sleep are frequently associated with elevated rates of mental health challenges.
Of course, these harmful effects don’t happen straight away. Instead, they build over time, become entrenched as habits, and can ultimately start affecting your mental health months or years down the line.
The Destructive Spiral of Poor Mental Health and Physical Health
Poor mental health and physical health often interact with one another in a destructive downward spiral. When you’re living with a mental health disorder, it can be difficult to focus on goals like improving your physical health, as it can be challenging enough just to get through the day without experiencing overwhelming difficulties.
Take, for example, a person living with depression. Some of the hallmark symptoms of depression include:
- Chronic fatigue
- Lack of motivation
- Sleep difficulties
- Loss of interest in hobbies or activities
There is an abundance of evidence to show that starting an exercise routine, getting outdoors, and maintaining a healthy sleep schedule can all have a positive effect on your symptoms of depression. However, the symptoms of depression themselves often stand in the way of people achieving this goal.
As a result, many people who enter into a depressive episode start to exercise less, neglect healthy nutrition, and experience substantial sleep disturbances that are outside of their control. These physical effects can compound the symptoms of depression, which further negatively impact your physical health.
This cycle can be incredibly difficult to break free from — but it can be done. With help from a team of trained mental health professionals, it is possible to recover from a mental health disorder and get your physical health back on track.
Healing From Mental Health Challenges
The most glaring symptoms of mental health disorders often center in the mind, but the path to recovery will frequently be through the body. Focusing on your physical health can be difficult when you’re going through challenges, but doing so can provide lasting results that enable you to maintain a better quality of life for years to come.
There are three main elements of physical health that can help you overcome mental health challenges.
Regular Exercise
Exercise is one of the most commonly recommended and effective methods for conquering mental health challenges. Studies have repeatedly shown that a regular exercise routine is often just as beneficial as medication or talk therapy for people with anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, or chronic stress.
There are a number of reasons that exercise has these outstanding benefits. The first is that exercise can help to regulate your brain’s neurotransmitter production. It helps stabilize important chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin, and adrenaline.
Exercise can also produce spikes of endorphins, which are naturally produced chemicals that simply help you feel good. Endorphins are responsible for what’s known as a runner’s high and can help people who are feeling down to get a substantial mood boost when they need it most.
In the case of anxiety, a regular exercise routine has the potential to mitigate many of the physical symptoms you experience. Cardiovascular exercise helps train your heart to handle elevated heart rates, your lungs to handle hyperventilation, and your body to be comfortable in physically taxing situations.
A regular exercise routine can also help promote healthier sleep. Having a proper sleep schedule is critical for stabilizing your body’s hormones and keeping you feeling alert and energetic.
Best of all, the benefits of exercise aren’t necessarily tied to the intensity of your routine. You don’t need to suddenly start running marathons or lifting heavy weights to get the mental health benefits of regular exercise. Instead, focus on moving a bit more each day, such as by walking through your neighborhood or going for a leisurely bike ride.
Consistent Sleep
Sleep plays a critical role in regulating your moods, thoughts, and overall mental well-being. While it can be difficult to achieve a consistent sleep schedule when dealing with mental health challenges that disrupt sleep, there are a few simple steps you can take to make your nightly rest more restorative, consistent, and reliable.
Collectively, these techniques are known as sleep hygiene. There are many sleep hygiene strategies that you can integrate into your nightly routine and see whether they work for you.
Set a Sleep Schedule
This means going to bed at the same time every night and waking up at the same time every morning. Having a dedicated schedule helps you set your circadian rhythm and develop an easy-to-follow pattern for great sleep.
Create a Relaxing Bedtime Routine
Give yourself at least 30 minutes before bedtime to slowly unwind at night. Turn off your TV, tablet, or cell phone and dim the lights. Focus on relaxing activities such as breathing exercises, meditation, or skin care.
Healthy Habits Throughout the Day
Changing a few of your daytime activities can have an outsized effect on your sleep. For instance, it’s generally recommended to avoid caffeine in the evening, as it can keep you up at night. Similarly, drinking alcohol late in the evening can disrupt your sleep cycle.
Adjust Your Bedroom Environment
Here are a few simple tips for making your bedroom more conducive to sleep:
- Only use the bed for sleep or sex
- Use blackout curtains to avoid light entering the room
- Make sure your mattress, pillow, and sheets are comfortable
- Keep the temperature cool
- Keep the noise low
All these minor tweaks can make it easier for you to fall asleep, stay asleep, and feel more rested in the morning.
Proper Nutrition
Nutrition plays an important role in mental health as well. Everyone has different dietary preferences, but it’s generally recommended to eat a wide variety of foods with an emphasis on whole foods.
Dietitians will often recommend “eating the rainbow.” This serves as a simple way of ensuring you get all the vitamins and minerals you need to stay healthy, both physically and mentally.
Additionally, hydration plays an important role in your overall energy and mood levels. Make sure to drink plenty of water each day, and avoid drinking too many diuretics such as coffee, tea, or alcohol.
Reach Out to Plus by APN For Additional Support,
When your mental and physical health begin to suffer, it can be difficult to make meaningful progress on your own. If you’re struggling to make the changes you’d like to see in your life, consider reaching out to Plus by APN to learn about our comprehensive mental health treatment options.
Our program is dedicated to bringing the best in innovative and holistic treatment methods to assist you in overcoming any challenges you might face. For more information on our treatment options, contact us at 424.644.6486 or complete our online contact form.
References
- Cooney GM, Dwan K, Greig CA, Lawlor DA, Rimer J, Waugh FR, McMurdo M, Mead GE. Exercise for depression. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2013, Issue 9. Art. No.: CD004366. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD004366.pub6. Accessed 12 August 2024.
- Zheng, Katherin, et al. “Longitudinal Relationships Between Depression and Chronic Illness in Adolescents: An Integrative Review.” Journal of Pediatric Health Care, National Association for Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, www.jpedhc.org/article/S0891-5245(16)30254-1/fulltext. Accessed 12 Aug. 2024.