Tag Archives: Mental health

March 1, 2021

DIET VS EXERCISE #2: MENTAL HEALTH.

We all know that a balance of both exercise and good nutrition are paramount to our physical well-being. But what effect do they each have on our mental health?

It may surprise you that our minds are not separate from what we consider to be the physiological elements of our being. The way we use and maintain on muscles, organs and digestive systems informs our emotional state.

In one study, scientists asked test subjects to snack on either crisps and chocolate or fresh fruit. Within 10 days, members of the junk food group were exhibiting greater symptoms of low mood and anxiety than the fruit eaters. High-sugar, high-fat foods can cause a flash of hormones in the brain is pleasure centres, which is followed by a crash. Common deficiencies can also contribute to poor mental health, such as those in vitamins B12, C, D and omega-3.

Your workouts, meanwhile, will give you both a short-term high and a long-term lift. As well as releasing endorphins, exercise also triggers the release of numerous brain-cell mediators, including serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline, which light up the pleasure and reward centres of the brain.

Research shows that those who trained for just 2 and a half hours each week had a 31% lower risk of depression than those who didn’t. Exercise has been shown to be as effective as medication in reducing symptoms of moderate depression.

For many struggling with their mental well-being, getting outside and moving for half an hour each day will be easier than a total dietary overall.

The decider:
Exercise

July 17, 2020

THE IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS ON OUR MENTAL HEALTH.

The mental health charity Mind have recently conducted a survey to find out how the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown was affecting people’s mental health. Their findings show that new mental health problems have developed and existing mental health problems have worsened.

Worryingly, a staggering 60% of adults and 68% of young people said their mental health got worse during lockdown. 

Results show that restrictions on seeing people, not being able to go outside and worries about the health of family and friends are the key factors driving poor mental health. 

Some of the groups of people found more likely to report that their mental health has declined included women, people with eating disorders, and frontline workers.

It has been found that the most common (negative) coping strategies that people are using are over or under eating, alcohol and drug use and self-harming. 

Positive ways of coping that many are using include connecting with family and friends, watching tv or films, spending time outside and doing household chores. 

Some of the participants gave their advice on how to manage mental health during difficult periods of uncertainty. The most commonly focused five key points are:

  1. Be kind to yourself – getting through each day is enough
  2. Keep talking to others about how you’re feeling
  3. Develop a new routine
  4. Find activities that help to distract you
  5. Limit how much news you engage with

While there is still so much more to achieve, Mind’s research is leading the way to enable people to help one another through this challenging time and it has highlighted the degree of which coronavirus has affected our mental health. 

To find out how Mind are making use of these findings you can read the full report here. 

January 3, 2020

HOW TO MAKE ANY WORKOUT FEEL EASIER.

How you feel during training is not always a reflection of how fit you are. If you know just how to manage it and use a variety of mental tricks you don’t just get to feel better than you would otherwise, you will be performing better, doing more and working out harder.

Fitness is, mostly, inside your head. It’s first of all a mental battle to win in order to make yourself train, make yourself train at the level you need to, and then to continue doing it time and time again. Here are a few tricks you can use to make the whole process easier on yourself:

Don’t think about how hard it is
The more you think about yourself not being able to cope, the harder it will feel. Keep telling yourself that what you are doing is no big deal and you’ll find that you are capable of achieving much more.

Take yourself elsewhere for a few seconds
If where you are is less than comfortable, imagine where you would like to be right now and take yourself there in your head. It will help you reset your brain and take its attention away from thinking about the tough training session.

Lie
Tell yourself that you will never do this again or will take a long break…after this time. The lie works because it re-programmes your brain to stop complaining and simply focus on the time training will end.

Work out with music
Evidence shows that listening to music during your workout, due to its calming effect, can lead to reduced muscle tension and more efficient oxygenation. We are not just able to do more and feel less exhausted, but the exercise itself feels less taxing.

August 14, 2017

FEEL-GOOD FOOD.

Dark green leaves
They have a great strong flavour as well as boosting dopamine – the ‘happy hormone’ in our brain.

Apples, berries and bananas
All of these contain the antioxidant quercetin, believed to help the brain prevent dopamine loss.

Eggs
Rich in filling protein, they also contain the amino acids that help stimulate dopamine production.

Salmon
Oily fish contains omega-3 fatty acids, essential in preventing fatigue, memory problems and mood swings.

Cheese
This provides you with the amino acid tyrosine, which helps increase dopamine levels. Switch your Cheddar for cottage cheese, for a low-fat alternative.