Did you know the benefits of good nutrition and exercise surpass maintaining a healthy body weight? Positive attitudes about eating and moving your body in ways that feel good can support your brain, body and soul. In fact, good nutrition and regular exercise have the power to prevent or reverse many diseases, from dementia & depression to cardiovascular disease & cancer. Understanding how diet and exercise support mental health can lead you to prioritizing your physical health and as a result, experience the mental health benefits as well.
The Mind-Body Connection
There is a bidirectional interconnectedness between the mind and body that we often refer to as the mind-body connection. This means that our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and attitudes can positively or negatively affect our biological functioning. And vice versa. What we do with our physical body (what we eat, how much we exercise, even our posture) can impact our mental state (positively or negatively). For example, some people with depression have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular and metabolic diseases than the general population.
The Role of the Gut Microbiome on Mental Health
Our gut and brain are connected by the vagus nerve, a major component of the autonomic nervous system which enables you to breathe, digest food, and swallow automatically. This nerve is able to send messages to your brain for your colon, and vice versa.
This connection, referred to as the gut-brain axis, is a vital player in mental health, illnesses that affect the brain, and even irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). It explains why stress can take a toll on your digestion, but also why digestive problems can make you unhappy.
To support your health, your gut microbiome needs to be diverse, and diversity helps keep it balanced. However, if it is not balanced, opportunistic microbes can take advantage and proliferate, resulting in inflammation.
So, reducing inflammation can improve both mood and anxiety levels. Eating mostly whole, unrefined plant foods is one way to increase the abundance of diverse microbes and reduce inflammation. Beneficial gut bacteria thrive on a natural, plant-based diet because fiber is an important source of energy for them.
Why Diet Is Important to Support the Gut Biome
It’s clear there is a link between gut bacteria and depression. Diet is crucial to supporting healthy gut biomes. For instance, supplementing our diets with various nutrients, probiotics, and prebiotics can increase the number of healthy and beneficial gut biomes in the digestive system. As the number of healthy gut biomes increases, there is a noticeable shift in our moods. We notice we feel less stressed and anxious. If we are experiencing depressive symptoms, those too gradually start to decrease as we notice an improvement in our moods and positive feelings and emotions.
What Happens When We Exercise?
Babies have an innate desire to move around. From the time young ones can babble, they learn that movement and play go hand in hand. After discovering how to roll over, crawl and walk, many school-aged children look forward to playing through movement during recess and riding bikes or dancing after school. Most children still feel joyful about movement, but somewhere between childhood and adulthood, exercise can start to feel less like a pastime pleasure and more like a requisite responsibility.
While some adults maintain a regular workout routine, many find it hard to prioritize movement in our already busy schedules, even for those who love exercise. Before you know it, you may not remember the last time you broke a sweat.
The link between exercise and mood is strong. Usually within five minutes after engaging in moderate exercise, you get a mood-enhancement effect. However, the positive effects of physical activity on mental health extend beyond the short-term. Research shows that exercise can also help alleviate long-term depression.
The connection between mental health and physical activity is widely recognized. How does exercise work on your brain? There are several strong hypotheses, including:
- The release of endorphins in the brain1
- Anti-inflammatory influence on neurotransmitters2
- Endocannabinoid system response (ECS)3
The ECS regulates and controls many of our most critical bodily functions such as learning and memory, emotional processing, sleep, temperature control, pain control, inflammatory and immune responses, and eating. Hence, the ECS is currently at the center of renewed international research and drug development.
Exercise may also boost a depressed person’s outlook by helping them return to a meaningful activity and providing a sense of accomplishment. Not to mention the fact that a person’s responsiveness to stress is moderated by activity. It’s likely that multiple factors are at play.
Exercise and Depression Relationship
Research has shown that exercise can also be effective in preventing and treating Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)4. Withdrawal, isolation, fatigue, and poor sleep patterns are among the most common symptoms of depression. In contrast, exercise increases energy, reduces fatigue, and helps improve sleep. Because of its counteracting effects, physical activity can help break the monotonous cycle of depression. For those with depression, one study demonstrated that physical activity, including yoga, should be considered a first-line treatment option5.
Recommended Dose of Exercise
The recommended dose of exercise is 50 minutes of moderate intensity activity 3 times per week6. What exactly is moderate intensity activity? Imagine walking swiftly as if you were late for an event. Ready to add more exercise to your routine? Find a physical activity that you love. Revisit activities that you used to enjoy, like biking or soccer, or try experimenting with new and exciting ways to move your body. Be patient with yourself, and notice which activities help you feel happy, strong and motivated.
You may discover that you prefer to workout in a structured environment such as a gym or a social sports league. Many people find that supervised group environments help them adhere to their new routines. But, if you prefer to work out alone, consider finding an accountability partner or someone to touch base with often so that you may help keep each other motivated.
Diet and Exercise Can Improve Your Mood
Depression and many other chronic diseases have been linked to chronic inflammation. Enjoying an anti-inflammatory diet and moving your body regularly in ways that feel good for you can reduce the risk of depression and improve your quality of life.
In general, whole, unrefined plant foods fight inflammation while red meats and processed foods are strongly inflammatory. The color variety in fruits, vegetables and legumes signals healthy nutrient diversity. Each week, try eating at least one red, orange, yellow, green & blue/purple plant dish. Feel free to experiment with new dishes or make your favorites more colorful by adding greens to a smoothie, mixing edamame or pinto beans into rice or topping cereal with berries. Over time, little changes in the foods, drinks and ingredients you choose can have big health benefits.
Regular exercise has a profound impact on cognitive function; it improves mood and memory and reduces the risk of developing depression by 35%. So, every minute of movement counts— especially when you sweat. Try adding 5, 7 or 15 mins of exercise to your pre-shower routine. Coupling exercise with an activity you already do, like showering, can make a new habit feel easy. It’s also important to make movement a part of your schedule and not just an afterthought. Early in the morning, during lunch breaks, after work or before showering are great blocks of time to work out. Think about what’s really stopped you from exercising routinely. Then, find alternatives that address those challenges. Too tired at the end of the day? Try working out in the morning this week. Intimidated by the gym? Work out at home or outside. Too busy with kids? Make exercise a family activity.
Alternative Ways to Support Mental Health
In addition to enjoying anti-inflammatory foods and exercising regularly, seeking professional mental health help can further improve your overall well-being. Some of the treatments you could consider are:
Talk Therapy
Talk therapy can help you develop strategies for maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine. Therapists often incorporate discussions about lifestyle choices, helping you understand how diet and physical activity affect your mood and mental state. Psychoeducation and coping techniques can be particularly useful in establishing and maintaining healthy eating and exercise habits.
Medication Management
Proper nutrition and regular exercise can enhance the effectiveness of psychiatric medications. Some medications may affect appetite or metabolism, making dietary guidance important. Exercise can also help mitigate certain medication side effects and may allow for lower dosages in some cases. Always consult your psychiatrist before making changes to your diet or exercise routine while on medication.
TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation)
Like medications, TMS therapy’s effects can be amplified when combined with a healthy lifestyle. A balanced diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants may enhance brain health, potentially improving TMS outcomes. Regular exercise, particularly aerobic activities, can complement TMS by promoting neuroplasticity and increasing blood flow to the brain. These lifestyle factors may help sustain the positive effects of TMS treatment.
Mental Health Support in California
Ready to take a holistic approach to your mental well-being? At Neuro Wellness Spa, we understand the crucial link between diet, exercise, and mental health. Our comprehensive treatment plans incorporate lifestyle guidance alongside evidence-based therapies like talk therapy, TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation), and psychiatric medication management.
Don’t let poor mental health hold you back from living your best life. Contact us today to schedule a consultation with one of our experienced professionals. Together, we’ll create a personalized plan that combines the benefits of proper nutrition and physical activity with cutting-edge mental health treatments, helping you achieve lasting wellness and vitality.
References
- Deslandes, A. C. (2014). Exercise and mental health: What did we learn in the last 20 years? Frontiers in Psychiatry, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2014.00066
- Lavebratt, C., Herring, M. P., Liu, J. J., Wei, Y. B., Bossoli, D., Hallgren, M., & Forsell, Y. (2017). Interleukin-6 and depressive symptom severity in response to physical exercise. Psychiatry Research, 252, 270–276. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2017.03.012
- Meyer, J. D., Crombie, K. M., Cook, D. B., Hillard, C. J., & Koltyn, K. F. (2019). Serum Endocannabinoid and Mood Changes after Exercise in Major Depressive Disorder. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 51(9), 1909–1917. https://doi.org/10.1249/mss.0000000000002006
- Choi, K., Chen, C., Stein, M., Klimentidis, Y., Wang, M., Koenen, K., Smoller, J., Wray, N. R., Ripke, S., Mattheisen, M., Trzaskowski, M., Byrne, E. M., Abdellaoui, A., Adams, M. J., Agerbo, E., Air, T. M., Andlauer, T. F. M., Bacanu, S., Bækvad-Hansen, M., . . . Sullivan, P. F. (2019). Assessment of bidirectional relationships between physical activity and depression among adults. JAMA Psychiatry, 76(4), 399. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2018.4175
- Ravindran, A. V., Balneaves, L. G., Faulkner, G., Ortiz, A., McIntosh, D., Morehouse, R. L., Ravindran, L., Yatham, L. N., Kennedy, S. H., Lam, R. W., MacQueen, G. M., Milev, R. V., & Parikh, S. V. (2016). Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) 2016 Clinical Guidelines for the Management of Adults with Major Depressive Disorder. The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 61(9), 576–587. https://doi.org/10.1177/0706743716660290
- President’s Council | Health.gov. (n.d.). https://health.gov/pcsfn