Staying healthy is a central goal in many people’s lives. Growing up, your parents most likely emphasized the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. But what does “staying healthy” really mean? According to The World Health Organization (WHO), health is “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely in the absence of disease or infirmity”. By this definition, leading a healthy life encompasses more than just eating your fruit and vegetables, exercising, and going to your yearly doctor’s appointments – health is holistic. Its focus should be on both the body AND the mind.
Researchers have found that mental and physical health are more closely linked than society previously realized. If our mental health swings out of balance, our physical health can also suffer (and vice versa). Poor physical health can increase your risk of developing mental health problems. Likewise, poor mental health can negatively impact physical health, increasing your chances of developing certain diseases.
Mental health vs. Physical health
The CDC says that mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps to determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make healthy choices. Conversely, physical health is composed of your nutritional intake and your physical activity levels.
How do they influence each other?
Mental health’s impact on physical health:
In 2012, Harvard conducted a meta-analysis demonstrating that optimism may correlate with cardiovascular health. Mental factors such as optimism, life satisfaction, and happiness are associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease regardless of a person’s age, socioeconomic status, smoking status, or body weight.
Similarly, they found that negative emotions correlate with deficits in physical health. For example, chronic stress can degrade the body over time and negative emotions such as anger have been correlated with heart attacks.
Physical health’s impact on mental health:
In addition to gifting a person with more energy, better sleep, and sharper memories, exercise has a powerful impact on an individual’s mental health. Exercise improves mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and negative mood by increasing self-esteem and cognitive function. Exercise helps to:
- Reduce stress hormones (e.g. cortisol)
- Create a buffer for stress
- Decreases your body’s reactivity to stressors – providing you with a natural coping mechanism for stressful situations.
- Increase endorphins – your “feel good” chemicals.
- Distract you from negative thoughts and emotions.
- Promote confidence.
- Exercise promotes weight loss and tones your body, keeping a smile on your face and helping you feel like the best version of yourself.
- Facilitate social support (Physical activity is a great way to be social! You can have a designated gym buddy or play recreational sports with friends.)
Making simple changes to your lifestyle habits – such as your physical activity levels, diet, sleep, and mindfulness practices- can go a long way towards boosting how you feel both inside and out. As Dr. Eric Rafla-Yuan says, “our minds and bodies are inseparable”.
