Taking care of your body is good for your mind. They’re connected!
There are lots of ways we can look after ourselves; by exercising, getting enough sleep, eating nourishing food, drinking enough water and getting out into the sunshine (preferably first thing). They can all be instant mood boosters as well as being good for our physical and mental health longer term.
If we look at it from a science perspective the mind and the body are connected through the endocrine, nervous and immune systems and connective tissue. When presented with a stressful situation, real or imagined, a chemical reaction takes place in our body (in fact all physical, emotional and psychological factors are accompanied with biochemical reactions in the body). In response to the stress a distress signal leaves the brain and heads down the nervous system to inform the endocrine system to release the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. As these levels rise in the body, our immune levels are lowered.
Suppressed, unprocessed emotions be it anger, rejection, shame, guilt or betrayal also surge through the body activating stress hormones. Living with unresolved emotions that trigger stress hormones can eventually lead to disease.
So, it’s fair to say that emotions are more than feelings. They include momentary physiological changes which influence our actions and can add up. They can play quite a big role in our health, affecting our decisions on how we nourish or trash our bodies with food, and how we feel about life in general. When we are busy, tired or stressed, it can be easy to get in the habit of reaching for unhealthy snacks, often without even realising it. Initially they may give you a little mood or energy boost, but normally what follows is a crash, where you feel tired, irritable or both and longer-term our overall health is impacted. Sugars and processed food can be especially bad for this creating an inflammatory response in the brain and whole body, but on the flip side a diet based on nourishing whole foods and vegetables full of phytonutrients reduces inflammation (inflammation being a precursor for disease).
By owning and taking responsibility for our feelings, instead of distracting ourselves from them (be it with food, exercise or another vice) or blaming others and circumstances for them, we can take our power and energy back from where it may have been directed for years. Emotions can help us see why we operate the way we do. Taking time to feel emotions, can reveal truth behind initials reactions. Better choices may arise from this.
It’s a fact that the healing of an emotion often results in the healing of a physical problem. Whilst the impact of eating nourishing foods that contribute to whole body health, can also impact lifestyle choices and the transformation of old habits that weren’t giving positive results. Therefore, the entirety of the emotional self, what we eat and how we live, are all interconnected.
Diaphragmatic breathing
When we do diaphragmatic breathing the parasympathetic nervous system responsible for the ‘rest and digest’ response automatically engages, creating an immediate sense of calm. When we eat this form of breathing also helps us digest and absorb more nutrients from food. Furthermore, the chemistry of the body shifts from fat storage to fat burning mode, simply because the body has been informed that it is safe to burn fat. Short sharp shallow breaths are associated with the sympathetic nervous system or fat storage, which is great for a short time, but not when it continues for days, months or years.
Diaphragmatic breathing positively affects everything, hormones, muscle tension, digestion, gut health, circulatory and lymphatic systems, brain function, cognitive function, clarity of mind, levels of stress and inflammation in the body via the vagus nerve.
Diaphragmatic breathing stimulates the vagus nerve (the vagus nerve being vital as it also connects the brain to the gut microbiome and the immune system, making it essential for keeping our bodies healthy).
One basic diaphragmatic breathing technique – taken for Max Storms TEDx talk
Inhale to a count of 4
Hold for a count of 8
Exhale for a count of 8
Repeat several times or as much as you need too.
Sleep
Getting enough good quality sleep is also vital for physical and emotional functioning, but it’s not always easy when our minds are busy thinking over all the things we need to do, worries, or perhaps it’s the tv or scrolling on our phone tempting us to stay up later and later. But investing in our sleep isn’t a luxury, it’s important to help both our mood and physical health.
Our awake body is known as ‘catabolic state’ and our asleep body is known as ‘anabolic state’ where the body conserves energy to repair itself.
Studies show between the hours of 10pm and 2am, physiological repair takes place, and between 2 am and sunrise psychological repair takes place. As maintenance of the brain takes place during sleep, certain genes are created that the brain cannot make during awake time, while other genes get turned on for action.
The brains cleaning system happens only when we sleep (toxic release).
Every cell in our body produces waste as a by-product of nutrients that need to be cleared out of the body. This is what the lymphatic system takes care of from the neck down. It collects waste from the cells and dumps it into the blood so it can be disposed of. But there are no lymphatic vessels in the brain. Our brains are surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and during sleep, this fluid travels into the brain and surrounding blood vessels, moving through the spaces in-between brain cells to clear out the waste and dump it into the blood where it gets disposed of. No sleep means no waste disposal.
Listen to your body for how much sleep you need. Use 8 hours as a guide only, some people need more, and some need less.
Impacts of sleep deprivation:
-changes the bacteria in the gut, affecting both metabolism and gut function
-poor creativity
-poor judgement
-poor memory
-increased impulsiveness
-increased appetite as a response to the balance of ghrelin and leptin being disrupted (ghrelin signals the body to eat and leptin signals when the body is full)
-weight gain
-hormone regulation is interrupted
-mood changes
-heart works harder to keep the body alert as the sympathetic nervous system overproduces adrenalin
-increases stress
To help get a good night’s sleep
Go to bed at a regular time
Sleep in a dark cool (not cold) room
Turn off all electronic devices a couple of hours before bed
Take a relaxing bath with Epsom salts
Listen to a meditative sleep app before heading to bed
Lay back with a good book to take your mind away from your busy day
Enjoy a supportive sleep tea like chamomile, passionfruit or lavender
