Mind & Mood
Your mood and your mental health affect every aspect of your life, from how you feel about yourself to your relationships with others and your physical health. There's a strong link between good mental health and good physical health, and vice versa. In the other direction, depression and other mental health issues can contribute to digestive disorders, trouble sleeping, lack of energy, heart disease, and other health issues.
There are many ways to keep your mind and mood in optimal shape. Exercise, healthy eating, and stress reduction techniques like meditation or mindfulness can keep your brain — and your body — in tip-top shape.
When mood and mental health slip, doing something about it as early as possible can keep the change from getting worse or becoming permanent. Treating conditions like depression and anxiety improve quality of life. Learning to manage stress makes for more satisfying and productive days.
Mind & Mood Articles
Evidence suggests that people with mild cognitive impairment who do aerobic exercise three times per week and follow the DASH diet experience an improvement in executive function.
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A study found that walking backward may improve short-term memory. It’s not clear why this is the case, but people may associate reverse motion with a return to the past, which may trigger a memory response. More research is needed to determine if walking backward should be used as a memory aid.
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A major health issue, like surgery, an injury, or even a heart attack is hard enough to deal with without having to also confront the stress, anxiety, and even depression that often comes with it. Yet taking care of one’s mental health is just as important as physical health when it comes to recovery. Relying more on social support, focusing on being more active, and using past successful strategies can help.
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Companies are promoting weighted blankets as a means of reducing anxiety and stress and helping people sleep. While evidence on the efficacy of these blankets is scarce, there are few risks in trying them. Weighted blankets and vests are in use by medical professionals to treat children with autism spectrum disorder and other behavioral disorders. People with certain medical problems should check with a doctor first.
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A study of almost 28,000 men found that those who consumed the most daily servings of vegetables and fruit (six servings) were less likely to develop poor thinking skills than the men who consumed the fewest (about two daily servings or less).
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Meditating counters the body’s stress response by triggering the relaxation response—a physiological change that can help lower blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, oxygen consumption, adrenaline levels, and levels of the stress hormone cortisol. The health benefits of meditation are so potent that the practice is used as a treatment or complementary therapy for many conditions, such as high stress, high blood pressure, and chronic pain. There are many forms of meditation, such as mindfulness, transcendental meditation, guided imagery meditation, and tai chi and yoga.
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The emotional side of grieving can affect the whole body and all organ systems, and maybe even the immune system. Grief is associated with stress; heart problems; depression; and depression-related symptoms such as insomnia, social withdrawal, and a loss of appetite. Though it may feel difficult, it’s important to maintain healthy habits during a period of grief, such as eating right and exercising. Social connections—seeing friends and family—are also crucial for good health, even when grieving.
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While antidepressants can relieve and control symptoms of mild or moderate depression, they are not the only option. Fortunately, many nondrug options are available to help manage depression symptoms and prevent future episodes, such as exercising regularly, avoiding unhealthy foods, expressing gratitude, and staying socially active.
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Omega-3 fatty acid supplements may help ease anxiety symptoms in people diagnosed with a range of physical and mental health problems. But additional research is needed to confirm this possible benefit.
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Occasional memory lapses are upsetting, but unfortunately are a natural part of aging. These changes can slow certain cognitive processes, which makes it more difficult at times to learn and recall new and existing information. These minor memory lapses are often not a sign of Alzheimer’s disease, and there are ways for older adults to sharpen their everyday memory to help retain just-learned information.
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