Making sure your health is a priority has never been more important. Good health can also positively impact almost every aspect of your life.
According to experts, good mental health directly affects physical health — and vice versa. Your physical symptoms can influence the way you think and feel, and conversely, your thoughts and feelings can also affect how you feel physically.
Here’s how both your physical and mental health affect your overall wellbeing.
1. Positive emotions are powerful.
Although feeling all sorts of emotions is natural, “positive” emotions can have beneficial effects on both physical and mental health. When you feel happy, proud, or grateful, your overall physical state may be much better than when you feel sad, angry, or stressed. This further reduces the risk of exhaustion and physical health conditions.
Whenever you feel sad and want to get your spirits up, you can turn to music, time in nature, a favorite hobby, or the saint of the day site to reframe your perspective. Finding ways to make yourself happier could improve your mental health.
2. Physical pain decreases mental health.
Living with daily pain is physically, mentally, and emotionally stressful. Whether you feel tension in your shoulders, neck, head, or back, your pain can affect your mental health. This can make you feel more agitation, exhaustion, and sadness.
With the advancements in technology and healthcare, people now have the opportunity to use virtual reality for mental health as well as for pain relief. Using a VR headset, people can explore virtual environments — which helps rewire their brains and promotes resilience, relaxation, and recovery.
3. Mental health influences physical health.
Struggling with mental health can lead to poor physical health — which may negatively affect your wellbeing. Some common conditions that may result from poor mental health include:
- Chronic diseases, like diabetes, asthma, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and arthritis
- Schizophrenia, which further increases the risk of heart and respiratory diseases
- Sleep disorders
- Weakened immune system
- Gastrointestinal symptoms
- Obesity
- Premature death
Stress can be a catalyst for many of these conditions. Stress weakens your immune system and affects your eating and sleeping patterns and your quality of life.
Tips for staying on top of your physical and mental well-being
If you want to improve your wellbeing, you need to take care of both your physical and mental health. Here are four tips to help you improve your health:
1. Exercise regularly.
Engaging in regular physical activity can help you stay healthy and also improve your mood. Whether you choose to go on a 10-minute walk, go running in the park, or go to the gym, the exercise you engage in can increase your mental alertness, which improves your mood and energy level.
2. Eat healthily.
If you want to be physically and mentally healthy, you need to balance your diet.T Your diet should include foods from all food groups and be rich in vitamins and minerals.
3. Get enough sleep.
Getting at least seven to nine hours of sleep every night may make coping with difficult situations easier for you. Resting enough will further reduce stress and anxiety and prevent sleep disorders, like insomnia and sleep apnea.
4. Practice mindfulness.
Practicing mindfulness is an excellent way to improve your life. Meditation, deep breathing, and focusing your thoughts can help you relieve stress. When you stay mindful, you relieve stress, which can boost your mental health and relieve tension in your body.
Your mind and body work together, so it’s important to take steps to care for both. These tips will help you feel stronger, relieve stress, and live a healthier life.
