Natural living for good mental health

Natural living for good mental health

When you embrace a natural lifestyle, you are taking steps to improve your overall health and well-being. This has a positive impact on your mental health as well.

For starters, there is a connection between food and mental health. When you eat a low quality diet, it can lead to an increase in negative mental states such as feelings of anxiety and depression. Unfortunately, eating a diet low in nutrition on a long term basis can impact your mental health so much that it can lead to dementia (1).

The best foods to eat to help keep mental health issues at bay are the foods eaten on the Mediterranean diet (2). This way of eating includes lots of healthy fats including olive oil and oily fish. The brain needs these to function properly. Happy brain means happy you.

The Mediterranean diet also means eating lots of fruit and vegetables. These contain the vitamins and minerals you need to keep fit and healthy and fight off illness. Unfortunately, eating lots of pizza, burgers, fries and processed ready meals means you don’t get enough vitamins or minerals; plus too much salt and sugar (3).

Eating foods that contain too much sugar can cause you to be irritable or even get depressed (4). And if you try to give it up it causes these feelings to get worse. This is because sugar is highly addictive (5). Our bodies do not need sugar so a natural diet should not include lots of cakes, biscuits and chocolate. Everything in moderation.

On the other hand, when you eat plenty of fresh, unprocessed food, this has a positive impact on your mental health. These nutrients can help to support moods, cognitive function and overall mental well-being.

Living a natural lifestyle can be beneficial for mental health because of the connection between environment and mental health. This is because natural environments make you feel more relaxed which reduces stress. On the other hand, living in an urban or densely-populated area can increase stress and contribute to feelings of anxiety or even depression.

There’s a reason nature is the latest trend in wellness, and it’s called “forest bathing”. This Japanese practice of forest therapy involves walking through forests to receive a variety of health benefits (6). Just being at one with nature and using all your senses to be totally mindful while you are walking through a forest can reduce feelings of anxiety and stress. Just forget about your demanding schedule and notice all the sounds, colours and smells.

Getting outdoors is also important to keep your body clock in check. We spend far too long indoors with too many electronic gadgets that interfere with our natural circadian rhythms’. Historically, we spent daylight hours outside hunting and then when it was dark we slept. Unfortunately, so called progress and technology has changed this natural way of living. To overcome this try and get outside as early as you can to expose yourself to natural sunlight. An early morning walk is a great way to do this.

Then at night have at least one hour before bedtime without electronic gadgets. Turn the television off, get off Facebook, read a book or better still chat with your family. One of the reasons people in the Mediterranean live longer (and are happier) is because they spend more time with family. They sit together around a table for meals and enjoy the company of their family. This is a simple way you can benefit your mood and well-being naturally (7).

Pets are often referred to as family. Owning a dog is not only beneficial to the animal, but to humans as well. In fact, owning a pet can drastically improve your mental health and overall well-being. The benefits of having a dog include social support, increased fitness and motivation to stay active, lower stress, reduced blood pressure, less loneliness and fewer feelings of depression. When you have a furry friend, you will enjoy companionship. You will also make new friends with other dog owners that you meet on your daily walk or at puppy training class (8).

Depression is a growing problem and has been linked to gaming and using social media. Games are designed to be fun and playing them can provide a distraction from the stresses of day to day life. However, it is easy to become addicted to games, and there are negative consequences of too much exposure to social media. These consequences are anxiety, depression and even suicidal thoughts (9). There is nothing natural about looking at a screen for hours on end. It is much better to stretch your competitive muscles by playing sports or games with friends and family. Preferably outside.

Being active and outside is a natural way of living and is beneficial for mental health. Exercise helps to improve blood flow to the brain and increases endorphins which have a positive effect on your mood. (10) Playing sports or competitive games is also great for your mood; especially if you win. On top of that, absorbing natural light is good for your health, mood and even your bones. This is because the body gets Vitamin D from sunlight (11).

On the other hand, not getting regular exercise can have negative effects on your mental health. This is because when you are sedentary, such as when you are sat at your desk, watching television or checking social media for the 100^th time, you are more likely to feel tired and irritable (12). Electronic gadgets, computers, mobile phones and fluorescent lighting emit blue light, radiation and positive ions – all of which impact your mental health.

On the other hand you can improve mental health and mood naturally by bombarding yourself with negative ions. When we are exposed to running water, negative ions are released. These charged atoms have a surprising effect on our well-being.

Rivers, crashing waves and waterfalls are the best place to expose yourself to negative ions. These are absorbed into the body and boost our mental state and mood (13). Strangely, one of the best times to ‘bathe’ in negative ions is after a thunderstorm. That sense of refreshment after a storm is the effect of these amazing little health-givers sent from Mother Nature herself.

Through exposure to negative ions, you are more likely to have increased energy levels, better concentration, improved sleep and an overall feeling of being relaxed. Negative ions also prevent pollen, bacteria and even viruses making us ill (14). Yet another reason to get out into nature on a regular basis for the benefit of your mental health.

Meditation and Gratitude are two natural ways to improve your mental health without any side effects or chemical dependency. If you find yourself feeling stressed out during the day, especially when life seems tough, try turning off your phone and taking some time to meditate or practice gratitude.

Meditation is a good way to calm your mind and let go of negative thoughts. Mindful meditation will help you release anger, sadness and frustration, and ease anxiety and stress naturally (15).

Journaling and writing down what you are grateful for in your life is another medication-free way to boost mental health naturally (16). Set aside just ten minutes every day to write down the good things in your life. This will help focus the mind on the positive and is a completely natural way to boost your mental health and keep anxiety and depression at bay.

Finally, being kind and generous not only makes the recipient feel good but it improves your mental health too. Altruism, the fancy word for doing nice things for other people, has been shown to boost mental health more than just doing things for yourself (17). To get that lovely warm feeling inside, try doing some volunteering or simply help an elderly neighbour.

When it comes down to it, to improve your mental health, eat a healthy diet full of fruit, vegetables and organic food, drink fresh water and enjoy exercise in the fresh air. Do what makes you feel happy and calm and you have all you need to naturally improve your mental health.

References

Food policies for physical and mental health https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-244X-14-132.
Mediterranean diet, stroke, cognitive impairment, and depression: A meta-analysis https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23720230/
The Many Health Risks of Processed Foods https://www.lhsfna.org/the-many-health-risks-of-processed-foods/
Sugar intake from sweet food and beverages, common mental disorder and depression: prospective findings from the Whitehall II study https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-05649-7
The Role of Dopamine in the Pathophysiology of Depression (downloaded see attached)
Effects of Shinrin-Yoku (Forest Bathing) and Nature Therapy on Mental Health: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11469-020-00363-4
Family Meals, Conviviality, and the Mediterranean Diet among Families with Adolescents https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7967627/
How can a pet help my mental health? https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/p/pets-and-mental-health
Pathological video game use among youths: a two-year longitudinal study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21242221/
Exercise and stress: Get moving to manage stress https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/exercise-and-stress/art-20044469
5 Ways the Sun Impacts Your Mental and Physical Health https://www.tricitymed.org/2018/08/5-ways-the-sun-impacts-your-mental-and-physical-health/
The Psychological Dangers Of A Sedentary Life https://www.forbes.com/sites/brettsteenbarger/2019/03/29/the-psychological-dangers-of-a-sedentary-life/?sh=4d275c114906
Negative Ions Create Positive Vibes https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/negative-ions-create-positive-vibes
Are Negative Ions Good For You? https://vcmpt.com/are-negative-ions-good-for-you/
Neural correlates of mindfulness meditation-related anxiety relief https://academic.oup.com/scan/article/9/6/751/1664700?source=post_page—————————
The Neuroscience of Gratitude and How It Affects Anxiety & Grief https://positivepsychology.com/neuroscience-of-gratitude/
Altruistic Social Interest Behaviors Are Associated With Better Mental Health http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.529.7780&rep=rep1&type=pdf