Is your mental health standing in the way of your health goals? Learn 5 Common Ways You’re Sabotaging Your Mental Health and how to fix them.
You’ve Become a Hermit
If you’re like most North Americans, you spend the majority of your day indoors. This makes sense, you’ve got stuff to do! But, you miss out on some pretty important stuff when you stay cooped up, mainly sunlight.
Sun exposure keeps your circadian rhythms, or your body clock, ticking at the right time. Your circadian rhythms trigger when melatonin and cortisol are released in your system which either helps you to get to sleep or wakes you up.
When this system gets shifted after too many late-night Netflix binges or too much time away from the sun, you’ll end up fatigued during the day and wired at night.
Sunlight also boosts your mood by helping your body make Vitamin D. Vitamin D helps with mood regulation, and a deficiency is often associated with depression.
The Quick Fix
Spend at least 30 minutes outside in the sun with some exposed skin, preferably in the morning. You don’t need to get all European and sunbathe naked in the park, but go out with at least bare arms and face, sans sunscreen.
You’re a Sugar Addict
Cupcakes, cookies, Starbuck’s Java Chip Frappuccino… Are you drooling yet? Sorry! As tasty as it may be, sugar acts like a drug in the brain by activating our reward pathways.
While eating sugar in small quantities is not such a big deal, we’re generally not eating small quantities. The World Health Organization recommends that we only get 5% of our calorie intake from sugar or about 25 grams or 5 teaspoons.
But most folks are eating between 3 to 5 times that much! At 39 grams or nearly eight teaspoons of sugar, a single 12 oz. can of soda puts you way over the daily limit.
But most folks are eating between 3 to 5 times that much! At 39 grams or nearly eight teaspoons of sugar, a single 12 oz. can of soda puts you way over the daily limit.
When you eat too much processed, refined sugar your blood sugar levels spike far beyond a normal range, leading to that sugar rush feeling. Your brain’s reward centers light up like a Christmas tree, and you get a surge of that feel-good neurotransmitter, dopamine.
But this high is shortly followed by a crash as insulin rushes in to level out your blood sugar. Consequently, your mood and energy levels plummet and you’re left searching for your next hit. This cycle leads to intense mood disturbances, low energy, and cravings.
The Quick Fix
Phase out sugary drinks. This includes soda, fruit juice, and those beloved frappuccinos. Sometimes it’s easier to take it slow by swapping one sugar-loaded beverage per day for water and then slowly upping the ante as you get used to it.
That way you’ll avoid some of the cravings and headaches that can happen when you cut it out all at once. This alone can cut your sugar intake significantly.
You’re a Couch Potato
If your weekend plans include binge watching Orange is the New Black and hanging out with your cat and a bottle of wine, you may want to reconsider (Even though that sounds awesome!).
A study published in BMC Public Health found that there may be a link between a sedentary lifestyle and increased risk of anxiety. Regular exercise also helps ward off depression and keeps your brain healthy.
Harvard researchers Jefferson Prince and Shelley Carson reported that
exercise is as effective as antidepressants.”
Some scientists have even gone so far as to say,
Sitting is the new smoking!”
If you work in an office or are tethered to your laptop, though, sitting for hours a day can be tough to avoid. But if your mental health is on the line, it may be time to get moving.
The Quick Fix
Move your butt! I’ve got a FitBit, which is just a watch that tracks my steps and heart rate. It’s a seemingly silly piece of technology, but it reminds me to walk more and lets me set step goals. Alternatively, try playing Pokemon Go. Holy moly, guys! I’m averaging like 20,000 steps a day with that game. It’s ridiculous.
You’re Not Sleeping
Whether it’s work, your lively social life, or an unstoppable urge to find the best cat GIF the internet has to offer that keeps you up at night, sleep can often be hard to come by. While a night or two of less than ideal sleep might not matter so much, in the long run, regularly getting less than about 7 hours can start to mess with your mood.
Dr. Alex Korb, neuroscientist, and author, shares in his book The Upward Spiral, that
Mentally, poor sleep worsens your mood, lowers your pain threshold, and interferes with learning and memory. It also diminishes your ability to concentrate and makes you more impulsive. Physically, it increases blood pressure, elevates stress, and harms the immune system.”
Long story short, sleep is crucial to mental health.
The Quick Fix
Only use your bed for sleep and sex. Your bed isn’t the best place to watch TV, surf the internet, or read, despite how comfy it may be. If you only use your bed for sleep, this will train your brain to start readying your body for sleep when you get under the covers.
Keep the lights low and your phone out of sight. On top of that, you can try the 4-7-8 breathing technique to help you fall asleep faster.
You’re the Queen of Clutter
So what if you’ve got a stack of old magazines under your bed? You’re gonna make a vision board out of them! You’re not a goo hoarder; you need all those lipsticks and body lotions for particular occasions. And maybe you never wear that sweater, but it was a gift from grandma! How could you possibly give it away?
All this clutter comes at a cost, though. Cluttered spaces can distract you with too much stimuli, make you feel like your work is never done, burden you with guilt that you’re not more organized, and prevent you from finding what you need, which wastes precious time.
On top of that, a study run by UCLA’s Center on Everyday Lives of Families (CELF), found that women with messy or disorganized homes had chronically higher stress levels, marked by abnormally high cortisol levels. When left unchecked, chronic stress can lead to depression and anxiety.
The Quick Fix
Marie Kondo, Japanese organizing consultant and author of the popular The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, advises that you take a two-pronged approach to culling the clutter.
First, pick up everything you own and ask yourself if it sparks joy. If it doesn’t, thank it for its service and either toss it or give it away.
Second, once you’ve cleared out the less-than-joyful items, with only those truly sparkling pieces left, choose a place for each that is visible, accessible, and easy to put away. You’ll be amazed at how much you don’t need and at exactly how much brain space that clutter was taking up!
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