From Nutrition, movement, sleep and stress are intimately connected and their balance is vital to overall wellbeing. Often if one is considerably out of line the others will be negatively affected too. For example, a poor night’s sleep will predispose to eating less well, decrease stress threshold and will make you less likely to engage in physical activity the following day. Likewise, if you happen to have a few days of inadequate diet, this might affect your sleep and the domino effect is in place again. Signalling a threat and triggering a systemic stress response and inflammation which if chronically elevated may lead to health problems further down the line.
Nutrition
In short, nutrition is the study of nutrients in food, how the body utilises them and the relationship between what we eat, health and disease.
This umbrella term mainly comprises of macronutrients: proteins, fats and carbohydrates providing building blocks and energy, whilst micronutrients: vitamins, minerals and other compounds, ensure optimal running and communication of the body systems. The right balance of all those nutrients is required for health. For example, if protein intake is severely restricted all systems faulter (think poverty in Africa). Having inadequate vitamin D levels negatively affect our bones, teeth, and immune system. Magnesium plays a role in muscle and nerve function, blood pressure and glucose regulation. Magnesium is also involved in bone and DNA synthesis to name but a few.
So why is choosing and knowing what to eat is more important now than ever?
- Because we are surrounded by addictive ultra-processed foods, high in energy and low in essential nutrients.
- Because excessive ultra-processed food consumption can lead to malnourishment and overweight at the same time – perfect environment for disease development.
- Because preventable, chronic diseases have skyrocketed and are not medically treatable.
- Because the food industry does not have our best interest at heart.
- Finally, to ensure optimal nutrient supply in the current food climate.
Choosing real, ‘nutrient – dense’ foods is the best insurance policy against modern disease.
Movement
Movement has always been essential to our survival and occurs naturally and frequently, think hunter-gatherer. For a lot of people modern living lacks in adequate physical activity due to the convenience afforded by progress. Organised exercise is great for correcting the lack of daily movement we used to all experience. Ultimately, not everyone enjoys or has the time to frequent the gym or fitness classes. If prescriptive and organised training is not for you, remember any and all movement matters.
Walk, walk, walk whenever and wherever possible. Standing at your desk, taking stairs instead of lifts, gardening, cycling, household chores will all add up and have a positive impact on your general wellbeing. Physical activity has a powerful effect on our biochemistry and here are some well documented benefits.
Physical activity has a powerful effect on our biochemistry and here are some well documented benefits.
- It reduces the risk of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, dementias, and cancers.
- It improves sleep quality.
- It reduces stress and anxiety.
- It reduces blood pressure.
- It reduces inflammation which has a negative effect all-over the body if chronically elevated.
- It improves muscle and bone strength essential in independent daily activities especially apparent in older age.
So go on, frequently and consistently weave movement into your daily routine, embrace discomfort and remember convenience is not always a friend. And if you haven’t yet, try to find the activity that gives you joy and movement all at the same time.
“If you are in a bad mood go for a walk. If you are still in a bad mood go for another walk.”
Hippocrates
Stress
Stress is a natural response of an organism to a stimulus which pushes it out of balance (homeostasis). It is a highly conserved, protective mechanism essential to our survival. Whilst we mainly hear about mental stress, physical and physiological (biochemical) stressors are also experienced daily.
Physical stress is stimulated by exercise, extreme temperatures, injury, infection, chronic sleep deprivation and so on, mental stress can be caused by any of the above as well as stressful life events. Stress mobilises our nervous, endocrine (hormones like adrenaline) and immune systems so that we can quickly move out of harm’s way, recover from a workout, illness, or deal with a tricky life situation.
Biochemical stress has to do with substances in our environment that are toxic to our cells. Pollution, household chemicals, smoking, alcohol, medications, and inadequate nutrition are the main contributors. Any persistent and chronic stress will generally affect all organ systems including cardiovascular, respiratory, endocrine, gastrointestinal, nervous, muscular, and reproductive and if left unchecked may lead to the development of any number of chronic diseases including diabetes, autoimmunity, cancer and neurodegeneration. Low level, transient stress is normal and nothing to worry about. Only when the system is overwhelmed a triggering or aggravation of pathological conditions may occur.
It is helpful to be aware of all the potential types of stress triggers in our environment, this will allow for avoidance and mitigation wherever possible. Providing nutrition and sleep are optimised daily mental stress can be managed with mindfulness and attitude adjustment. Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) is one of many successful tools used for stress and anxiety management. Whenever possible biochemical and environmental stress should be physically removed. Aim for non-toxic household products and consider air and water filtration.
Sleep
Sleep plays a vital role in our mental and physical wellbeing. During waking hours our bodily machinery is hard at work processing the plentiful inputs of daily life. When we sleep biochemical ‘housekeeping’ processes take place and learning and memories are consolidated. The old and dysfunctional cells get repaired or replaced resulting in unwanted waste products, which are either recycled or processed for excretion. Lack of good quality sleep will interfere with this essential process overtime leading to cognitive decline but also physical decline.
A lack of high-quality sleep will negatively affect our mood, cognition, appetite, immune and cardiovascular function. Chronically insufficient sleep affects physiology so much so that it works against rather than for us. For children and teenagers, sleep is also crucial for growth and development.
Be sure to prioritise quality sleep, always helped by adequate nutrition, movement, stress management and of course sleep hygiene.