Lifestyle medicine and mental health

Many consider Lifestyle Medicine (LMM) to be a relatively new specialty. However, Hippocrates, the “Father of Medicine”, already advocated the importance of a balanced diet and physical exercise. It was in the 1980s and 90s that it began to formalize itself as a medical discipline, with rapid growth and development in scientific society.

The choices we make throughout our lives have a direct impact on our health and the way we age. Based on scientific evidence, MEV uses therapeutic interventions aimed at people’s lifestyle habits to prevent, treat and reverse non-communicable diseases. MEV has six pillars of action: mental well-being and stress management, the importance of healthy social relationships, physical activity, nutrition and healthy eating, good sleep hygiene and avoiding exposure to harmful substances and/or addictive behaviors.

We live in a fast-paced society where the constant search for productivity and success generates high levels of stress. The demands of work, constant updating and training, social and family pressures, coupled with a lack of time and self-care, create an environment conducive to cognitive fatigue in which mental balance becomes increasingly difficult to achieve.

Stress isn’t just limited to emotional stress, it also involves: unbalanced diet, bad habits (smoking, alcohol, poor sleep hygiene, sedentary lifestyle…), a polluted environment, stressful social relationships – everything in between that can affect our well-being. Being in a constant state of chronic stress is switching on our body’s “flight or fight” mode, which in the short, medium and long term can have harmful consequences for our health, such as increasing cortisol (the stress hormone) and increasing the risk of cardiovascular, metabolic and even oncological diseases. It’s important to find a balance in order to find and optimize ways to slow down, cultivate well-being and reconnect with what really matters and satisfies you.

While it is inevitable that we all experience stress, what we can do is change the way we deal with the factors that trigger it. An essential step in doing this is to increase your self-awareness of how stress affects you and how you react to it.

• Meditate and practice mindfulness: learn and invest in meditation techniques, you can use books or certified facilitators;
• Be physically active: promote physical activity and reduce sedentary lifestyles, thus improving your well-being. You don’t need to spend hours in a gym, there are studies that show the benefits of physical activity in just 10 minutes a day (for example, walking);
• Invest in your support network: keep in touch and spend quality time with friends and family. Invest in enjoyable social relationships;
• Think positive: study the importance of positive psychology and bring its foundations into your life;
• Limit the use of cell phones, television and social networks;

• In a society where everything is a priority except rest, prioritize your self-care and a good night’s sleep;
• Eat well! A balanced diet will help you stay focused and retain the information you learn better. Maintaining good oral hydration is necessary to avoid dehydration, fatigue and poor concentration. Here, individual supplementation can also help your cognitive performance.

Investing in emotional well-being promotes quality of life, balance and a better relationship with yourself and others.

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