Mental and physical health relationship

The relationship between physical and mental health: A mediation analysis

. 2017 Dec;195:42-49.

doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.11.008. Epub 2017 Nov 8.

Julius Ohrnberger¹, Eleonora Fichera², Matt Sutton³

Affiliations

¹ Manchester Centre for Health Economics, University of Manchester, United Kingdom. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Economics, University of Bath, United Kingdom.
³ Manchester Centre for Health Economics, University of Manchester, United Kingdom.

PMID: 29132081
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.11.008

Free article

Julius Ohrnberger et al. Soc Sci Med. 2017 Dec.

Free article

. 2017 Dec;195:42-49.

doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.11.008. Epub 2017 Nov 8.

Authors

Julius Ohrnberger¹, Eleonora Fichera², Matt Sutton³

Affiliations

¹ Manchester Centre for Health Economics, University of Manchester, United Kingdom. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Economics, University of Bath, United Kingdom.
³ Manchester Centre for Health Economics, University of Manchester, United Kingdom.

PMID: 29132081
DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.11.008

Abstract

There is a strong link between mental health and physical health, but little is known about the pathways from one to the other. We analyse the direct and indirect effects of past mental health on present physical health and past physical health on present mental health using lifestyle choices and social capital in a mediation framework. We use data on 10,693 individuals aged 50 years and over from six waves (2002-2012) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Mental health is measured by the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES) and physical health by the Activities of Daily Living (ADL). We find significant direct and indirect effects for both forms of health, with indirect effects explaining 10% of the effect of past mental health on physical health and 8% of the effect of past physical health on mental health. Physical activity is the largest contributor to the indirect effects. There are stronger indirect effects for males in mental health (9.9%) and for older age groups in mental health (13.6%) and in physical health (12.6%). Health policies aiming at changing physical and mental health need to consider not only the direct cross-effects but also the indirect cross-effects between mental health and physical health.

Keywords: Mediation analysis; Mental health; Older population; Physical health; UK.

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MeSH terms

How it Affects Your Physical Health

Written by WebMD Editorial Contributors

Medically Reviewed by Dan Brennan, MD on March 29, 2021

Effects of Mental Health on Physical Health

Your mental health plays a huge role in your general well-being. Being in a good mental state can keep you healthy and help prevent serious health conditions. A study found that positive psychological well-being can reduce the risks of heart attacks and strokes.

On the other hand, poor mental health can lead to poor physical health or harmful behaviors.

Chronic diseases. Depression has been linked to many chronic illnesses. These illnesses include diabetes, asthma, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and arthritis.

Schizophrenia has also been linked to a higher risk of heart and respiratory diseases.

Mental health conditions can also make dealing with a chronic illness more difficult. The mortality rate from cancer and heart disease is higher among people with depression or other mental health conditions.

‌Sleep problems. People with mental health conditions are more likely to suffer from sleep disorders, like insomnia or sleep apnea. Insomnia can make it hard to fall asleep or stay asleep. Sleep apnea leads to breathing problems, which can cause you to wake up frequently.

‌Around 50% to 80% of people with mental health conditions will also have sleeping problems. Only 10% to 18% of the general population experience sleeping problems.

While conditions like depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder may lead to sleep problems, sleep problems can also make existing mental health conditions worse.

Smoking. People with mental health conditions are more likely to smoke than those who do not have mental health conditions. Among smokers, people with mental health conditions are more likely to smoke a greater number of cigarettes.

People with depression have lower levels of the chemical dopamine. Dopamine influences positive feelings in your brain. The nicotine in cigarettes triggers the production of the chemical dopamine, so smoking may be used as a way to relieve symptoms of depression.

However, since nicotine only offers temporary relief, you may feel a recurring need to smoke, which may lead to possible addiction.

‌Access to health care. People with mental health conditions are less likely to have access to adequate health care.

It may also be more difficult for people with mental health conditions to take care of their physical health When you have a mental health condition, it can be hard to seek care, take prescriptions regularly, or get enough exercise.

Physical Health Conditions That May Affect Mental Health

Your physical well-being also has an impact on your mental health. People with physical health conditions may also develop mental health conditions.

Psoriasis is a dermatological condition characterized by painful red sores on the skin. It is associated with acute stress and depression.

Individuals with psoriasis experience emotional and psychological distress that negatively impacts their overall health and quality of life. Stress and depression mainly come from anxiety, stigma, and rejection.

Being diagnosed with cancer or having a heart attack can also lead to feelings of depression or anxiety. Around one-third of people with serious medical conditions will have symptoms of depression, such as low mood, sleep problems, and a loss of interest in activities.

How to Take Care of Your Mental and Physical Health

If you want to improve your general well-being, you should take care of both your physical and mental health.

Here are some ways to take care of yourself physically and mentally:

Get regular exercise. Exercise is important for keeping physically fit, but it can also help improve your mood. A daily 10-minute walk may increase your mental alertness leaving you energetic and in a good mood.
Eat a proper diet. A diet high in fruits and vegetables and low in processed sugars or fats can make you feel better physically and mentally. Consider working with a qualified nutritionist to help you create a diet plan customized according to your needs.
Avoid alcohol and drugs. Although drinking and smoking may make you feel better in the short term, they can have a negative effect on both your physical and mental health.
Get enough sleep. A good night’s sleep is around seven to nine hours for adults. You can also take a 30-minute nap during the day to feel more alert.
Try relaxation techniques. Meditation, deep breathing, and focusing your thoughts can all help when you are feeling stressed.
Develop good mental practices. Try to focus on positive emotions and events rather than negative ones.
Seek help from others. Talking with friends or family members can help you feel less stressed. Getting others to help with difficult situations can also reduce the burden you feel.

Mental health and a positive attitude to life - St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution of Healthcare Dermatovenerologic Dispensary No. 11

Prevention activities in St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution of Healthcare No. 11

Mental health (mental health) - according to the definition of the World Health Organization, this is a state of well-being in which a person can realize their own potential, cope with the normal stresses of life, work productively and fruitfully, and contribute to their community.

In this positive sense, mental health is the foundation of well-being and effective functioning for the individual and for the community.

The World Health Organization identifies the following criteria for mental health:

awareness and sense of continuity, constancy and identity of one's physical and mental "I".
feeling of constancy and identity of experiences in similar situations.
criticality to oneself and one's own mental production (activity) and its results.
compliance of mental reactions (adequacy) with the strength and frequency of environmental influences, social circumstances and situations.
the ability to self-manage behavior in accordance with social norms, rules, laws.
the ability to plan one's own life and implement these plans.
the ability to change the way of behavior depending on the change in life situations and circumstances.

Normal mental health refers to the harmonious development of the psyche, corresponding to the age, age norm of a given person. A favorable functional state is considered as a complex of characteristics and functions that ensure the effective fulfillment by a person of the tasks facing him in various spheres of life. One of the leading indicators of the functional state of the psyche is mental performance, which integrates the main characteristics of the psyche - perception, attention, memory, etc.

High mental performance is one of the main indicators of mental health and an important indicator of a favorable functional state of the body as a whole.

Highlighting the psychological problems that people face in the workplace and informing them how to cope with them helps to increase resilience and improve a person's mental health.

We invite you to get acquainted with the recommendations of doctors on how to be happy at work.

Wake up earlier than – at least one hour before leaving home for work, enjoy some time for yourself before the busy day starts. Give yourself time to quietly eat breakfast, go for a run, or do whatever will help you start your day on a positive note. Nothing will help you improve your mood as much as the thought that you have done something pleasant for yourself.
Dress well. When you leave the house in a good mood and ready to work, then you are on your way to a successful day. Good appearance will give you pleasure. Even if you are very tired from work, take a look in the mirror, pull yourself together and energize yourself by starting the day right.

3. Leave your personal problems at home . It's hard to be happy at work if you're having fights, health concerns, or household chores, so it's important to learn to put your problems aside and try to work through them in your free time. Do not solve your personal problems during the working day. If you try to solve your problems and try to work at the same time, you will have a double stress, as you will worry about how to find time to do both.

4. Come to work early . Rushing and being late will minimize your chances of having a good day at work. If you come to work late, you will always be running out of time. Therefore, we recommend leaving the house early.

Greet your colleagues when you come to work. As soon as you walk through the door, greet as many colleagues as possible before the start of the work day. So you will feel a surge of energy. You may be nervous, rushed, or just annoyed, but isolating yourself from your co-workers won't make your job enjoyable. Instead, be friendly, even if your mood is not at all like that.

6. Organize your workplace to your taste . The employer provides the minimum working conditions necessary for the employee, and your task is to provide yourself with maximum comfort and convenience. When organizing your workplace, everything matters: color scheme, ergonomics, details, and even the chair on which you have to sit for several hours a day. And here it makes sense to compete for your convenience. Surround yourself with pleasant little things: bright details, personal items, a photo of a loved one, unless, of course, this is excluded by the company's rules. A piece of home comfort gives a person a sense of security and psychological comfort.

7. Complete simple tasks as quickly as possible . If possible, immediately complete the tasks that are required of you. Remember that any completed business brings a sense of completion, and, as a result, job satisfaction.

8. Be proud of your work . Whatever work you do, be proud of the contribution you make. Even if you think most of your work is monotonous, find something to be proud of.

9. Be physically active at work . Even if you constantly sit at your desk or stand in the same position, there are plenty of exercises that can help you increase your physical activity during your work day. It will energize you and make you feel better. You can walk to work instead of transport, take the stairs instead of the elevator, go to an employee's office to ask a question instead of making a phone call.

Tidy up your workplace . All things on your desktop should be neatly folded, so that you do not have to waste your time looking for this or that document. The desktop document box will help you distribute your tasks for today, for the week, until the end of the month. Set aside just 10 minutes a day to organize your workplace, and you will feel how much easier it will be for you to enjoy your work.
Take breaks . If you want to be happier in your workplace, you need to periodically take time off from work. Research shows that it's important to take small breaks every hour: step away from your computer or any other task you're doing at the moment, rest your eyes, stretch, take a walk. Going out for some fresh air from time to time will help you feel happier throughout your work day.
Avoid multitasking . If you think that by doing several tasks at the same time, you will be able to finish your work faster, you are wrong. It will only slow you down. If you end your work day with all tasks left unfinished, you will have a greater sense of incompleteness than if you completed a few tasks. It helps to make a to-do list at the beginning of the working day and then cross off completed tasks from it.
Stay away from gangs . It is especially important to avoid groups between employees: negativity will reduce your energy, block joy and positive thoughts. At work, be friendly with everyone, instead of joining a group of three or four people and alienating others. Try to maintain good relations with everyone, regardless of social status and position on the corporate ladder, and your joy from being at work will increase.
Don't neglect your meal times . Use your lunch time to relax and eat, not work. This will give you energy for further activities. Treat yourself to light and healthy snacks throughout the day: fruits, nuts, unsweetened yogurt, etc. They will cheer you up and increase your productivity.
Smile! Even if you feel irritated and unfulfilled in your workplace, try to smile! It has been proven to improve mood and make you feel happier. If you are unhappy with everything, constantly complaining or speaking negatively to your colleagues, you are guaranteed to feel even worse.
Find meaning in your work. One important way to feel happier at work is to find meaning in it. If you have difficulty finding meaning, then your work will be filled with boredom and monotony, and this is tiring.
Think about the people who need you . When you're upset at work, take a short break and think about the people you help or depend on you for. Consider what will happen if you don't show up for work. Someone may suffer from this or will not know what to do. Remind yourself of how valuable you are every time doubts about your work begin to creep into your soul.
Reward yourself for a job well done . Not only your productivity is important, but also your psychological health. If you want to be happy at work, give yourself small gifts for successful work days. Find those moments that motivate you to finish work quickly and efficiently and use them as gifts after completing difficult tasks. Rewards will also ensure that you expect something out of the ordinary during a busy day, and you can work more energetically and efficiently.
Make time for your friends and family . No matter how busy you are, it's important to make time for the people closest to you. If you spend all your energy on work, you will not be able to stop and enjoy life. You will feel better at work if your personal life is filled with love, family values and strong friendships.

The main thing is to persevere towards your goal, and remember that happiness at work, at home or anywhere else depends only on you! Happiness is your way of thinking and conscious decisions. Take care of yourself!

Chief Physician of St. Petersburg GBUZ KVD No. 11 D.G. Borukhovich

Mental health is the basis of human health

A healthy person is the most precious product of nature.

Thomas Carlyle.

Health is a special gift that is given to a person from birth, and by no means to everyone. Everyone knows about the need to take care of their health, but few people know that health, as a state, goes beyond the physical state.

Mental health is an important component of a person's overall health. This is due to the fact that all elements of the body are interconnected with each other and are under constant control of the nervous system. It is for this reason that the state of the human psyche affects the activity of all body systems, and their state affects the human psyche.

Mental health is a state of psychological and social well-being in which a person realizes his potential, effectively resists life's difficulties and stress, carries out productive conscious activities and contributes to the development of society. First of all, this is realized due to the stable, adequate functioning of the psyche, as well as the main mental cognitive processes: memory, attention, thinking.

It is an indisputable fact that mental health is an individual phenomenon.

Different people may experience different levels of stress while performing the same activity, this is especially noticeable in children. For example, the learning process can cause one child to have very high stress, while another makes little or no effort. Accordingly, one child will need a recovery period, while the other will not.

What characterizes mental health?

1. Ability to build relationships with others. These relationships are mostly positive, trusting (with a narrow circle of people). The same category includes the ability to love - to accept a person as he is, to avoid idealization and unreasonable claims, to effectively resolve conflict situations, the ability not only to take, but also to give. This applies not only to marital relations, but also to parent-child relationships.

2. Desire and ability to work. This is not only a professional activity, but also creativity, a contribution to society. Creating something that is valuable for the individual, his family, society is important for a mentally healthy person.

3. Autonomy. A healthy person does not do what he does not want to do. He independently makes a choice and bears responsibility for it, does not suffer from addiction, does not try to compensate for the lack of control over one of the spheres of life by hypercontrol in another.

4. Understanding ethical standards. First of all, a healthy person is aware of the meaning and the need to follow them, but is flexible in this regard - in certain circumstances, he can afford to change his line of behavior (within reason).

5. Emotional stability. It is expressed in the ability to endure the intensity of emotions - to feel them without allowing them to control oneself. In all circumstances, be in contact with the mind.

6. Flexibility in the application of protective mechanisms. Each person faces unfavorable life circumstances and, being the bearer of such a delicate construct as the psyche, uses the means of its protection. A healthy person chooses effective methods and in different situations makes a choice in favor of the most suitable one.

7. Ability to reflect. Turn to yourself in time, analyze the causes of certain events in your own life, understand how to proceed and what it will entail - these skills also distinguish a healthy person.

8. Adequate self-esteem. One of the components of mental health is a realistic self-assessment, self-perception of oneself according to actual character traits and characteristics, an attitude towards oneself with warmth, a real understanding of the weaknesses and strengths of character.

Rules for maintaining mental health

1. Nutrition is the basis of physical health, which, as we found out, has an impact on the psyche. Excess food, foods containing a large amount of sugar, fat, as well as provoking hormonal imbalance in the body can quite significantly affect the mental state. A number of diseases are known that provoke emotional instability - pathologies of the thyroid gland and the metabolism of its hormones, reproductive diseases, heart disease, etc., and in this case it is very difficult to remain calm and analyze one's own thoughts and behavior.

2. Physical activity. Full-fledged sports allow you to saturate the body, and, importantly, the brain with oxygen, cause the release of “happiness” hormones, tune in the right way and eliminate the depressed state.

3. Overcoming addictions. First of all, obvious physical ones - smoking, alcohol abuse, even in some cases unnecessary "automatisms" - all this has no place in the life of a healthy person. Here you need to act very carefully, possibly with the help of a specialist, especially if the addiction has become stable and pronounced.

Psychological addictions are more complex connections, therefore they also require the intervention of a specialist. As a rule, they are represented by painful relationships with another person.

4. Stress resistant. Stress management is part of the item on learning to control oneself and emotional manifestations, however, it is separated into a separate category, since it also includes training in relaxation techniques. What is the point if a person understands what events caused certain emotions in him, if he cannot do anything with these events? It is only in his power to effectively resist adverse factors, and this is the key to success.

5. Compliance with the regime of work and rest. Always find the possibility of a break in a full and concentrated activity. When it is impossible to rest, find the opportunity to change the type of activity, which will provide rest to the brain. Give yourself a weekend. This time should be used to change activities.

6. Ensuring conditions for good sleep. If there are signs of sleep disturbance, seek immediate medical attention.

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Mental and physical health relationship

The relationship between physical and mental health: A mediation analysis

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Authors

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Abstract

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Cited by

MeSH terms

How it Affects Your Physical Health

In this Article

Effects of Mental Health on Physical Health

Physical Health Conditions That May Affect Mental Health

How to Take Care of Your Mental and Physical Health

Mental health and a positive attitude to life - St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution of Healthcare Dermatovenerologic Dispensary No. 11

Mental health is the basis of human health