My prescription.

Let me start first by saying that individuals should not stop or alter their medical treatment plans without first discussing it with their healthcare provider. Secondly, I am not against the use of pharmaceutical treatments - when used appropriately, they can be a useful tool in improving the health of an individual.

Now, with the disclaimers out of the way...

The other day I read an article on Yahoo news, which discusses recent research about sleep and the processing of emotions. It's an interesting read - if you have a few minutes you should check it out. But the basic gist of it is that current research suggests sleep is important in the process of emotional regulation. During sleep, the mind reviews and files away the events of the day, and in doing so it processes the emotional aspect of the experience as well. They also looked at the role of sleep and rest as it relates to an individual's ability to recognize social emotional cues. In this particular study, researchers provided some people with naps and kept some awake, and then all participants were asked to decipher facial expressions of people in pictures. The people with more rest (specifically those who had achieved REM sleep) were more readily able to recognize positive emotions, and those without the additional sleep were more sensitive to negative emotions.

Interesting, right? But maybe it shouldn't be news - maybe this should be common sense.

I have been dealing with depression since my mid-teens. In my early twenties I began antidepressant therapy, and it helped me immensely. I was able to get a leg up in life. Getting my depression under control was the first step in getting my life back under control. After seeking treatment for depression, I was able to remedy other problems in my life. I got out of an unhealthy relationship. I joined Weight Watchers and lost weight, and I became more physically active. I began to feel good about myself. As I became more attuned to the nuances of my physical and mental self, I began to recognize my triggers for feeling low. My mom (a wise woman, always with good sound advice), suggested that to stay healthy, I monitor three things: food, sleep, and exercise. I took that advice to heart, and it works amazingly well. I find that if I'm feeling gloomy or physically run-down, generally I'm falling short in one of those three areas. I took the antidepressants for about a year, and it was a tremendous help. However, I am now able to manage my emotional health by managing my physical health. (Though if I ever felt as though I needed more help, I would certainly see my doctor about getting back on medication.)

I share this personal information for several reasons. First, I believe that mental health is important to talk about. We need to get rid of the stigma around these issues and start talking. If we don't know, then we can't help. Second, my personal experience strongly colors my views on health and wellness. Third, body and mind are connected. Interconnected. In western medicine, for some strange reason we separate them into two different entities, though we should know better. Each is entirely dependent on the other, and each can affect the other.

Watch television for a few hours, and see what kind of ads you see for medications and treatments - you know, the "ask your doctor if the purple pill is right for you" kind of ads. I'd lay money that two of the most common issues you'll see are weight control and depression. I believe that this isn't a coincidence. I believe that these are symptoms of a bigger issue in America. Our lifestyles have become extremely sedentary, and so many of our food options are in high quantity and low nutritional quality. What we have gained in the name of convenience, we have lost in quality of life. Our bodies are built to retain excess calories taken in - our early ancstors used to burn every calorie they consumed just procuring their next meal. Our bodies are built for work - work we're no longer doing.

Losing weight is hard. In our culture, food is everywhere. In all cultures, food is used to celebrate, to connect with others. And overeating is a difficult addictive behavior to break, because unlike smoking or drinking or gambling, you can't quit eating altogether. You have to eat to live, so you must alter the behavior rather than extinguish it. But it can be done.

The reason I bring up weight management and depression in the same discussion is because there is a treatment that can help with both: Exercise. Research has shown repetedly that physical activity can alleviate symptoms of depression¹². And as we all know, the basic science for weight loss is to move more and eat less.

I am not saying that everyone on antidepressants should give up their medication and start jogging. There are great benefits from these drugs, and they help people. There are some people who are going to need pharmaceutical treatment, period, and there's nothing wrong with that. Let's compare it to another health issue, like high cholesterol. Everyone could take Lipitor and reduce their cholesterol. But we could also alter our diet and increase our physical activity and reduce our cholesterol that way. Some people, just because of their particular body and the way it works, will not be able to get their cholesterol down far enough with diet and exercise, and may still need to take the drug. But, even if they need to continue the drug therapy, they will benefit from the diet modification and increased activity. In my opinion, same could go with mild to moderate depression. Everyone with depression could treat it with medication and get results. If we add regular physical activity, some of those people could probably achieve good results without the meds. And some people, because of their body and the way it works, will need the medication even with the activity. But whether or not you wind up needing the medication, you will benefit from the exercise.

Whe I chose the above example, I didn't realize until I was typing it out that it is another health issue which can be modified with diet and exercise. What others are there?

blood pressure - improve by lowering body weight, decreasing salt and caffiene intake. (mayoclinic.com)
type II diabetes - manage by decreasing body weight, modifying diet to decrease volume of processed sugars, increasing activity. (interesting side note - exercise helps the body to improve its use of glucose (sugar/fuel). Insulin is a hormone that helps the body's cells to take in glucose, which is what they use for fuel. During physical activity, glucose is more easily taken up by the cells, which lowers levels of sugar in the blood. (diabetesjournals.org)
arthritis - regular, low impact physical activity has been shown to decrease pain and improve mobility in arthritis (uw orthopaedics and sports medicine)
stroke - exercise and healthy diet decrease risk
heart disease - exercise and healthy diet decrease risk
cancer - healthy diet and exercise can help decrease risk for some forms of cancer

All of this leads me to my own personal mantra for health:

Food, exercise, rest.

Food: eat foods that have nutritional value. Limit the intake of highly processed foods, high fat and high sugar items, and decrease the quantity of everything.
Exercise: get moving. Move every day. Get the heart rate up and the body sweating.
Rest: get enough sleep. Schedule it in, make it a priority.

I'll get down off my soapbox now. I know most of this isn't groundbreaking stuff, but I have to admit - it was for me. This changed my life. I'm happier, healthier, and stronger than I was. I hope my exceedingly long post may help someone - anyone, to take a hand in improving their own health.


1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2192427
2. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/depression-and-exercise/mh00043