More than a century ago, Harvard psychologist Walter Bradford Cannon drew people's attention to the relationship between the mind and the body when he described the physiological changes in the body during the fight-or-flight response.
Forty years later, the endocrinologist Hans Selye expanded on Cannon's work by describing the general coping with stress, during which he touched on the impact of stress on the physiological systems of the body during the various stages: alarm, resistance, physical exhaustion (and even death) if the stress factor exceeds the body's ability.
The details of the mind-body relationship continue to emerge. New studies and research shed light on this phenomenon in great detail. A wealth of data, including connections between anxiety and physical pain, depression and heart disease, and depression and anxiety with enteritis, confirms the interrelationship between mind and body.
With clear indications that stress is permeating the body at the cellular level, you need to take care of your mental health today to improve your mental and physical health.
The impact of stress on cells
In 2018, biologist Martin Picard and neuroendocrinologist Bruce McEwen unveiled the possible causes of the close relationship between body and mind that reaches even the level of cells and found that stress affects the cell's energy factories, also known as mitochondria.
These tiny organelles produce energy in almost every cell in the body (except red blood cells), and when the cell's energy-production process is damaged, the entire body is harmed. Tension accumulates at the cellular level smoothly because these energy factories interact closely with each other inside the cell.
At first, mitochondria try to correct cellular changes caused by stress, but they may be defeated and forced to surrender. As a result of this tension-induced cellular numbness, toxic free radicals accumulate and cause cellular DNA damage. In contrast, when mitochondria cannot produce the energy needed by the cell, the body suffers from a series of diseases, such as fatigue, skin diseases, heart disease, accelerated aging, and others.
Stress strongly affects the bodies of patients. For example, some people may experience the rapid development of dementia after the death of a loved one, and some may develop Parkinson's disease. It is clear that psychological stress eventually harms the body, and the mitochondrial hypothesis explains why.
Five Steps to Improve Mind-Body Connection and Combat Cell Fatigue
Consider the following as ways to reset the mind-body relationship to improve your health:
1. Practice mindfulness-based stress-relief exercises
Mindfulness practices can be helpful when effectively controlling stress and seeing results at the cellular level. To practice mindfulness, close your eyes, focus your attention on your breath, ignore the thoughts that come to your mind, and if your attention drifts away, gently return it to your breath. Studies indicate that mindfulness may have many effects on your body as well, as it may change your brain's response to stress, reduce the secretion of some stress hormones, and thus protect the mitochondria.
2. Practice Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental meditation has been shown to reduce the burden of stress. Practicing this style requires a trainer and repeating a short phrase more than once. If you get distracted, you repeat it. Transcendental meditation reduces stress, depression, and fatigue. At the cellular level, it may also reduce oxidative stress that damages cells.
3. Enjoy nature
When you feel stressed, one of the most essential steps you should take immediately is to distance yourself from your current environment. Go on a short vacation because free time and rest distract people from stress and improve their mood. Interestingly, vacations can change gene expression and enhance the function of the immune system and the body's ability to deal with stress. Wandering in green spaces also resets the connection between your mind and body, clears your mind, lowers your stress levels, and reduces your cortisol level, which is one of the stress hormones that affect mitochondria.
4. Take a break
Take a 15-minute break at work to regain your energy, or use one of the methods of not concentrating. One of the techniques for not concentrating is to take a nap for up to 15 minutes, which may improve your concentration for up to three hours. Napping can be helpful, especially if you did not sleep well the night before, because lack of sleep negatively affects the mitochondrial DNA, and napping may reduce the effect of cortisol on the mitochondria, which causes stress.
5. Nutrition of cells
Although it has become known to everyone, do not forget that eating healthy and exercising are necessary to reduce stress. Obesity caused by a bad diet can harm the health of the mitochondria, and having a lot of sugar causes similar effects.
Moderate calorie restriction may improve the body's defense against oxidizing agents and relieve oxidative stress, thus protecting the mitochondria. In addition, taking a break for exercise (such as brisk walking) in the middle of your day may also boost the health of the mitochondria.
In conclusion
Think about what you might do to each of your body cells if you don't try hard to relieve the stressors in your life. You are endangering your future health if you don't immediately take action. It is important to remember that the mind-body connection affects each other and can cause serious problems if it is not balanced. When it is healthy, it can promote harmony in a previously stressful life.
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