Healthy Diet
In the last chapter, we talked about how poor diet choices can contribute to anxiety. One thing that many people aren’t always told, however, is how diet can actually help to reduce anxiety symptoms. In an era where people are finally becoming more conscious of the role of diet in their overall physical and mental health, it is important to examine this link and how making better dietary choices can have a positive impact on your symptoms.
There are many ways that your diet can impact your mood, both for the better and the worse. For example, staying properly hydrated can help ensure that your body is able to function normally. Anxiety and panic are caused by misfiring of the body’s defense systems, and when you are dehydrated, it becomes even harder for these systems to function properly.
Taking in higher levels of complex carbohydrates, such as those found in whole grains, is shown to help increase serotonin levels in your brain. This can provide a calming and anxiety reducing effect. The same can be said for foods containing tryptophan, such as turkey, milk, bananas, peanut butter, and oats.
Eating more meals throughout the day can have surprising benefits for people with anxiety as well. Instead of three large meals (or two for all of those people who skip breakfast), eating about five small meals per day that are evenly spaced out can help keep blood sugar levels steady throughout the day, reducing the risk of anxiety symptoms.
Last, consider whether or not you may be sensitive to certain foods. Even if you are not allergic, you may be sensitive to certain foods or ingredients, such as nuts, shellfish, dairy, or gluten. Food sensitivities are incredibly common and can greatly impact the mood and your anxiety levels. To check for a food sensitivity, try completely avoiding an ingredient or food type for two full weeks and then re-introduce it to your diet. If you notice a change in anxiety, cutting this food out can actually help improve your symptoms. Few doctors and mental health practitioners think to mention the link between food sensitivity and anxiety, but for some patients, it can make an incredible difference.
Exercise
In the last chapter, we also touched briefly on the role between a sedentary lifestyle and increased anxiety symptoms. Here, we will look at how increasing your exercise levels can actually serve to decrease anxiety. It is common for doctors to tell patients to get out more or to exercise more often, but few take the time to explain just how this offers benefit or what might offer the best results.
woman exercising
According to a recent study conducted by the University of Georgia, which involved analyzing more than 40 clinically controlled trials and more than 3,000 patients, more than 90 percent of patients who were assigned to exercise experienced fewer symptoms of anxiety. In fact, patients exercise regularly showed a 20% reduction in anxiety symptoms on average.
Studies show that the best exercise regimen is at least thirty minutes per session for between six and twelve weeks. Exercise helps increase the flow of blood to the brain, improving function. It also helps by stimulating the central nervous system, which can help induce a state of relaxation by reducing tension within the body. Exercise is one of nature’s best stress busters, and the endorphins and other hormones produced during exercise can help to greatly decrease symptoms of anxiety, panic, and even depression.
While it can be hard to get the motivation to exercise, particularly if you are feeling anxious, it can help to focus on the benefits. While therapy and medications can take weeks or even months to have an effect, exercise takes only a few minutes to improve mood and reduce anxiety symptoms. It is proven to be as effective as other treatments in many cases, and exercising has a considerably lower cost than therapy and other methods. The bottom line is this- exercise is a proven anxiety fighter than can offer great results quickly, and that alone makes it worth including in your daily regimen.
Sleep
sleeping woman
Sleep can seem like a precious and rare commodity for people who have anxiety. Anxiety by its very nature can reduce both the amount and quality of sleep you receive, and sleep deprivation, in return, can increase symptoms of anxiety. It can be a vicious cycle. So, what can you do to help it?
There are actually a number of ways that you can improve your sleep and in turn improve your anxiety symptoms. One of these is to create a routine and stick with it. Set a bedtime for yourself and stick to it, even when you are not tired. Go to bed at the same time, and ensure that there are no distractions in your room when you go to sleep, such as a television or radio. If you live in a noisy home or neighborhood, consider a white noise machine, which can offer the added benefit of promoting a sense of relaxation that leads to deeper sleep.
In addition to going to bed at the same time each night, it is important to ensure that you are not taking naps during the day if sleep is hard for you to achieve. While this may initially lead to being more tired, it will help you establish a pattern of sleep that your brain will become accustomed to, leading to healthier sleep overall.
Ensure that you are not engaging in habits that will disrupt your sleep pattern. Don’t eat in the hour before you go to bed, and don’t exercise within that time span either. Both can make it harder for you to fall asleep. If you consume caffeine, try to stop drinking it in the late morning or early afternoon, as it can stay in your system and make sleep difficult for many hours after you drink it. Avoid smoking or using nicotine before bed as well, as this can create anxiety symptoms and make it very difficult to fall asleep.
If you have a hard time falling asleep, instead of prescription and over the counter drugs, consider a melatonin supplement. Melatonin is a hormone naturally produced by your brain when it is time for you to go to bed. Taking a melatonin supplement at the same time every night can not only help you fall asleep faster, but it can help reset your body’s circadian rhythms so that you are able to fall asleep at the same time each night. Unlike medications, melatonin has no side effects and no risk of dependency.