New Delhi: During festival months, it is a possibility that one neglects health over material goodness and a haywire diet. While there are guidelines in place to help you maneuver the diet part, there is very little said about mental health and digital detox that can have a deep impact going forward. In this article, we tell you how staying positive and having good thoughts is also key to good health and happiness. The best part is that the festivities act as the perfect stimuli for this.
In medical terms, “positive thoughts” can increase the good hormones in your body in turn helping you decide on prioritising health over anything else. A win-win situation if you ask us. Dr Mithee Bhanot, a gynaecologist by profession from Apollo hospitals in Noida, says dopamine and creatine are happy hormones that are generated from every little activity that we engage in. “Negative thoughts or thinking bad all the time can give rise to stress and anxiety. These have physical manifestations too and may end up making you irritable and on the edge every minute of the day.”
Positive thoughts = Healthy You!
There are many other doctors like Bhanot who will agree that positive thinking can directly result in better health in an individual. “One has heard of the saying that good health begins with a clean mind. It’s true,” opines Dr Gayatri Mukherjee, a child-birth specialist from the same facility. She tells you how training the mind to think positive and have good thoughts can result in a glowing skin, better BMI, much calmer mind and overall health and wellness.
Going into the science behind this, both Dr Mukherjee and Bhanot explain how dopamine, a neurotransmitter, is released when you do something pleasurable or complete a task. “Dopamine is part of the brain’s reward system, which is designed to reward you for doing things that help you survive. The same is with another transmitter called Serotonin. This chemical also helps regulate mood, sleep, and appetite,” they said.
It’s evident that the body could do with more of Dopamine and Serotonin but there are a host of other chemicals that can do the similar job. Endorphins and Oxytocin are others that can be classified into happy hormones. The way to get more of such “happy” chemicals gushing through your body is to ensure having happy and positive thoughts.
How can one ensure that the mind is trained to think only positively? Doctors advise mindful meditation to reach this stage. Here are other ways to maintain a positive frame of mind.
Rising early is associated with better flow of acids in the body which can make you feel active sooner. This also can help produce happy hormones in the body.
Eating well and in frequent intervals can also increase the influx of such chemicals in the body.
Exercising or walking for thirty minutes daily will help you remain fit and the mind in thinking clearly and better
Engaging in acts that involve thinking or making productive decisions can also make one feel more fulfilled, hence increasing happy hormones
Spending quality time with those you love can also help in boosting the production of these chemicals in your body.
Sleeping on time and for a prolonged period is also considered good news!
Why negative thoughts can lead to poor health
While its true that positivity can make you healthier, is it a fact that thinking negative may cause you physical harm? Experts say there is a connection between the two. “Stressful thinking can have disastrous impact on health. We tend to eat more, indulge in acts that can have serious health implications and neglect our good health over all. It is not just the mental health aspect but even physical health can take a beating if one is not thinking clear and positive,” explains Bhanot.
Negativity can stop production of such chemicals and neurotransmitters or may end up delaying their production in the body. “It is noticed that stress can delay the release of dopamine in the body, which also leads to more stress. This is a vicious circle that needs to be checked,” Dr Mukherjee concludes.
This Dussehra, pledge to make healthy lifestyle a way of life. Start with mindful eating and end the day with positive thoughts. According to medical experts, festivities is the right time for all to start feeling and thinking healthy because it is an opportunity for the entire family to engage and indulge. How? For starters, make routine physical (and mental) testing a priority. Then, take small steps towards achieving your health standards. Do whatever, be mindful that having nice and peaceful thoughts can release the happy hormones in the body! Health News Health News: Latest News from Health Care, Mental Health, Weight Loss, Disease, Nutrition, Healthcare
