Health and wellbeing

“You can’t plow a field simply by turning it over in your mind,” said Gordon B. Hinckley.

I’d finished writing this introduction when I heard that on the radio one morning. But that was my worry, with this journal. The imperative not just to sit, and scribble, but to do. We couldn’t write the journal without focusing on the outside, too; our physical, as well as mental selves, and the simple pleasures of getting out more. Of taking the time to reflect, sucking up fresh air and wild scents. Of making your body move, and looking at new, different, things.

The World Health Organisation’s definition of health hasn’t changed since it was adopted in 1948. “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity,” it says. Which, given we’ve had it for 70 years, is easy to forget. If you’re not ill you’re well, right?

Or not…

It’s no surprise that working long hours isn’t good for our productivity, creativity or wider wellbeing. Job insecurity and the constant chime of smart phones mean we’re more tethered than ever to work.

Our capacity to carry on is astonishing, but not always to our own benefit. I started working full time in 1998 — and, in the intervening 20 years, somehow we’re working approximately a week more every year than we were then.

In the UK, research from the Health and Safety Executive shows the steady creep of work-related stress; up 7% in 2016/17 on the previous year, 526,000 people suffered stress, depression or anxiety as a result of their work, losing 12.5 million working days.

The same study shows that 86% of organisations see ‘presenteeism’, with people carrying on working when they’re off work, including when they’re signed off ill. Our digital addiction has resulted in unprecedented amounts of screen time — cooped up inside, hunched over your laptop, phone or games consul. And the resulting fatigue isn’t just due to lack of sleep, or hours staring at a screen — it could be something as simple as the limited fresh air around you. Many of us are only breathing in the impure air that circulates around any confined space.

Countless studies now are devoted to crunching the data around these simple interventions: getting outside more; walking, running, swimming… knocking a ball around. The repetition of simple, rhythmic movements — what’s known as ‘muscular meditation’. They’re the times when you’re completely caught up in the moment — a hard-fought point on a tennis court; a lung-busting run and a crunching tackle. The rush of blood of a downward dog. Digging the garden. When your body is busy, your mind is distracted.

Aerobic exercise is as key for your head as it is for your heart. A study published in the Lancet Journal of Psychiatry this summer shows how regular physical activity lasting 45 minutes, between three and five times a week, can reduce poor mental health. Significantly though, doing more than that isn’t always beneficial. For a month, the study asked 1.2 million people to report their activity levels, and rate their mental wellbeing. Those who exercised had 1.5 fewer ‘bad days’ each month than non-exercisers. And team sports — see what Alexandra Heminsley has to say about it in our Q&A — plus cycling and aerobics, had the greatest impact. But activity generally — be it housework, or looking after the children — was found to improve mental health, regardless of age or gender.

Although we know that exercise reduces the risk of physical illness, including heart disease, stroke and diabetes, there are significant complexities, and the study admits that it still can’t confirm the cause of improved mental health. Yet, among people previously diagnosed with depression, exercise appeared to have a more significant effect, cutting the number of ‘poor mental health’ days from 11, for those who did no exercise, to seven.

Dr Adam Chekroud is assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale University and the study’s author. He too noted the positive impact of team sports, suggesting that social sports activities can reduce isolation, help build resilience and reduce depression, but that more exercise doesn’t automatically equal better. “Previously, people have believed that the more exercise you do, the better your mental health, but our study suggests that this isn’t the case. Doing exercise more than 23 times a month, or exercising for longer than 90-minute sessions is associated with worse mental health.”

At a neurochemical level, the exhilaration and relaxation created by exercise provides stimulation and calm. Exercise reduces stress hormone levels like adrenalin and cortisol, whilst stimulating our production of endorphins — nature’s painkillers and mood elevators. Endorphins are what’s responsible for the ‘runner’s high’, and feelings of relaxation and optimism that accompany workouts.

And, of course, the loosening of the body you experience when you make it move help to counteract the physical symptoms of stress: tense muscles, taut facial expressions, headaches, or neck and back pain; a clenched jaw, pounding pulse or rapid breathing.

Research by QNNect — and I can personally vouch for this — tells us that remote employees tend to be 13% more efficient. It could as a result of decreased pressure, but also because people tend to structure their day to fit in with their lives. You can get up and run before work, get a load of washing on, walk to and from a cafe for a meeting and still get in a solid day of uninterrupted work.

There’s no need to get militant about it, though. We’re not talking about trying an IronMan, or anything extreme. Just the physical act of not being glued to a chair. Countless workplaces have seen the rise of standing desks and walking meetings, because we’re more aware than ever of the impact of slumping in a seat all day. Gardening has been found to have such a positive impact on the wellbeing, cognition and mood of people with dementia, and social interaction amongst people with social disabilities, that it has become one of the cornerstones of social prescribing, recommended by GPs for illness recovery, anxiety and depression.

A 2010 study by the University of Essex looked at ‘green activity’ like walking, gardening, cycling or farming to boost mood and self esteem. A more recent study from the same university also found that people who went for a 15–20 minute walk in nature at lunchtime could relax more easily at night, improving the quality of their sleep. Our highly focused, often stressful style of work means that our sympathetic nervous system is stimulated, leading to that ‘tired but wired’ fidgety feeling you can get at the end of the day. A burst of nature stimulates our opposing parasympathetic nervous system to work on the ‘rest and restore’ parts of our brain, helping us relax and get a good night’s sleep.

And the science backs it up. Walking outside releases endorphins and hormones that improve your mood, including oxytocin, often called the ‘feel good’ hormone. Oxygen is also thought to affect serotonin levels in the body, contributing to feelings of happiness and relaxation.

The effects are greater too when we get beyond the cities we increasingly live in, and into a natural environment — be it your local park, forest or beach. In 2010, the Journal of Environmental Psychology looked at the sense of increased vitality you get — above and beyond the energising effects of physical activity and social interaction — with forays into the natural world.

Richard Ryan is professor of psychology at the University of Rochester, and the report’s lead author. “Nature is fuel for the soul,” he says. “Often, when we feel depleted we reach for a cup of coffee, but research suggests a better way to get energised is to connect with nature.”

The findings, adds Ryan, are important for both mental and physical health. “Research has shown that people with a greater sense of vitality don’t just have more energy for things they want to do, they are also more resilient to physical illnesses. One of the pathways to health may be to spend more time in natural settings,” he suggests.

And where else to look to but Japan, for an innovative interpretation of future gazing and ancient wisdom? Shinrin-yoku — forest bathing — is now standard preventive medicine there. They take this stuff so seriously that the term was coined by the government back in 1982, although it’s inspired by ancient Shinto and Buddhist practices. Since then, Japan’s Forestry Agency has developed 48 official Forest Therapy trails for shinrin-yoku.

Yoshifumi Miyazaki is a physiological anthropologist and deputy director of Chiba University’s Center for Environment, Health, and Field Sciences. Since 2004, he’s taken more than 600 research subjects into the woods and — with colleague Juyoung Lee — found that forest walks (it’s not hiking, or jogging, he’s quick to emphasise) return a 12.4% decrease in the stress hormone cortisol, a 7% decrease in sympathetic nerve activity, a 1.4% decrease in blood pressure and a 5.8% decrease in heart rate, compared to urban walks. Participants also reported better moods and lower anxiety.

Entomologist E. O. Wilson and social ecologist Stephen Kellert introduced the idea of ‘biophilia’ — humanity’s affinity for nature. But it you can’t all get out to a forest for a trek, head to your local park. Studies by immunologist Qing Li show comparable results, including boosted levels of both NK cells (white blood cells) and anticancer proteins for at least seven days.

But the good news is that self-employed people are happier, more engaged, more successful and more satisfied than those working in any other profession. We value our autonomy, have freedom to innovate and express our views; we can take credit for our successes, and have influence beyond our roles. And don’t mind working long hours if we need to. So freelancing, or building a business or side project, gives you time to prioritise your wellbeing; to create your own balance and to reap the rewards of doing your own thing.

And, of course, yoga can reduce mortality. That’s not flippant. That’s a fact.*