With the alarming rise of mental health illnesses and disorders, there are many solutions patients could try to alleviate symptoms and feel better.
Because that’s what it’s all about: Feeling better!
Among the many roads toward mental peace, one of them is detox, ie ridding the body of unwanted toxins.
What if I told you that detoxing not only helps in losing weight and stopping inflammation but also aids in better mental health–a claim that is clinically proven as well…
Let us explore how detoxing can impact your mind and take you towards feeling better.
Detoxing Methods: Which One To Choose?
There are numerous ways to detoxify your mind and body, ranging from lifestyle changes to specific practices. You can even detox your home for additional benefits, such as using organic bedding.
In this article, we will look at 4 detox methods, and how each one can impact your mind and kickstart your journey toward feeling better:
- Sleeping Detox
- Anti-Inflammatory Foods
- Tryptophan
- Intermittent Fasting
Sleeping Detox
There is no detox for better sleep…rather sleep for a better detox. As we know, our brain is capable of dishing out unwanted toxins that are built during waking hours.
And your brain only does that during sleep.
Related reading: More Sleep is Critical for Brain Detoxification
Consistent and adequate sleep allows the brain to reset itself each night, preventing unwanted mental burdens:
- Negative Impact on behaviors, mood, and cognitive performance.
- The inability of your brain to process information well.
- Impacts memory, both long-term and short-term (unable to store them properly).
- Alter the decision-making process.
In other words, you lose intellectual capabilities. You can’t focus, can’t learn, you can’t process information, and you feel moody: this all happens because you don’t allow your brain to properly dish out toxins.
How do you fix that?
Other than saying “sleep more”, there might be an underlying solution:
By improving conditions for better sleep. People always try new detox methods and trends, but frequently forget that our body IS a detox machine itself…all we need to do is to support it sometimes.
Related reading:
You can support your sleep by timing your sleep, organic bedding, exercising, relaxation practices such as sauna sessions, massages, and yoga.
Good sleeping habits include:
- No alcohol or caffeine before bedtime
- Sleep-inducing mattresses such as organic fabric.
- No lighting before or during bedtime.
- No electronics in the bedroom (Blue light can alter your sleeping patterns)
The goal is to invite your brain to sleep and rest.
Anti-Inflammatory Foods
It’s no secret that our diet contains processed foods, and inflammatory-rich foods such as trans fats, saturated fats, and sugar.
Related reading: Sugar Detox: Supercharge your Health in 5 Simple Steps
The reason they are called inflammatory-rich foods is that they increase inflammation in our digestive system, making it less effective, increasing chances of diabetes, and making our weight control hormone (leptin) less effective.
What if I told you that a recent study revealed that a bad diet is also linked to causing symptoms of depression…
That’s because every food has chemicals that get introduced into the body, and it will affect it, especially the nervous system. And some foods may be more harmful than you think because they tend to cause inflammation.
It turns out that eating inflammatory-rich foods can impact our mental health, and therefore detoxing–eating anti-inflammatory foods could help reduce these depressive moods.
But how? Detoxing by avoiding processed food and sugar-rich foods is critical for memory health, and cognitive health, and can even reduce chances of developing Alzheimer’s and Dementia.
Sometimes, the best way to protect ourselves is to take a step back in our food, and detoxing is the way to do so.
Detoxing also means substituting “bad” food for better ones (for example ice cream for dates..both are sweet, but dates aren’t processed, and they can reduce inflammation, as opposed to ice cream causing it…).
Tryptophan
In the mental health world, one popular neurotransmitter is serotonin, which is what controls your mood, your sleep, and many other factors.
Serotonin is a big factor in depression if the levels are low enough.
We need to increase its availability and its capacity to be received by our brain and nervous system for our body to function properly.
Where am I going with this? Well, studies have shown that an increase in tryptophan in one’s diet can positively influence serotonin levels, and make them more available.
This improves your mood and helps alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety. It leads to better memory, better sleep, and less chance of developing mental illnesses.
Foods that contain tryptophan, an amino acid that aids in maintaining neurotransmitters, are great for raising serotonin levels and ensuring your digestive and mental health stay sharp.
Tryptophan also has great detoxing abilities!
And what contains tryptophan, you might ask?
- Bananas
- Pumpkin and squash seeds
- Whole milk
- Eggs
- Meats such as chicken, turkey, beef and pork
Intermittent Fasting
Detox is not always about eating or drinking to dish out toxins. Sometimes, a lack of food might be the solution for a healthier body…and mind.
Intermittent fasting provides a break to the digestive system, allowing the body’s natural detoxification processes to kick in.
But what isn’t well known about fasting is the effect it has on one’s mind, particularly on mental health.
Intermittent fasting is reported to make it easier to…think. ‘’After your body clears itself of toxins, your brain has access to a cleaner bloodstream, resulting in clearer thoughts, better memory, and increased sharpness of your other senses’’
It also plays a role in a motivational aspect. Imagine being able to conquer a difficult task such as refraining yourself from eating…you will feel much better overall:
- Pride for completing the fasting
- Self-confidence
- Higher-self esteem
- Higher self-respect
These feelings not only help us alleviate symptoms but counter the issues our minds have in the first place.
Takeaways
Detox has shown to be a valuable approach to a healthy body, and now, your mind. It is a ritual that we can do here and then to boost our body and mental capabilities.
There are many ways to detox yourself, whether it is by enhancing your body’s natural ability to do so, or by eating and drinking the right things to eliminate those toxins.
But one thing is for sure: The science seems to be in favor of detoxing, especially when it comes to mental health issues.
With that being said, if you plan on feeling better in 2024, you now know where to start!
Author Bio: Rayen Monzer is a soccer player and passionate health writer who aims to inspire people to live their best lives physically, mentally, and spiritually. He is the owner of Ray’s Lifestyle Field, a blog about improving one’s health through physical exercise and activities.
(This article was reviewed and fact-checked by psychologist Fouad Monzer)
