"The Greatest Wealth is Health"
The concept that health is the foundation of wealth has been in our lives for over 2000 years when the Roman poet Virgil coined the phrase "The greatest wealth is health".
In todays modern world how we rank the importance of our health is defined by the conscious and unconscious choices we make as individuals and in the communities and world we live in.
Wellness can be defined as the foundations that form the intentional choices and actions an individual or a community can make to build a life focusing on physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social and financial wellness. These branches of the health is wealth tree are equally important and intricately entwined in the lives we lead in the modern age.
There are many factors in modern day life that can cloud the importance of wellness and the impact this has on the various branches of health and wellness tree is clear to see with the rise of physical and mental chronic illness today.
On my journey back to health I have discovered that the three main foundations to building and maintaining positive, long term lifestyle choices are underpinned by three main factors.
Diet and Nutrition, Sleep and Exercise.
The link between neuroplasticity and wellness
'Neurons that fire together, wire together' was first coined by Donald Hebb in 1949 to explain how pathways in the brain are created, established and continually reinforced through repetition to form long lasting habits. This is the process of neuroplasticity.
Psychedelic assisted therapy enables and temporarily heightens the process of neuroplasticity to reveal new ideas, insights and perspectives on life and life's purpose whilst life affirming values and belief systems emerge. It is also the process of neuroplasticity and the 'neurons that fire together that wire together' that creates the capacity for long lasting sustainable lifestyle habits underpinned by the foundations of wellness, diet and nutrition, sleep and exercise.
In recent decades scientists have discovered that the hippocampus, a central elastic part of the brain is vital to enabling neuroplasticity. It is also key to short term and long-term memory, emotional regulation and mental health, many studies have concluded that diet and nutrition, sleep and exercise also have a direct impact on hippocampal size.
Diet and Nutrition, Sleep and Exercise
Research has concluded that a typical western style diet that is high in saturated fat, refined sugar and a higher percentage of ultra processed foods can lead to a reduction in the potential of neuroplasticity and a reduction in hippocampal size. It also revealed increased levels of oxidised stress and inflammation. In contrast, a Mediterranean-style diet focused on whole foods, omega 3 fatty acids, flavonoids and antioxidant's can lead to an increase in hippocampal size whilst promoting and supporting the process of neuroplasticity.
A sleep study carried out at the University of Cambridge concluded that when we sleep our memory actions a deep clean during each of the four stages of sleep. Important information stored in our neural connections was reinforced, whilst the connections created by less important, impactful information were weakened until they faded away. Each sleep stage is required to action each process.
Exercise studies have revealed that physical activity can increase cerebral blood flow and therefore stimulate the process of neuroplasticity within the hippocampus. It also concluded that exercise can strengthen our memory and ability to learn and revealed an increase in vital mood stabilising neurotransmitters.
Sources
National Institute for Health (NIH)(.gov) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4535518/
Sciencedirect.com https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/hebbian-theory
Jacka, Felice. Prof. BRAINCHANGER. Macmillan, Yellow Kite. 2019. Page 117-121.
Spector. Tim. Prof. SPOONFED. Penguin. Vintage. 2022. Pages 185-188.
FECYT - Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology - 2018. Sciencedaily2024 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180315110640.htm.
National Institute for Health (NIH)(.gov) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6296269/.
National Institute for Health (NIH)(.gov) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3693176/.
