Your Heart Health & Mental Health Are More Connected Than You Think, Here's How To Protect Both

Your heart and brain are more intertwined than you think. What's good for your heart is good for your brain, and what's bad for your heart is bad for your brain.

Even though your brain weighs only about 3 pounds and makes up only 2% of your body weight, it uses 20% of the oxygen and blood flow in your body. Anything that damages your blood vessels or impairs blood flow to your heart hurts your brain. This means that taking care of your heart and blood vessels is critical for your brain health and mental well-being. And this relationship goes both ways.

In fact, people with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia are more likely to develop cardiovascular diseases, even at young ages, according to a review in Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience1. On the flip side, research2 shows that people with heart disease are more likely to suffer from dementia later in life, and the American Heart Association reports that up to 33% of heart attack patients will develop some degree of depression.

Research on Franciscan nuns3 found that both meditation and prayer improve blood flow to the prefrontal cortex (associated with attention span and thoughtfulness), decrease anxiety, and improve mood.

In a brain-imaging study from UCLA researchers, the hippocampus (which is involved in memory and mood) and the frontal cortex were found to be significantly larger in people who meditate regularly. I recommend it to all of my patients for better brain health and mental well-being.

Sure, you've heard about the many benefits of physical activity for heart health. But did you know that getting your heart pumping is equally beneficial for your brain and mental health? Improving the heart's ability to pump blood throughout the body increases the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the brain for better overall function.

In addition, several studies, including a 2015 trial4, have found that regular physical exercise increases the size of the hippocampus, one of the brain's major memory and mood centers. When it comes to the brain, size matters! Exercise also stimulates the production of growth factors, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factors5 (BDNF), which act like fertilizer for the brain and enhance neuroplasticity, or the brain's adaptability.

HBOT uses the power of oxygen to enhance the healing process and reduce inflammation in both the heart and the brain. How does HBOT work? This simple, noninvasive, painless treatment provides people with concentrated oxygen in a special pressurized chamber. The increased pressure allows the lungs to take in more oxygen than usual, which is beneficial because oxygen is critical to the healing process. As more oxygen enters the blood vessels and tissues, it can boost production of growth factors and stem cells that promote healing.

In people experiencing heart attacks, HBOT has been used to increase oxygen supply to the heart, and research shows it may reduce the volume of muscle that dies. In the brain health arena, researchers have found that increased oxygen can promote healing after concussions or mild traumatic injuries (TBIs), even if they occurred years or decades earlier. A 2013 study8 on 56 mild TBI patients with post-concussion syndrome showed that HBOT improved cognitive and emotional functioning and quality of life. Other research has concluded that HBOT enhances the brain's ability to repair itself9 after TBI.