Day-to-day life can be stressful, with the constant juggle of work, home life, and financial pressures making it a challenge to strike a balance. This stress can have carry on effects to our emotional wellbeing and mood. The good news is there is a lot you can do to support a healthy mood naturally with lifestyle changes, a healthy diet, specialised herbal remedies and nutritional ingredients including B vitamins and magnesium.
Mood and Nutrition: What’s the Link?
A healthy mood and emotional wellbeing are regulated by our brain, neurotransmitters (brain chemicals), and proteins. This requires optimal nutrition from a variety of ‘neuro-nutrients’ which support the function of a healthy nervous system including vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates and lipids (fats).1 A 2023 systematic review (considered the gold standard in research methodology) of 118 clinical studies found some of the most important neuro-nutrients included the B vitamins B3, B6, B9 (methyl folate) and B12, and magnesium.1
Fuel for the Brain and Nervous System
Our brain and nervous system health is fueled by the nutrients we derive from our diet, and how well we use them. Although the body can make some of the nutrients needed for the brain and nervous system to function, most need to be consumed from our diet.2 Supporting your nutrient status with a healthy, balanced diet rich in complex carbohydrates, good fats and a variety of fruits and vegetables is one of the most important things you can do for your brain, nervous system health, and in turn, mood and emotional wellness.1,2
The Trifecta: Stress Management, Good Sleep and Energy for Healthy Mood
A healthy mood is affected by how well we are managing our stress, the quality of the sleep we’re getting and our energy levels, with a change in one of these areas affecting all others:
1. Stress and mood: when we are stressed, the levels of stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline become dysregulated, and this has carry on effects on the way our brain and nervous system functions, and in turn, our mood.
2. Sleep and mood: stress hormones can make it difficult to fall and stay asleep, and poor sleep can result in difficulties with emotional regulation and reactivity, and the ability to cope with emotional stress, with all of these impacting our mood.3,4
3. Energy and mood: nervous system overactivity and poor quality sleep result in fatigue, and the body enters a ‘burnout’ mode where managing ordinary daily tasks becomes a challenge, taking energy away from healthy brain and nervous system functions associated with mood.
How Your Lifestyle Influences a Healthy Mood
There are a variety of lifestyle factors that can impact your mood including:
1. Nutrition: inadequate nutrition depletes your body of vital carbohydrates, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals which are all vital for managing nervous system health and mood.1
2. Sleep: studies have shown that sleep deprivation and poor sleep quality have significant effects on mood and stress levels.3,4
3. Exercise: regular exercise, like aerobic exercise and resistance training, is known to improve your mood and emotional wellness.5
4. Stress: without good management, high or long-term stress has detrimental impacts on your sleep and energy levels, mood and emotions.
5. Social connection: it’s a well known fact that those with limited social connections have difficulties maintaining a healthy mood and daily wellbeing.5
Why Does Stress Increase Nutritional Demands?
Prolonged stress can increase the body’s need for a variety of vitamins and minerals including magnesium, zinc, iron and B vitamins.6 This may be because long-term stress can:
• Increase the body’s metabolism and need for nutrients
• Cause an overactive nervous system to burn through nutrients more quickly
• Cause increased sweating and sometimes, urination, and the excretion of vitamins and minerals
• Result in appetite changes, decreased digestive function and poor diet choices, reducing nutrient intake.6
Brain Health and Energy Demands
For the brain to function, including regulating a healthy mood, it requires a vast amount of the body’s energy (up to 20% total energy, even though the brain only takes up 2% body weight!). The mitochondria are the energy powerhouses in our cells, including the nerve cells in our brain, which produce the energy needed for our nerve cells to communicate, supporting healthy brain function.7
Nutritional Support for Mood
There are a variety of nutritional supplements for mood, with those containing the neuro-nutrients B vitamins and magnesium being some of the most beneficial.1
B Vitamins for Mood
Micronutrition Advanced B Complex is a premium, science-backed formula with active B vitamins. It contains all eight essential B vitamins including:
• Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B6, B12 for healthy nervous system function
• Vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12 for supporting energy levels
• Vitamins B1, B6, B7 (biotin), B9 and inositol for cognitive function in healthy people.
Magnesium for Stress
Micronutrition Magnesium Glycinate 750mg provides natural stress support in the form of a high-strength, bioavailable form of magnesium which also supports:
• Healthy nervous system function
• Healthy sleep patterns
• Cellular energy production
• The synthesis of neurotransmitters (brain chemicals).
Herbs for Stress Support
Herbal medicine also holds the key for mood support with a variety of supplements available including Micronutrition Neuro Support, which contains a synergistic blend of the herbs passionflower, magnolia, ziziphus and kudzu plus magnesium. Passionflower is traditionally used in Western herbal medicine to:
• Relieve stress and mild anxiety
• Helps calm the nerves
• Relieve irritability
• Support a restful sleep
Signs You May Need Some Mood Support
Here are a few common signs that you may benefit from reviewing your nutritional intake to support a healthy mood:
1. Low energy levels
2. Poor sleep
3. Unable to cope with everyday stress
4. Having trouble emotionally regulating
5. Feeling burnt out
Ways You Can Support Your Emotional Wellbeing
There are many ways you can support your daily wellbeing and emotional wellness, below are some of the most important:
• Sleep: the foundation of a healthy mood and emotional wellbeing, aim for 7-8 hours of restful sleep a night. Keep the lights dim and devices off at least 1 hour before bed.
• Exercise: nothing beats the blues like getting that heart rate up! Get moving, doing whatever you enjoy, at least 30 mins daily (even short, 5 minute bursts of activity can be beneficial). Aerobic exercise and resistance training have shown the most benefit for a healthy mood.5
• Stress management: whether its breathing exercises, mindfulness practice, reading a book or chatting to a friend, however you best manage your stress can work wonders for your sleep and mood,
• Healthy diet: prioritise a healthy, balanced diet incorporating a variety of fruits and vegetables, healthy fats and wholegrain carbohydrates to power your brain and balance your nervous system.
Interested in learning more? Visit the MN Academy for more great articles. Or explore our range of premium nutritional supplements designed to support healthy mood, nervous system function and overall wellbeing.
This article was written by Corinne Wyper, Naturopath.
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