An Impact of Environment On Mental and Physical Health

An impact of environment on
mental and physical health

INTRODUCTION
Lots of factors contribute to poor mental health.
Genetics, personal history, diet, lifestyle…all of these play
a part. However, when trying to parse the causes of our
mental health struggles, many of us fail to consider one
of the biggest factors of all: the environment in which we
live our day to day lives.
The environment we live and work in forms part of the
wider context of our lives, which – as any good
counsellor knows - is vital to think about when treating
any mental health issues.
Growing up around ‘dirty air’ quadruples a child’s
chance of developing depression later in life. This may be
related to other environmental factors (polluted areas
typically combine more of the factors on this list than just
air pollution), but the risk is still worth noted.
 Bad or extreme weather is stressful and it can wear
your down. If you’re perpetually cold, sweltering,
battling against snow, struggling over ice, or
drenched to the skin every time you step outside,
your mental health will experience a toll. This is
particularly the case if extreme weather endangers
your life, your family, your loved ones, or your
property. Access to green or naturally beautiful
spaces has a massively positive impact upon mental
health. To be trapped within concrete jungles means
never getting the mental benefits of fresh air, green
leaves and so on.
Different chemicals can impact human health in different ways, and
often, exposure to dangerous or foreign substances creates health
vulnerabilities. The chemical safety field is concerned with
minimizing the effects of both natural and synthetic chemicals.
More specifically, chemical safety seeks to safeguard human and
environmental health from exposure to potential toxins; it focuses
on chemicals that exist in the ambient world, as well as synthetic
chemicals that are used in industrial processes or are the by-
products of manufacturing activity.
Public health officials who work in chemical safety often focus on

toxicology, which is the study of substances that have a toxic effect
on the human body, whether when ingested or when absorbed
through natural surroundings. Another important aspect of public
health is chemical risk assessment, which involves scientists and
clinicians working to determine a substance’s full biological effects.
exposure to air pollution can increase morbidity and
mortality.
When environmental scientists talk about air pollution,
they’re describing any solid or liquid particles, as well as
gases, that are suspended in the air and have harmful or
poisonous effects.
natural air pollutants can cause health concerns; for
example, pollen and mold spores are often linked with
asthma and allergies. Infrastructure issues can also have
a major impact on community health. Examples include
the following:
 Poorly maintained roads (increasing risk of car
accidents)
 Lack of access to clean drinking water
 Lack of local health care infrastructure, such as
clinics capable of giving vaccinations
Overcoming poor infrastructure requires the right
allocation of resources from local, state, and federal
governments, as well as a qualified workforce to keep
infrastructure properly maintained.
CURRENT
STATUS OF THE
TOPIC
Well in current situation people have left excercises or
some sort of physical activity which is not good for
physical and mental health. Scientists have said that
excercises not only keep you physically healthy but also
mentally this is the thing on which people have lost their
focus and its costing us like there are many people
diagnosed with heart diseases, depression, and obesity.
And in this covid 19 situation it has increased a lot. Fear,
worry, and stress are normal responses to perceived or
real threats, and at times when we are faced with
uncertainty or the unknown. So it is normal and
understandable that people are experiencing fear in the
context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Added to the fear of
contracting the virus in a pandemic such as COVID-19 are
the significant changes to our daily lives as our
movements are restricted in support of efforts to contain
and slow down the spread of the virus. Faced with new
realities of working from home, temporary
unemployment, home-schooling of children, and lack of
physical contact with other family members, friends and
colleagues, it is important that we look after our mental,
as well as our physical, health.
REASONS OR
CAUSES
For physical health
1) Sleep: How well and how much you sleep affects
your health and performance. Sleep is critical for proper
hormone levels, mental health, recovery, and much
more. Get a minimum of 8 hours of sleep every night.
Avoid bright lights and electronics one hour before bed
so that your brain can release melatonin, allowing you to
fall into a deep restful sleep.
2) Nutrition: What you put in your mouth will determine
how successful you are. Eat at least three meals a day;
consisting of a lean protein source, a vegetable, a healthy
fat, and a fibrous carbohydrate. Avoid highly processed
foods like packaged goods and fast food. Don’t count
calories, but pay close attention to your body
composition and energy level. If your weight is creeping
up and body fat is increasing, you need to reduce your
overall caloric consumption. If you are losing muscle
mass and suffering from low energy, it’s a good idea to
increase your overall caloric intake.
3) Hydration: Water plays many roles in the human
body. It aides in the absorption of many nutrients, helps
the body eliminate waste, and plays a critical role in
proper function of every system in our bodies. Sip water
regularly throughout the day. An easy way to tell if you
are adequately hydrated is by the color of your urine. If
you are drinking enough, your urine will be pale yellow.
Avoid sodas and consume alcohol and coffee in very
limited amounts.
4) Stress Management: Chronic stress wreaks havoc on
our health. It can disrupt sleep, cause indigestion, affect
mental health, limit how hard you can exercise, and so
much more. Maintain a healthy balance in your
daily/weekly schedule, allowing time for work, rest,
recreation, and family/personal time. Focus on what is
important in your life instead of the things that seem
urgent.
5) Physical Activity: Physical activity takes on many
forms; i.e. exercise, manual labor, leisure activities,
sports, etc. The benefits of physical activity include
building and maintaining muscle mass, improved balance
and coordination, increased brain activity, and
improvements in mood. Not to mention, it helps in
maintaining a healthy body composition by burning
calories. Engage in one hour of physical activity 4-6 days
per week. It can be broken up into smaller segments
totaling an hour for each day.
For mental health
 Aesthetics: Cluttered spaces can create feelings of
overwhelm and anxiety, while tidy spaces can invoke
a sense of calm. To help with this, Snow says to have
colors and objects in your environment that are
meaningful, which can boost mood.
 Sensory: "The lighting, temperature, sounds, smells, and color
palette of an environment are very important to how comfortable,
relaxed, and safe you feel,” Snow says. For example, harsh lighting
and loud noises can lead to anxiety or agitation, while dark and cold
spaces can lead to feeling unmotivated—especially in the winter.
Culture and Values: “It’s important for people to connect

with others that share their culture and values and to be
understood at a deeper level,” Snow says. Otherwise,
feelings
of isolation and depression can arise.
IMPACTS
We know that taking care of mental and physical health
is important and so is taking care of our environment. If
we solve our environmental problems half of our health
related problems will be solved. Scientists have said that
in today’s date air pollution, noise pollution and water
pollution have tripled the chances of physical health
problems like obesity, skin problems, hair problems and
mental health problems like stress, depression, anxiety
and many more. One of the greatest impact is that this
generation has started thinking that this is quiet normal
all these problems rather than fixing it. Plus in India
society is not paying attention to health especially mental
health and environment. We need to change this
mentality and quickly tackle health and environmental
problems.
PRACTICES
ADOPTED BY
DIFFERENT
COUNTRIES
Now countries have started bringing their focus on this
serious issue. Countries have started building large air
purifiers and have put fines over littering the street or
throwing something in water. Factorys are not allowed to
emit pollution in the air or even harmfull gases.
Government has started building mental and physical
health care center. All these steps are helping other
countries a lot that is why they are having a cleaner
environment and a lot less suicide ratio.
SUGGESTIONS
PREVENTIVE MEASURES – we can stop littering our own
environment and make our environment much cleaner.
Avoiding junk foods because they also affect the physical
health . Avoiding any surroundings which gives you
negative thinking and affects your mental health.
SOLUTION – The solution to this problem is creating

awareness among people. People are not aware of these
things . If they will be aware and act as an responsible
citizen problems will start getting eliminated. And our
country will become a better place to live. And people
should stop being lonely and start excercising this will
improve their physical and mental health.
CHANGES THAT YOU CAN MAKE - We can start

connecting to people and providing them the knowledge
about impact of environment on mental and physical
health because knowledge is the most demanded asset
in the world. And we can even start being lovely to our
environment and other people because in todays date
both need help.

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An impact of environment on

mental and physical health

Public health officials who work in chemical safety often focus on

Culture and Values: “It’s important for people to connect

SOLUTION – The solution to this problem is creating

CHANGES THAT YOU CAN MAKE - We can start

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