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A bevy of research points towards the direct correlation between physical and mental health, especially within the field of healthcare and its effect on quality of care and patient outcomes.
“Depression has been found to be a prevalent phenomenon among healthcare workers”
Depression is a debilitating health concern, which has several cognitive, physical, functional and biorhythmic consequences.
Depression has been found to be a prevalent phenomenon among healthcare workers, peaking during the Covid-19 pandemic and continues to maintain a stable graphical trend following a series of multifactorial issues including the struggle for increased renumeration, workplace bullying, increased workload due to growing rate of staff absenteeism and staff shortages, to mention a few.
Among other healthcare workers, research has proven that nurses have the highest prevalence of depressive symptoms, with a suicide rate estimated to be about 23% higher than the national average. An estimated 20-30% of sick days within the NHS are due to problems related with mental health.
Several years of effort has been devoted to researching depression and discovering a solution to this global health concern. More specifically, several studies gravitated towards understanding how monoamine deficits effectuate depression to determine a solution. However, the discovery of ‘hope molecules’” has been made, which is directly tied to regular exercise.
The science behind hope molecules is tied to physical exercise, wherein myokines, also known as hope molecules are secreted into the bloodstream during the contraction of skeletal muscles during physical exercise. These hope molecules subsequently travel through the bloodstream and are transported to the brain where they permeate the blood brain barrier and produce excitatory effects.
As mentioned, while hope molecules can be released through engaging in physical exercise like running, hiking, swimming, dancing and cycling, other non-physical activities can induce its secretion.
Activities such as meditating, getting a massage, painting, acupuncture and some other forms of relaxation can facilitate the production and the subsequent secretion of hope molecules.
Conceivably, there are several benefits associated with physical and mental activities for wellbeing, which are proven mechanisms to produce excitatory effects and reduce the overall occurrence of depression.
Beyond the secretion of hope molecules, which create excitatory effects in humans, physical exercise has been linked to other benefits including the promotion of cardiovascular health, management of diabetes and insulin levels, weight control and increase of muscle mass, improvement of flexibility and balance and strengthening of bone strength.
It is important to note that hope molecules are not the only excitatory molecules that are produced from physical exercises. Neurotransmitters, which include serotonin, dopamine, noradrenaline, oxytocin and endorphins also produce similar effects to hope molecules.
The implication of this theoretical knowledge for practice among healthcare workers, therefore, involves prioritising targeted wellbeing activities within trusts or on a personal level, taking the opportunity to explore healthier and more sustainable alternatives to smoking and alcohol consumption to escape the whirlwind of everyday demands.
Chioma Eucharia Nnajidema is a second-year adult nursing student, University of Worcester and 2023-24 Nursing Times student editor
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