Are you wondering if small lifestyle changes can actually create big improvements in suicidal ideation?
Well, 46.3% of adults between the ages of 18 to 25 have reported an increase in suicidal ideation between 2015 and 2019.
Gloomy stats? Yes!
But what most people don’t realize is this:
Tiny tweaks in lifestyle can lead to MASSIVE leaps in mental wellbeing.
If left untreated, suicidal ideation shows an alarming growth trend over time. However, with proper Suicidal Ideation Treatment and lifestyle interventions, there is evidence that these concerning patterns can be addressed effectively.
The good news is this, there is evidence that lifestyle interventions can help with suicidal ideation.
This article is going to share with you exactly how specific lifestyle changes can help with suicidal ideation and the actionable tips and strategies that work to create those changes.
You will learn:
- How Exercise Affects Mental Health Outcomes
- The Relationship Between Sleep and Suicide
- Nutrition Strategies to Improve Mental Health
- Social Connection: The Hidden Factor
- Putting It Together: Your Lifestyle Action Plan
How Exercise Affects Mental Health Outcomes
It is not a secret that regular exercise can affect your mental health
However, did you know that recent research gives us incredible insights on the subject of physical activity and its relationship to suicidal ideation?
Let’s get right into this.
Physical activity was studied in over 25,000 individuals. The researches concluded that individuals who followed physical activity guidelines of 150 minutes of physical activity per week had a 32% lower prevalence of suicidal ideation.
Wait, there is more to it.
They found that different types of exercise have varying levels of impact on suicidal ideation. Recreational or leisure-time physical activity had the greatest protective effects on suicidal ideation and death. This included activities such as walking, sports or exercise done for enjoyment, dancing, swimming, and cycling.
How does it work?
This is because when you exercise your brain releases feel-good chemicals, endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine which have all been shown to be natural antidepressants and your body produces them for free.
Exercising literally offers your brain access to a pharmacy of antidepressants naturally with ZERO side effects.
That’s not all!
The Relationship Between Sleep and Suicide
The relationship between sleep and suicidal ideation is not a secret.
Poor sleep does not just leave you tired, it greatly increases your risk of suicide.
Research has shown that individuals who experience issues with sleeping have a higher likelihood of experiencing suicidal ideation.
Insomnia, nightmares, and other sleep disturbances have all been directly linked with an increase in suicide risk.
How does this work?
Poor sleep or sleep deprivation has shown to negatively impact your ability to regulate your emotions. In other words, when you don’t get enough sleep your brain’s emotional center becomes overactive while your logic and decision-making area become less active. This makes it easier for you to develop increased anxiety and depression, poor decision making, increased reactivity to emotional stimuli, and an inability to deal with stress.
So how can you solve this?
Improving your sleep hygiene is a key component to suicide prevention. Some easy ways to implement this include: making sure you go to sleep and wake up at the same time daily, making sure your sleeping area is dark and cool, having a relaxing bedtime routine and avoiding screens before bed, avoiding late caffeine, and other sleep tips.
These are not just fluffy things that you read on the internet, these are actually legitimate ways that you can help prevent suicide.
Nutrition Strategies to Improve Mental Health
Nutrition is linked to mental health more than we ever realized.
The food that you eat becomes the raw materials for the neurotransmitters that your body needs to keep you balanced and in a good mood.
Research into what they call the “oxidative balance score” is showing us that dietary choices are contributing to rates of suicidal ideation.
The research showed that people who consumed greater amounts of antioxidants through their diet and supplements showed a reduced risk of suicidal ideation.
Why does this matter?
Your brain requires nutrients to build mood balancing chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine.
When your diet is low in essential nutrients it can have a significant impact on your mental health. What does this look like?
Nutrients that are key for good mental health include omega-3 fatty acids, complex carbohydrates, protein, B-vitamins, and magnesium.
But what about the other side of the coin?
It isn’t just the addition of good foods that can affect your mental health negatively, excess sugar, processed foods, and alcohol also have a negative impact on your ability to keep a balanced mood which can lead to an increased risk of depression.
In fact, research has shown that individuals who consumed a Mediterranean-style diet which includes fruits, vegetables, fish, and whole grains have a lower prevalence of depression and suicidal ideation.
Social Connection: The Hidden Factor
Loneliness is bad for you.
This is not exaggerating, it is literally scientifically proven.
Loneliness increases your risk of attempting suicide by 17 times.
Social isolation doesn’t just “feel” bad, it causes actual biological stress which damages both your mental and physical health.
One interesting thing about social connection and suicide risk is this
It is not how many friends you have, it is how close you are to at least one or two people.
High quality social connections can protect you against suicidal ideation in many ways such as; having emotional support, a sense of belonging and purpose, a wider perspective, a help-seeking model, and a reduction in isolation.
The hard truth is this, it is much more challenging to build social connections in our modern world.
Practical ways to build social connection includes:
- Joining clubs or groups that interest you
- Volunteering
- Reaching out to old friends and family
- Being vulnerable in your relationship and allow others to be vulnerable with you
- Helping others
Social connection is a skill that you can learn and improve.
Putting It Together: Your Lifestyle Action Plan
Ok now that we have learned a lot, what are you going to do about it?
You see the problem is that most people set goals, instead of putting actual systems in place to make changes.
Here is how you can set up a personalized lifestyle intervention plan:
- Start small and with one area, don’t try and change everything at once
- Be specific rather than vague
- Track and hold yourself accountable
- Build gradually and don’t get discouraged
- Seek support
And remember this, while lifestyle changes can be a crucial piece of the mental health puzzle, it is important that they are a complement to professional help. Lifestyle changes should not be your only intervention if you are having suicidal thoughts.
Daily Habits That Make The Difference
The most powerful interventions are always the ones that seem so simple.
The compound effect of daily habits is the magic ingredient here.
Consistency ALWAYS beats intensity.
Here are some small daily habits that have been backed by research to be beneficial in reducing suicidal ideation: morning sunlight exposure, daily gratitude, regular meal times, moving breaks and evening wind-down routines.
The real impact of these come over time, as the magic of the compound effect starts to happen.
Wrapping It All Together
Lifestyle changes are an often-underestimated resource in the battle against suicidal ideation.
Research leaves no doubt that simple changes to exercise, sleep, nutrition, and social connections can lead to significant mental health improvements.
With 12.8 million adults experiencing suicidal thoughts each year in the United States alone, these accessible interventions are more important than ever.
But here is the real key insight you need to know and this is a big one;
You don’t need to be perfect to see improvement. Even modest changes in one or two lifestyle areas can have a meaningful impact on your mental health and wellbeing.
Research clearly shows that people who engage in regular leisure-time physical activity, practice good sleep hygiene, eat a healthy diet, and maintain strong social connections have a significantly lower risk of suicidal ideation.
These are not just lifestyle tips, they are evidence-based suicide prevention strategies that can be implemented by anyone.
And the best part?
They are free, have no negative side effects, and improve your overall quality of life in many other ways.
Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.