Just as thoughts can affect our body’s chemistry, studies have shown our biochemistry can also cloud or color our thinking. Likely all of us have noticed in children and in ourselves, that when we are tired, sleep deprived, or hungry, we have a tendency to be more irritable. When our body doesn’t get what it needs, the brain suffers and our perceptions as well as our memory and emotions can become distorted or disrupted.
Moreover, various physical disorders can contribute to stress, anxiety, and depression as well. These include:
. Menopause
As you may have noted in other articles on this site, all of these conditions are also linked to brain health issues and memory challenges. So it’s not just that stress and depression increase the risk for dementia, but they share underlying causes or contributing factors. So for example, if you can control systemic inflammation and reduce insulin resistance, then you can substantially reduce both physical stressors—as well as psychological stressors—and your risk for depression as well as dementia. For an example see A New Way to Manage Depression Without Drugs.
