External Factors Affecting Mental Health - Guest post by Dr. Jim Bews

It’s Spring!  Hurrah!  Many of us feel better as this new season comes on and replaces the shortened days of winter.  Our mood is better; in fact our whole mental health seems better.  What if there were some logical things that could help our mood be better all year long?  Turns out there are.


As a Medical Doctor and Psychotherapist for the past 41 years, I have seen many people with mental health issues often presenting as depression and anxiety.  The drug companies encourage doctors to prescribe antidepressants for many of these people.  But think about it for a moment.  In depression and anxiety disorders what is the first thing to go?  The answer is sleep.  The natural second thing to go is energy.  What if there could be a way to get people their energy back through getting a good night’s sleep?  Logically that would seem to be a good thing.

Next, if the thousands of drugs and chemicals that come into our bodies through our water, air and food are toxic invaders and some of those chemicals end up in our brain cells, could they be causing a toxicity that might show up as depression and anxiety problems?  That seems logical as well.  What if we could purify water and purify the air so that we didn’t have chemicals invading our bodies? Wouldn’t that be a good thing to do?

Four Steps to Improve Mental Health

1. Get a good night’s sleep.
Eighty-five percent of people in North America complain that they don’t get a good night’s sleep on a regular basis.  When we don’t get a good night’s sleep we notice it right away and everyone else in our lives notice it too.  That is stressful.  We all have STRESS of some kind in our lives anyway.  And yet the greatest stress reliever we can have in our lives…..is a good night’s sleep.  You know, the kind of sleep where we get up…. having all the energy we want … to do the things we love to do in our lives. When we don’t have that energy we often miss out on the second greatest stress reliever… exercise. Next when we don’t sleep well often we tend to overeat (and we find it much harder to lose those extra pounds).  More stress.  In fact our risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke and even sudden death goes up by many times when we don’t sleep well.

2. Drink pure water.
I recommend a water system that filters out drugs, chemicals and bacteria and provides water at an optimal pH for the body.  Filtering out drugs and chemicals is easy.  Most filters will do this.  Filtering out the dead bacteria in our water requires micro-filtration to the one micron level at least, but be aware; most store-bought filters do not filter down to this level.  The other really important thing with your water system is that it takes the acidity out.  Only water that is at the ideal pH (7.4), can be totally absorbed by our cells.  Ninety-nine percent of the body’s circulation is comprised of water.  The water in your circulation is the delivery system for nutrition to your cells and is also very important for the removal of waste products and toxins.  Imagine if we could cleanse our brains with this purified water. That would undoubtedly improve our mental health.  Water truly is the “RIVER OF LIFE”.

Ensure the water system you use has independent third party certification. for example from the National Sanitation Foundation in the United States.  Many companies make claims, but never allow their water systems to be tested independently and do not have this certification.  It’s important.  Don’t be taken in.

3. Breathe pure air.
Use a high quality HEPA air filter and negative ion generator.  All air is ionized; but it is the negative ions that have very positive effects on our bodies.  They are responsible for that good feeling we have when standing by a waterfall in nature.  They act as natural antidepressants as well as promote good mental performance and concentration, improved physical performance, fewer respiratory problems and better sleep.  Being surrounded by negative ions on a daily basis can have a significant positive contribution to mental health.  A high quality air purifier can be easy to incorporate into your home and very affordable, but be sure it is certified to be 100% ozone free.

4. Eat well.
Good nutrition is extremely important to good mental health.  Eat clean, whole foods to give your body the nutrients it needs.  This means eating fruits, vegetables and whole grains.  The nutrients provided by whole foods help support the brain.

These are some basic things we can do to improve our mental health. All of these things; good sleep, pure water, pure air and pure food supplements promote better mental health and overall well-being.

Dr. JIM BEWS, MD CCFP
(If you would like to send any questions or comments to Dr. Bews or to find out more about the sleep, air or water filtration systems he recommends, you can send requests to michelle@bundlesofenergy.com or info@bundlesofenergy.com .)