Over the past few years, both mental and physical health have been at the forefront of many people’s minds. And now more than ever, society is prioritising wellness more than ever before—we can see it from the contagion concerns during the pandemic, advertising campaigns encouraging health checks, progressive mental health movements and a greater focus on employee wellbeing.At YuLife, our mission is to support the everyday wellbeing of our members and inspire them to lead healthier, happier lives. While self-care practices for your mind might often look different to those for your body, your mental and physical health are intrinsically linked—meaning an issue within one can greatly impact the other. Stress is a key example here, commonly causing headaches and tummy troubles in the short term, and contributing to chronic health conditions in the long term.To protect your physical and mental health—and to avoid one impacting the other—it’s crucial to manage your stress levels before they have an even greater impact on your life. Let’s take a closer look at the links between mental and physical health, before exploring how YuLife’s innovative Group Health Insurance—which includes comprehensive cover plus access to our extensive hub of wellbeing tools—can help to support both.The link between mental and physical healthYour mental and physical health are innately connected and can affect one another in several ways—from the brain-gut axis, through which stress and anxiety can lead to digestive issues, to the link between prolonged stress and heart disease.And it works both ways: your physical health can impact your mental health too. According to the NHS, 2/3 of people with a long-term physical health condition subsequently struggle with a mental health condition such as anxiety or depression. When it comes to looking after yourself, the mind and body can also benefit from the same forms of nourishment. For example, high-quality sleep allows your physical body to rest, recover and rebuild—but it also gives your brain time to process new information learned during the day. Plus, the quality of your sleep is vital for deciding your mood and concentration levels when you wake up. Similarly, fuelling yourself with healthy nutrition also supports your body and mind. For example, adequate protein is required both to repair muscles and to provide the brain with amino acids so it can produce neurotransmitters, which are essential for regulating your thoughts and feelings. Even physical exercise supports your mind as well as your body, thanks to the release of mood-boosting endorphins. While your mental and physical health can interact and affect one another in a variety of ways, the most common—and most detrimental—example is something we’re all too familiar with in our modern world: stress. How does stress impact physical health?When you feel stressed, your brain sends a distress signal to the body and the sympathetic nervous system releases a flood of different stress hormones, including cortisol and adrenaline. This triggers the ‘fight-or-flight’ response, where your body is equipped with a burst of high-alert energy, ready to face a perceived threat. Even if this threat is a looming deadline, the instinctive response is the same. In the short term, stress can present itself as a variety of physical symptoms within the body—you might experience a racing heart, increased sweating or a dizzy spell. Many people also fall prey to after effects, such as headaches, upset stomachs and muscle tension. While it’s normal to experience a stress response when faced with certain situations—which can occasionally be useful, thanks to enhanced focus, awareness and concentration—we are only meant to function in this stressed state for a short amount of time before the parasympathetic nervous system ideally kicks in, returning us to a ‘rest and digest’ state. The real issues arise when you find yourself feeling stressed all the time. Long-term effects of stress on the body1. Lowered immune system functionWith cold and flu season upon us, we greatly rely on our immune systems to fend off seasonal bugs and stay in top form. However, one of the key ways stress impacts the body and contributes to physical health issues is through the weakening of the immune system. According to a meta-analysis of 300 studies on the topic, this occurs because the immune system responds to signals from other systems in the body, including the nervous and endocrine systems. Therefore, any stressful event that triggers these systems can also impact the immune system. The meta-analysis also found that while acute, short-term stress has little impact on the immune system—with some studies even demonstrating a beneficial effect—when this stress becomes chronic, more components of the immune system are affected in a potentially harmful way, suppressing the body’s ability to fight off infections and putting your overall health at risk.2. Increased inflammation in the bodyIf you’re regularly experiencing heightened levels of stress, such as work-related anxiety, it could be increasing the amount of inflammation in your body. In turn, this can lead to flare-ups in certain inflammatory conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease, as well as chronic low-grade inflammation, which can have detrimental effects on your health and longevity. One study also found that stress can worsen—or even induce—a range of health conditions by increasing peripheral inflammation and neuroinflammation, including cardiovascular disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, depression, neurodegenerative disease and cancer. This suggests inflammation could be the common pathway for many stress-related diseases.3. Issues with digestionEver find yourself getting a funny tummy when you’re feeling stressed? This common phenomenon is linked to our instinctive fight-or-flight response and the brain-gut axis, whereby our digestion is instructed to slow down or even stop altogether in response to stress, so the body can divert all its internal energy to facing a perceived threat. While we may no longer be required to escape or fight off a predator when stress strikes, the body readies itself similarly. This can lead to a range of uncomfortable digestive symptoms, including constipation, diarrhea, bloating, abdominal pain and changes in appetite.While this is often a short-lived problem, which resolves itself once the feelings of stress dissipate, prolonged stress can contribute to the development of long-term digestive issues. According to one study, stress can negatively alter the gut’s physiology in a broad array of ways, from increasing intestinal permeability to disrupting the gut microbiome. Over time, these changes can contribute to the development of several gastrointestinal disorders including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), food antigen-related adverse responses, peptic ulcers and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). 4. Risks to cardiovascular healthThe link between stress and heart issues is well documented. When we are exposed to high levels of cortisol, which our body releases due to long-term stress, it can increase blood cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar, and blood pressure, which are all common risk factors for heart disease.Prolonged stress can also promote the buildup of plaque deposits in the arteries, trigger poor blood flow to the heart, and affect how the blood clots. Eventually, these ongoing issues can result in a heart attack or stroke. The link between cardiovascular health and stress is so prevalent that researches are advising cardiologists to consider implementing stress-management techniques as part of the treatment guidelines for cardiovascular disease. Overall, it’s clear that managing stress levels is vital for promoting optimal physical and mental health. That’s where YuLife’s Group Health Insurance can help.How YuLife’s Group Health Insurance supports physical and mental healthMany insurance companies jump into action only once a health condition has cropped up. However, YuLife’s approach to insurance has always focused on supporting wellbeing on a day-to-day basis and preventing mental and physical health conditions from developing in the first place—while also providing flexible cover and support should ill health occur. YuLife’s new Group Health Insurance policy, created in partnership with Bupa, provides employees with comprehensive cover for all their health needs, including fast access to treatment and referrals for a range of physical and mental health conditions, plus unlimited digital GP appointments.Looking after your mental and physical healthAs part of the package, employees will also receive access to YuLife’s suite of wellbeing tools, designed to support their physical and mental health and encourage healthier lifestyle habits. This includes the gamified YuLife app, where employees can complete everyday wellness activities in exchange for vouchers and discounts or donations for charity. What’s more, being covered by comprehensive health insurance has also been shown to give employees greater peace of mind. “Access to high-quality healthcare is transformative for employees’ sense of mental, physical, and financial wellbeing, especially in the current economic landscape,” adds Sammy Rubin, CEO and founder at YuLife. “This forms part of our mission of making health and wellbeing accessible to all, and ensuring that YuLife members are living their best lives.”Overall, YuLife aims to provide employees with secure and simple-to-use health insurance, as well as the necessary tools and support required for daily stress management—helping them to improve their overall wellbeing and protect their health in the long run. Health is a lifelong journey—and YuLife is dedicated to supporting you every step of the way. Our Group Health Insurance policy is the latest step in our mission to support better mental and physical wellbeing, both in and out of the workplace.To find out more about YuLife’s innovative Group Health Insurance policy, you can speak to our team.