What Holistic Mental Health Means, and Why It Matters
- Brainz Magazine
- Jul 1
- 5 min read
Written by Tiffany Ludwicki, Health Coach
Tiffany Ludwicki is well-known when it comes to Snoring and sleep issues. She is the founder of Mind Body Mouth and the Stop Snoring Solution (an online and virtual program)
In recent years, mental health has gained long-overdue recognition as a vital component of overall well-being. But while therapy and medication play essential roles, there’s a growing awareness that a holistic approach, one that treats the whole person, is key to long-term mental wellness. And this approach goes beyond the current paradigm.
What does holistic mental health mean?
Holistic mental health recognizes that our emotional and psychological well-being is influenced by a wide range of interconnected factors: physical, environmental, spiritual, social, and financial. It moves beyond simply treating symptoms and looks at the root causes of imbalance. This includes attention to nutrition, movement, emotional resilience, social connection, and perhaps most critically, sleep.
Holistic healing is layered
Holistic healing is inherently layered because every person’s experience, body, and emotional landscape are different. While sleep may be a foundational pillar for one person, someone else might first need to address trauma, nutrition, or a lack of social support.
There’s rarely a one-size-fits-all starting point, healing unfolds in cycles, not straight lines. What works for one individual may not resonate with another, and often, multiple systems require support simultaneously. That’s the beauty of a holistic approach: it allows space for nuance, personalization, and the understanding that true well-being is built from many interconnected parts working in harmony.
Supporting mental wellness means supporting the whole person. This includes:
Balanced nutrition, which fuels the brain and regulates blood sugar, directly impacting mood, focus, and emotional stability.
Regular movement, which releases endorphins, natural mood boosters, and reduces inflammation, increasingly linked to anxiety, depression, and brain fog.
Mind-body practices like breathwork, yoga, or meditation, which are powerful tools for mental health because they help calm the nervous system, increase self-awareness, and create a sense of groundedness in both body and mind.
Spiritual practices, whether through religion, nature, reflection, or a sense of purpose, can provide comfort, meaning, and connection, all of which are vital for resilience and emotional well-being.
Healthy social connections and boundaries, which help us feel seen and supported, while also protecting our energy and creating space for emotional safety and self-respect.
Nervous system regulation through practices like vagus nerve stimulation, cold therapy, or bodywork, which help the body shift out of chronic stress and into a calmer, more balanced state where healing, clarity, and emotional stability can occur.
And, of course, high-quality, restorative sleep, which I am going to dive into now. I believe it is the starting point for all other changes to become accessible, actionable, and impactful.
The missing piece: sleep as the foundation of mental wellness
Poor sleep doesn’t just make us groggy; it can mimic and even contribute to anxiety, depression, irritability, and memory issues. Chronic sleep deprivation impacts the body’s ability to regulate stress hormones like cortisol and can throw off brain chemistry essential for mood regulation. Over time, this can lead to a vicious cycle of worsening mental health.
If you're feeling stuck, low-energy, or emotionally overwhelmed, it's worth asking: Am I truly sleeping well? It’s not just about how many hours you sleep; it’s about how well you sleep, how deeply and uninterrupted.
For many people, snoring (or their partner’s snoring) is a sign that quality sleep is being disrupted, night after night. Holistic mental health starts from the foundation up, and sleep, especially when impacted by snoring or apnea, could be the root cause hiding in plain sight.
Snoring: A red flag for deeper issues
Snoring is often brushed off as annoying but harmless. In reality, it can be a symptom of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a condition where breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep. This disrupts oxygen flow to the brain and causes micro-awakenings throughout the night, even if the person doesn’t realize it.
Sleep apnea is linked to:
Daytime fatigue and brain fog
Increased anxiety and depression
Lowered resilience to stress
Impaired decision-making
Elevated risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke
What’s often misunderstood is that people living with undiagnosed sleep apnea may be trying to "push through" chronic exhaustion, thinking it’s just stress or a busy lifestyle, when in fact their brain isn’t getting the deep, restorative sleep it needs to function.
Silent struggles: How snoring (without apnea) impacts brain oxygen and mental health
While sleep apnea often gets the spotlight when discussing sleep disorders, chronic snoring can sometimes be even more dangerous, simply because it’s so often ignored. Many people dismiss snoring as just a nuisance or a normal part of aging, never realizing it may be a sign of partial airway obstruction that’s silently reducing oxygen to the brain night after night.
Unlike diagnosed sleep apnea, which typically leads to medical intervention, snoring often goes untreated, leaving the brain and body in a chronic state of low-grade oxygen deprivation. Over time, this can impair memory, concentration, and mood regulation, and even increase the risk of anxiety, depression, and cardiovascular issues.
The lack of awareness around snoring means many people are unknowingly living in a fog, running on fumes, and blaming themselves for fatigue or emotional struggles that are rooted in disrupted, oxygen-poor sleep.
Sleep first, heal faster
For those struggling with mental health concerns, identifying and treating snoring or sleep-disordered breathing can be a game-changer. Many people who’ve addressed their sleep issues report improvements in:
Mood stability
Emotional regulation
Cognitive clarity
Energy and motivation
This is why any truly holistic approach to mental health should include a conversation about sleep, especially if symptoms are lingering despite therapy or lifestyle changes.
Stop snoring solution: Myofunctional therapy
Myofunctional therapy is a gentle, exercise-based approach that targets the muscles of the tongue, mouth, and throat to help improve breathing and reduce snoring and sleep apnea events. By strengthening and retraining these muscles, the airway becomes more stable during sleep, reducing the likelihood of collapse or obstruction.
For people who snore or experience mild to moderate sleep apnea, myofunctional therapy can offer a non-invasive, medication-free option that addresses the root cause rather than just the symptoms. Over time, improved muscle tone and proper tongue posture can lead to quieter sleep, better oxygen flow to the brain, and fewer interruptions, translating to deeper rest, more energy, and better mental clarity throughout the day.
Sleep isn’t a luxury – It’s medicine
Let’s just consider this: you can survive mere minutes without breathing, days without sleep, weeks without water, and months without food. So, what do you think are the most important aspects of health and wellness?
You guessed it: breathing and sleeping. Improve your breathing at night through reduced snoring and apnea events, and you'll also experience improved sleep, which will lead to better mental health in other areas.
Find out why you snore by completing this assessment: 5 Steps to Help Tired Adults Discover Why They Snore …And How to Get a Healthy Night’s Sleep without Disturbing Their Loved Ones
Book a Snoring Assessment call with a professional Myofunctional Therapist
Read more from Tiffany Ludwicki
Tiffany Ludwicki, Health Coach
Tiffany Ludwicki is a leader in sleep performance. A history of snoring and memory loss combined with a child born with airway issues, Tiffany created strategies to dramitically improve their sleep quality. She has since dedicated her life to helping others unleash the snoring beast within – to find peace throughout the night and optimize their potential throughout the day. She is the founder of Mind Body Mouth and the Stop Snoring Solution, an online program with virtual group coaching to assist others in stopping snoring and reducing sleep apnea events. Her mission is to spread awareness of the dangers of snoring and through snoring cessation, improve people's energy and reduce their risk for chronic disease and divorce.
