Life style factors such as kinds of physical exercise and activities restorative sleep types of food one consumes stress management social connectedness and avoiding harmful substances have significant effects on prevention or improvement of various mental and physical disorders and promoting mental and physical wellness fitness and vitality. This lecture will discuss the evidence base for the effectiveness of some of these factors and the underlying biological mechanisms. It will highlight some easy to implement interventions that can have big returns for longevity and mental and physical health. Advances in cutting-edge research in this area will be explored including interventional studies. The objective of this lecture is to encourage clinicians to incorporate specific lifestyle interventions in their practice in addition to psychotherapy pharmacotherapy neuromodulation and other interventions.
Format
Recorded webinar, non-interactive, self-paced distance learning activity.
This presentation was recorded at the 2025 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting.
Learning Objectives
- Describe advances in our understanding of how lifestyle factors affect mental and physical health.
- Discuss the evidence base for these relationships in some specific disorders.
- Cite exercise and nutritional interventional studies that showed benefits in depressive disorders.
- Discuss how different aspects of sleep affect different areas of mental function.
Target Audience
Medical Students, Residents/Fellows, Psychiatrists
Estimated Time to Complete
Estimated Duration: 1.0 hours
Begin Date: November 1, 2026
End Date: November 1, 2029
How to Earn Credit
Participants who wish to earn 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit ™ or a certificate of participation may do so by completing all sections of the course including the evaluation. After evaluating the program, course participants will be provided with an opportunity to claim hours of participation and print an official CME certificate (physicians) or certificate of participation (non-physicians) showing the event date and hours earned.
Continuing Education Credit
In support of improving patient care, the American Psychiatric Association is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Physicians
The APA designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit ™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Faculty and Planner Disclosures
The American Psychiatric Association adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CME activity — including faculty, planners, reviewers or others — are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (commercial interests). All relevant conflicts of interest have been mitigated prior to the commencement of the activity.
Program Presenters
- Ramaswamy Viswanathan, MD, DrMedSc
Program Planners
- Vishal Madaan, MD. Chief of Education and Deputy Medical Director, APA.
Accessibility for Participants with Disabilities
The American Psychiatric Association is committed to ensuring accessibility of its website to people with disabilities. If you have trouble accessing any of APA’s online resources, please contact us at 202-559-3900 for assistance.
Technical Requirements
This internet-based CME activity is best experienced using any of the following:
- The latest and 2nd latest public versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Safari
- Internet Explorer 11+
This Web site requires that JavaScript and session cookies be enabled. Certain activities may require additional software to view multimedia, presentation, or printable versions of the content. These activities will be marked as such and will provide links to the required software. That software may be: Adobe Acrobat Reader, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Windows Media Player.
Optimal System Configuration:
- Browser: Google Chrome (latest and 2nd latest version), Safari (latest and 2nd latest version), Internet Explorer 11.0+, Firefox (latest and 2nd latest version), or Microsoft Edge (latest and 2nd latest version)
- Operating System: Windows versions 8.1+, Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) +, Android (latest and 2nd latest version), or iOS/iPad OS (latest and 2nd latest version)
- Internet Connection: 1 Mbps or higher
Minimum Requirements:
- Windows PC: Windows 8.1 or higher; 1 GB (for 32-bit)/2 GB (for 64-bit) or higher RAM; Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content
- Macintosh: Mac OS X 10.5 or higher with latest updates installed; Intel, PowerPC G5, or PowerPC G4 (867MHz or faster) processor; 512 MB or higher RAM; audio playback with speakers for programs with video content
For assistance: Contact educme@psych.org for questions about this activity | Contact learningcenter@psych.org for technical assistance