Introduction

Mania is a serious mental health condition often treated with medications or therapies at mental health clinics. Anybody suffering from mania must visit their physician to get the correct treatment. Is there anything that can be done at home to manage mania? Are there any bad lifestyle habits that can be avoided that could potentially make an individual less vulnerable to mania? Keep reading to find out.

In this article, we will be looking at mania and some possible modifications that can be made in an individual’s lifestyle that may help them manage their condition better or prevent the occurrence of mania.

Mania and its consequences

What is mania?

Mania is the term used to describe episodes of mood disturbances and is the hallmark of a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. For example, an individual having a manic episode may be in an overly positive, hyper mood with increased energy, or they could be feeling more irritable. A lack of sleep, disturbed perception, poorer judgement and impaired thinking are all common in patients with mania. It is a debilitating mental health condition impacting not only the individual with mania but also their friends and family.¹

Consequences of mania

Clinical 

Injuries could be caused during manic episodes.¹

Financial

The individual with mania may be unable to work.¹ They may also struggle to make personal financial decisions correctly due to impaired thinking and mania.

Interpersonal

Mania also has interpersonal consequences.¹ Individuals may struggle to make and keep friends and may feel more isolated as a result.

Legal consequences

An individual having a manic episode will have impaired thinking and decision-making which could result in legal consequences. For example, somebody may commit a crime during a manic episode. Depending on which part of the world you live in, and the severity of the crime committed, the punishment could vary and mania may not always be considered a valid reason to reduce the punishment. 

Despite mania being a really serious mental health condition, the underlying causes of mania are poorly understood so diagnosis and treatment are challenging.

Mania, circadian rhythms and chronotypes

Having an evening chronotype has been associated with poorer mental health. Let’s look at what chronotypes are and how they are associated with mania.

Circadian rhythm

Most living organisms have developed to match their internal biological processes to the external environment, the 24-hour day. This is known as the circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythm is sensitive to things like light and dark (daytime and nighttime) and mealtimes.²

Chronotypes

Chronotypes are categories used to group individuals based on their time preference for sleep and other daily routine activities. The three main chronotypes are morning, intermediate and evening.³

Questionnaires are usually used to determine chronotypes. Some widely known and used questionnaires include the morningness-eveningness questionnaire and the Munich chronotype questionnaire.³

Morning chronotype

People who have a morning chronotype sleep early and wake up early. As a result, they complete the majority of their daily activities early as that is when they likely have their optimum mental and physical performance.³

Evening chronotype

Individuals with an evening chronotype sleep late and wake up late. Their peak mental and physical performance is later therefore they tend to complete the majority of their daily activities later.³

Intermediate chronotype

Most people are in the intermediate category. They fall somewhere between the morning and evening chronotypes in terms of their sleep-wake times and peak mental and physical performance.

The link between chronotypes and mental health

Studies have shown that a person’s chronotype has an impact on their health overall.

Patients with mania and substance abuse tend to be more evening types.

Eveningness is also associated with disturbed sleep patterns and more risk of serious mental health issues.³

The link between psychotic disorders and chronotype still needs to be researched further.

Potential lifestyle modifications to prevent manic episodes

Sleeping earlier

As mentioned above, many studies have found that eveningness is associated with disturbed sleep patterns and an increased risk of serious mental health issues.^3,5 Based on these findings, one lifestyle modification that may help those suffering from manic episodes is to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier. Shifting the daily routine from a more evening-based one to a consistent morning-based one may help with managing mania.

Fixed mealtimes

Tissue circadian rhythms are sensitive to mealtimes. It takes multiple days for tissue clocks to adjust to new mealtimes. Since most people tend not to eat at fixed times and mealtimes change constantly, the circadian clocks of digestive organs cannot fully adjust to it. This could contribute to mood disorder development. Therefore, having fixed mealtimes may also help manage mania.²

Exercise

Studies have suggested that increasing the amount of physical activity during the day helps stabilise circadian clocks. Therefore, more exercise during the daytime is another possible lifestyle modification for reducing manic episodes.^2,6

Obesity and bipolar disorder

Around 68% of bipolar patients who are seeking treatment are either overweight or obese. This can result in comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This further emphasises the importance of exercise and a good diet.^4,7

Seeking physical and mental health support

Making all these lifestyle changes would undoubtedly be challenging. Every individual is different, and it is important that anybody suffering from mania speaks to their physician/GP and seeks support. This would help them get more tailored advice and the right support.

Another important point to mention is that individuals going through major life events such as the loss of a loved one or giving birth would be more likely to have mood episodes due to the severe changes these may have in their daily routine.² Seeking support at times like these may also reduce the likelihood of developing mania.

Summary

Overall, mania is a serious mental health condition with clinical, interpersonal, financial and legal ramifications and is often associated with bipolar disorder. It is important to seek medical help to be diagnosed and given treatment. Although there are some therapies and medications, research suggests that there are changes that can be made in the individual's lifestyle that may also aid with the effective management of mania.