Enhancing Mental Health Through Lifestyle: Exercise, Sleep & Diet

A free community event hosted by the Mathison Centre for Mental Health & Education and the University of Calgary.

How does what you eat affect your mood? Can better sleep reduce anxiety? What role does exercise play in preventing depression?

Join us during Mental Health Week 2026 for an engaging evening with leading researchers and clinicians who will explore the powerful connections between lifestyle and mental health.

Meet the Experts:

Dr. Araba Chintoh, PhD, MBBS, FRCPC, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Calgary. Her clinical and research interests focus on schizophrenia, including psychopharmacology and metabolic dysfunction. Her work also explores mental and physical health in elite athletes, with a focus on identifying, preventing and mitigating risk factors for poor mental health. Dr. Chintoh is a former Canadian national rugby player and a consultant for international sports federations on player welfare. She is passionate about the wellness and culture of sports organizations from grassroots to elite levels.

Dr. Andrea Loewen, MD, FRCPC, is a sleep and assisted ventilation specialist with expertise in the respiratory management of neuromuscular conditions, including ALS, spinal cord injury, and restrictive chest wall and airway diseases. She practices at the Peter Lougheed Centre in Calgary, home of the Southern Alberta Chronic Ventilation Program and Neuromuscular Respiratory Clinic. Dr. Loewen also works at the Foothills Medical Centre Sleep Centre, where she provides comprehensive sleep medicine care, including insomnia, hypersomnia, circadian rhythm disorders, and other sleep conditions. She is also a sleep educator and clinical researcher.

Dr. Elnaz Vaghef Mehrabani, PhD, holds a PhD in Nutritional Sciences and is registered as a dietitian with the College of Dietitians of Alberta, with many years of clinical experience. Her research focuses on the role of nutrition in the prevention of chronic diseases especially mental illness. Her post-doctoral research delved into how maternal nutrition pre-pregnancy and prenatally could affect mental health outcomes in the mother and the offspring. She studied in particular the inflammatory aspects of these exposures. Dr. Vaghef Mehrabani is passionate about advancing community-based nutrition interventions during pregnancy to help prevent mental health problems in mothers and their children.

Moderator: Dr. Matt Hill, PhD, is Director of the Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research & Education and a professor in the departments of Cell Biology & Anatomy and Psychiatry at the University of Calgary. His research focuses on how the brain responds to stress, with a particular emphasis on endocannabinoid signaling and its role in fear, anxiety and mental health. Dr. Hill has published more than 200 scientific papers and is widely recognized for his contributions to understanding the biological mechanisms underlying stress-related disorders.