How can we boost our mental health in the COVID-19 era to minimize the impact of the virus and the “social distancing” in our lives, and to develop a healthier and more resilient “new normal” for the future? Will we finally pay serious attention to the link between stress regulation and our health and well-being? Firstly, there are five facts about stress, the brain and mental health that can help. There is virtually no disease, illness or injury that is not aided by good mental health. Why? 1. Our brains and our immune system are deeply linked to each other. The immune system is the prime mediator of environmental agents such as microbes, chemicals and the infamous COVID-19. It is intimately linked to our mood and to a number of brain maladies from Alzheimer’s disease to stroke and depression. 2. Stress is normal and can be healthy (and spur healthy behaviours: think of a zebra trying to escape a rapidly approaching lion), but too much sustained stress is not. High and unregulated levels of stress have a number of negative consequences on the brain, immunity and the vascular system, leading to blood sugar imbalances, high blood pressure and impaired immunity and inflammatory responses – the very precise opposite of what we need to fight the potential impact from COVID-19 exposure. 3. Physical exercise is an essential component of improving both physical and mental health and regular exercise has been linked to changes in brain connectivity, and increases in brain growth factors (e.g. brain-derived neurotrophic factor) and decreases in oxidative stress which damages cells and tissue.