Exercise and Mental Health Benefits
We all are already aware of the physical benefits of exercise for our bodies. But do you know that exercise is also beneficial in dealing with stress, anxiety, and depression? This blog is all about exercise and mental health benefits that you can experience.
What Are the Mental Health Advantages of exercise?
You need to come out of the notion that exercise is just about muscle size and aerobic capacity. Sure, it can improve your physical health and will reduce your waistline, get you a better physique and will add more years to life. But these are some of the points that might not be motivating for all to make sure they remain active.
People that are regular with their exercise can do so as they experience a huge sense of overall wellbeing. They are more energetic in the day, can sleep better, have a sharp memory and are generally more relaxed and remain positive. And this is certainly amongst the most positive medicine for people dealing with mental health issues.
Having any form of workout added to your daily life does have a profound positive impact when we consider, ADHD, anxiety, depression and more. You are less stressed, have improved memory and your overall mood is better. You don’t need to be a fitness freak for reaping the benefits. Researches indicate that exercise in a modest amount is also able to make a huge difference. Regardless of your age group, level of fitness exercise can be a powerful tool that can help you to feel better.
Exercise and mental health benefit # 1: Helps in dealing with depression:
Studies reveal that exercise can treat moderate depression effectively and has similar effects on antidepressant medication. And of course, you won’t be experiencing any side effects. For instance, one of the studies that were done at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health had found that when you walk for one hour or run 15 minutes per day, your risk for major depression lowers by about 26%.
Additionally, it can help in relieving the symptoms of depression. Research also indicates that having a maintained exercise schedule will prevent the condition from relapse. Regular exercise works as a powerful tool for fighting depression for many reasons. The most important of them being that it promotes neural growth in the brain, reduces inflammation. There is a new activity pattern that promotes a sense of wellbeing and calmness.
Working out releases endorphins that energize your spirit and keep you happy. Finally, having a regular exercise regime works as a distraction and you have some peaceful time that makes sure you are away from the cycle of negative thinking that feeds depression.
Exercise and mental health benefit # 2: Reduces Anxiety:
One of the most effective and natural treatment for anxiety is exercise. It gives relief from stress and tension while boosting mental and physical energy. Your feeling of well being is enhanced as endorphins get released. You don’t need to join a gym to do this. Anything that you like that will make sure that you are moving will help. But remember that you will get better results if you are focused then zoning out.
Just try and notice the sensation that you experience when you hit the ground, the breathing rhythm and the feeling of wind touching your skin. When you add such mindful elements and focus on the way exercise makes you feel, not only will your condition get better faster, but you will be interrupting the constant worry flow in your head.
Exercise and mental health benefit # 3: Gives relief from stress:
Have you ever noticed the way your body feels when you are under extreme stress? The muscles can get tense, especially the shoulder, neck, and face. One might feel a pounding pulse or muscle cramps. A lot of people might experience issues like heartburn, insomnia and many other physical conditions. The discomfort and worry about all of these symptoms lead to even higher stress levels. This creates a vicious cycle between the body and the mind.
Exercise can help with breaking this cycle effectively. Any kind of physical activity will relax your muscles and relieve tension. As your mind and body are closely linked, you will feel better in your mind when your body is feeling better.
Exercise and mental health benefit # 4: Reduces ADHD:
One of the simplest and most effective ways of reducing ADHD symptoms is exercise. It also improves your mood, motivation, and concentration. Any kind of physical activity is going to boost dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine levels instantly. All of these are responsible for affecting attention and focus. In this manner, exercise works similarly as medication like Adderall and Ritalin that are given for ADHD.
Exercise and mental health benefit # 5: You fight better with PTSD and trauma:
There are shreds of evidence that prove that when you focus on the way your body feels while exercising, you help the nervous system to get “unstuck”. This means that start moving out of immobilized stress response that mainly characterizes trauma or PTSD.
So make sure that you don’t allow your mind to wander and are paying attention to the physical sensation in muscles and joints. The physical activities that involve cross-body movements that engage legs and arms both can be your best choices. You can walk on sand or wet grass in your garden, swim, run, and weight train or just dance.
If you can other ways for reducing PTSD symptoms can be through outdoor activities like mountain biking, sailing, hiking, whitewater rafting, rock climbing, and skiing.
Other emotional and mental exercise benefits:
1. Sharper thinking and memory:
Did you know that the same endorphin that makes you feel better can also help you focus and make you mentally sharp for handling tasks in your hand? This stimulates the growth of novel brain cells and assists with preventing age-related declines.
2. Enhanced self-esteem:
Working out regularly is a vital investment that you make for your body, mind, and soul. So when you make it a habit to spend some time doing any physical activity that you like, it does make you feel powerful and strong. You do feel better about the way you look and when you can achieve the smallest of the exercise goals there is this sense of accomplishment like no other.
3. You sleep better:
When you are making sure that you have short bursts of exercise in the day, it helps regulate your sleeping pattern. In case you like exercising in evenings or nights, gentle stretching or yoga is going to promote sleep.
4. More energy:
When you increase your heart rate several times a week, it will give you more energy to just get up and go with your daily routine. You can just begin with a few minutes per day, and gradually increase the time as you feel energized.
5. Strong resilience:
If you are currently facing any emotional or mental challenges in your life, exercise will help you to cope with it healthily. So instead of resorting to drugs, alcohol or any such negative behaviors that will make your symptoms worse try exercising. It will also improve your immunity and reduce the stress impact.
Exercise and mental health: Reaping health benefits is much easier than one believes:
Are you wondering how much of this physical activity has to be done for giving your mental health a boost? It’s not as much as you think it is. One does not need to devote hours working out at a gym or go for monotonous run mile after mile. You can get all of the benefits with just 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise that needs to be done five days per week. If you are busy try doing small sessions of 15 minutes each and this will work too. Think of this in a way that having some activity is better than doing nothing at all.
If you are already dealing with some other health issue, consult your doctor first. You can also begin with just 5 to 10 minutes a day and slowly work your way up. The more one exercises, the higher the energy levels are and this eventually makes you feel ready for a bit more.
The key here is being committed to moderate activity on most days of the week. This will ensure that exercising is a habit for you slowly you can add a few extra minutes or maybe just try another activity. Just by doing this, you are going to see the exercise benefits begin paying off.
You don’t need to suffer for results:
Research also shows that for most people just moderate exercise works best. By this we mean:
1. You are breathing slightly heavier than normal, but you are also not going out of breath. For instance, while walking you should be able to talk to your partner but singing a song shouldn’t be that easy.
2. As you are moving, the body needs to feel warmer but not very sweaty or overheated.
How does one overcome mental health obstacles so that they can exercise?
So by now, you are aware that exercise is going to help you feel better and there is no need for an extreme effort that you might have initially thought. But what about the first step that’s hardest to take for anyone? We completely understand that it gets even more difficult when a person is already dealing with mental health issues. So we have sorted out some of the most common barriers and see how you can get through:
1. When you feel exhausted:
When you are tired or stressed, one feels that exercise will worsen the situation. But in reality, working out is going to fill you up with much-needed energy. Studies reveal that regular physical activity will dramatically reduce weariness and enhances energy levels. So if you have been feeling tired just promise yourself to go for a five-minute walk. There is a higher chance that you will be able to go say, five more minutes once you give it a go.
2. When you are overwhelmed:
Adding exercise seems like an obligation and can get overwhelming when people are dealing with depression. Exercise just does not seem doable. If you have children, managing child care and working out is a hurdle in itself. Always remember that we can do everything else in a much better way when we work out. So if you try making any kind of physical activity as your priority, you will see that there are several ways to fit it in your busy schedule.
3. When one feels hopeless:
It’s ok to start from “ground zero”. Exercise is going to help you get in better shape. If you have absolutely no experience when it comes to working out, begin with low impact movements just for a few minutes every day.
4. When you feel bad about you:
Are you the worst critic of yourself? Now, it’s time that you start thinking about your body in a new way. It doesn’t matter what your age, weight, fitness level is. There are so many people, just like you that have a similar goal and that’s to get fit. You can try taking a class that has people of different fitness levels. When you accomplish the smallest of the fitness goals, you will gain confidence.
5. When you feel pain:
If you have severe weigh the issue, disability, illness or injury, arthritis, it can limit your mobility. One can always talk to their health care provider for finding safe ways to exercise. Never ignore pain, but do what you can, and whenever you can. Divide the workout into much shorter sessions. You can even try working out in the water as it reduces muscle discomfort and stress on joints.
Make workouts a fun element of your routine life:
You don’t have to spend several hours in a closed gym or force yourself to go ahead with monotonous long workouts. For experiencing the mental health benefits you can choose any activity that you like and keep switching things so that it doesn’t get boring. Hopefully this blog on “Exercise and mental health benefits” has helped you with tips that will ensure that you begin feeling better, looking better and get so much more out of your life.
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