Exercise and Mental Health: Why physical activity is good for your mind.
Many people believe that exercise and weight loss go hand in hand, but I strongly disagree. Unless you have the time to exercise 6-8 hours a day, you must also modify your food intake to see significant weight loss. However, exercise is still beneficial for various other aspects of health, such as improving cardiovascular health, boosting mood, and increasing overall fitness.
First, exercise has numerous benefits, some of which have yet to be entirely understood. Despite our knowledge about the importance of exercise, most people still lack the motivation to do it.
When you are struggling with depression or anxiety, it may feel like exercise is the last thing you want to do. However, once you motivate yourself, exercise can make a significant difference.
It is common knowledge that regular exercise can aid in preventing and improving numerous health issues, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and arthritis. However, not many people are aware that research conducted on depression, anxiety, and exercise has proven that the psychological and physical benefits of exercise can also help to improve mood and reduce anxiety.
The relationship between depression, anxiety, and exercise is not fully understood. However, engaging in physical activity can help alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety and improve your overall mood. Additionally, exercise may aid in preventing the recurrence of depression and anxiety once you have already begun to feel better.
How does one exercise while dealing with depression? That's a great question. Let's begin with an easier one: what is the most likely way to form a habit? If you're struggling to develop or start a new habit, it will be twice as hard if you're depressed. Even after you recognize that something benefits you, establishing a new routine can still be difficult. Habits, even as simple as taking a daily vitamin, can be challenging to form.
Despite your best intentions, you might have a tragic case of “I’ll do it tomorrow” syndrome. You put it off until you “feel like it.” But then tomorrow arrives, and you still don’t feel like it.
There may be several reasons you're unable to incorporate exercise into your routine. It could be because you're not used to exercising or have yet to find a way to fit it into your busy schedule. Perhaps you're not a morning person and have to leave the house early, making it impossible for you to workout. Alternatively, your evenings could be too busy, leaving no time for an hour at the gym.
Whatever the case, it’s time to address it. Most people don’t love to take medication, yet they want a straightforward answer, and they don’t feel that they have any power over it. Exercise can give you that power. Exercise can energize you, improve your confidence, and help you lead a healthier lifestyle. A recent study in the New York Times found that even the healthiest diet won't help you live longer or prevent disease without it.
It can even boost your mental health. It’s been known to increase focus and attention, fight anxiety, and act as a natural treatment against depression. For me, I show up better in my life when I get regular exercise. Exercise helps moderate my mood and keep a more positive outlook, enough so that my family gladly prioritizes my exercise time.
The impact of exercise on mental health has been a hot topic for research. The science is clear: Regular exercise can improve mental and emotional well-being and lower your risk of mental illness. In fact, the CDC says you can experience mental and physical health benefits with as little as 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day.
Here are some of the benefits of exercise on mental health. It can:
• Help you cope with anxiety disorders
• Increase your emotional regulation
• Reduce your risk of dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease)
• Lower your risk of major depressive disorder
• Increase your energy
• Improve your self self-esteem
• Make your more focused and attentive
• Train your resilience
• Reduce your symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Help you cope with the effects of PTSD and trauma
Exercise programs can help improve mental health, but they should not be considered as a substitute for professional mental health care. For individuals with more severe mental health conditions, exercise should be seen as a complementary intervention to other forms of treatment, such as psychotherapy or psychiatry. If you are experiencing symptoms of depression or anxiety, it is important to seek out appropriate mental health care.
Mental health professionals may prescribe exercise for mental health issues if they feel it’ll improve your situation.
Many of us require assistance to develop healthy habits. External support from a coach or group can help us understand our motivations and hold us accountable for consistent progress toward our goals.
How does exercise improve and benefit mental health?
The benefits of exercise are not magical. A direct connection exists between your body and brain; hence, when you take care of one, you are also taking care of the other. Below are the fundamental ways in which exercise enhances mental health:
1. Happy hormones
Your body releases chemicals such as dopamine and endorphins through regular physical activity. These hormones are responsible for most of the emotional benefits of exercise due to their capacity to create joy. That’s why they’re sometimes called “happy hormones.” They’re also known to induce euphoria in athletes, creating the phenomenon called “runner’s high.”
2. Suppressed stress
In addition to producing happy chemicals, exercise reduces your body’s stress hormone levels. This means less cortisol and adrenaline running through your body, lowering your risk of chronic stress and long-term health risks.
This also has the happy side effect of improving your sleep. Less stress and a physically tired body will help you get much-needed shuteye.
3. Strengthened circadian rhythm
Physical activity can be as effective as prescription sleep meds — especially if you do it outside. Outdoor workouts expose you to natural light, which signals your circadian rhythm when wind down.
Plus, when you sleep well, you get to enjoy a whole other set of health benefits:
• Stronger immune system
• Lowered risk of diabetes and heart disease
• Lower blood pressure
• Improved mood
• Better decision-making
• Increased attention and focus
4. Mind-body connection
Every time you move a muscle, sensory receptors communicate with your brain to provide information about your body’s position. Engaging in exercise intentionally can improve your physical self-awareness by increasing your mind’s awareness of your body’s position in space.
And as you develop this body awareness, your perception of yourself changes. You’ll start identifying with the movements of your chosen exercise. For example, if you’re a long-distance runner, you might perceive yourself as having grit and resilience, qualities necessary to train for and complete a marathon or other grueling physical feats.
5. The power of achievement
A healthy fitness routine usually involves setting goals. Whenever you reach a personal milestone or beat a personal record, you’ll motivate yourself to achieve the next one.
This sense of accomplishment can benefit your mental health. People who set realistic goals, in general, tend to have higher self-motivation, self-esteem, independence, and confidence. It also gives them a sense of purpose and something to strive for.
6. Social support
If you exercise with a friend or attend an exercise class, the social aspect can amplify the mental benefits of your workout.
Social interaction, on its own, can boost your mental health through the release of dopamine, which helps with stress, anxiety, and depression. Couple these benefits with physical activity, and you’ll maximize your mental health benefits.
Social accountability can also improve your motivation to complete your workout. If you compete in an amateur soccer league, you’ll participate more often for fear of letting your team down. This ensures you receive your dose of physical and social activity.
7. Defuse tension
Physical activity can offer similar effects to mindfulness, helping you relax and release stress.
Consider mindful breathing as an example. This practice involves intense focus on your inhales and exhales, which helps calm your mind and let go of stress. Yoga is a workout that follows similar principles and incorporates mindful stretching. This is the reason that a lot of mental health therapists recommend a yoga practice. It doesn’t have to be a great effort, but merely adding one or two poses to the end of your routine can increase mindfulness.
This makes it an excellent exercise for reducing anxiety and stress. Here, in addition to your breath, you focus on the feelings in your muscles and tendons along with your body positions. Some areas might stretch easily, and others might be tenser.
This kind of attention to your body movements can help you identify pain and release unwanted tension caused by stress.
What is the best physical activity for mental health?
The best physical exercise is the one you do consistently. Whether it’s a daily walk or weekly yoga class, consistency will help ensure you always experience some of the mental health benefits of exercise.
That said, certain workouts are better for treating specific mental health conditions:
Aerobics
Aerobic activities, like running, swimming, cycling, and walking, are great ways to increase your heart rate, boost your cardiovascular system, and exercise for your mental health. In a study of 185 university students, people who regularly performed aerobic exercise reported lower anxiety and better overall well-being.
Yoga and tai-chi
Mindful stretching is known for its stress-reducing properties. These exercises are low impact and put minimal pressure on muscles and joints, making them safe for all ages and fitness levels. They’re also inexpensive and require no special equipment.
Team sports
Team sports add extra accountability and social interaction to physical activity. They can also help you improve in several other areas:
• Executive functioning and creativity
• Teamwork
• Social responsibility
Plus, they might be more fun than other exercises.
Don’t overdo it.
There’s such a thing as too much exercise — especially if you’re just starting. It’s possible to injure yourself if you try to do too much too fast.
Try setting SMART fitness goals to avoid self-harm. SMART stands for goals that are:
• Specific. What’s your desired outcome? “I want to be fit” isn’t good enough here — it’s essential to paint a clear picture. Here’s an example of a specific goal: “I want to do pushups on my toes.”
• Measurable. How will you measure your progress toward your goal? For pushups, you might count the number of reps. One pushup on your toes might not be good enough, but 20 could be a success.
• Achievable. If you’ve never done pushups before, it’s safe to assume you won’t be doing 20 within the week. Be realistic about how long it will take based on your current abilities. Setting smaller goals — baby steps — will help you reach your goal.
• Relevant. Does this goal fit within the overall picture of your life? This is the “why” of your plan. In this case, perhaps your pushups are a way to improve your mental health.
• Time-bound. Your goals should have a deadline. You don’t want to move too fast, but a realistic deadline will help keep you motivated: “I want to do 20 pushups on my toes in three months.”
Signs of overexertion
It’s important not to let your love of exercise teeter into addiction. When this happens, your workout habits hurt your mental health rather than help.
Here are some signs your physical activity is coming from an unhealthy place:
• You spend all of your free time working out. It’s normal to spend a few hours a week at the gym, but two hours a day borders on obsessive.
• You’re always tired. Exhaustion is a common symptom of working out too much. Your body needs time to rest in between workouts. If you’re consistently putting stress on your body, you can injure yourself or become sick. Don’t push yourself too hard, and schedule rest days.
Leverage the power of exercise for the mind.
The connection between exercise and mental health is close-knit. One can affect the other, and even the smallest amount of exercise can impact your mood. Whether it's weight training or a simple daily walk, exercising can help increase your energy levels and alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression. It's even better if you can do a more intense workout and do it with a friend. Starting slowly is essential, but with patience and dedication, you will see results in no time.