All of us are well aware about the physical benefits of exercise, how it helps us loose our weight, how it helps us build that much needed endurance, how it helps us build that muscle body or a lean body, but how many of us know that the benefits of exercise are not just limited to that ? Instead exercise has a ton of mental health benefits as well? How it helps us treat depression? Helps to build that much needed self confidence?
In this article, we’ll going to explore the mental health benefits of exercise and how one needs to move their body a little bit, not just for weight loss, but also for better memory, mood upliftment, reducing anxiety!
Exercise and Depression
According to Dr. Michael Craig Miller, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School exercise is able to treat mild to moderate depression as effective as an antidepressant. Not only that it also helps in reducing the risk of getting depression, as shown in a study done by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. They found that daily running for 15 minutes is able to reduce the risk of Major Depression by 26%.
A lot of clinical psychologist as well as CBT counselors try to add a 15-30 minutes of walk or exercise as a part of therapy. Exercise leads to release of a lot of happy hormones called endorphins that elevates the mood of the person.
Helps to reduce stress and anxiety
One of the other major benefits of exercise is reduction in stress and anxiety. Exercise helps a person relieve his/her anxieties, worries, tension, stress. This is one of the reason that so many organizations around the world, like Google, Microsoft, SAS, provide their employees with gym memberships to their employees.
A lot of counselors suggest clients with anxiety to learn relaxation techniques like JPMR and try out meditation or simply go for a walk whenever they feel stressed.
Brain boost
Exercise results in sharper memory and thinking. Physical exercise helps to boost dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine- all of the hormones that directly affect our attention and memory. Exercise leads to a slower decline in memory, as it strengthens our hippocampus (the part of brain directly responsible for memory and learning). And regular physical exercise is suggested to a lot of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease patients.
For the above mentioned benefits exercise is also suggested to ADHD patients, as it help in focussing and concentrating.
Increased self-esteem and confidence
Being in a better shape, being able to climb up those stairs without being flushed, being able to run around with your kids, gives you a certain level of boost in your confidence. It helps you build a certain level of confidence that tells you “yes ! I can do that!”. It helps you to stand in front of the mirror and admire yourself for all the hard work you have put up in yourself. That leads to increase in self-esteem.
Exercise and PTSD and trauma
Activities like hiking, rock climbing etc have been proven to reduce the symptoms of PTSD, according to a study done in UK. Apparently focussing on your body and bodily movements helps nervous system become unstuck which helps it to move out of immobilisation caused by stress that is characteristic of PTSD.
There are other benefits as well, like regular exercise leads to better sleep, as it helps with our circadian rhythm, which let’s our body know when we are tired and will go to sleep and when we have to wake. Exercise in general leads to calming effects and provides a boost for our body, mind and soul. Hope this article gave you enough reasons to take out that long dusted yoga mat, or to start using your gym machines again, or to simply take a stroll in your balcony.
People reacted to this story.
Show comments Hide comments[…] exercises can still be done within the walls of your home or the compound of your apartment, such as walking, […]