How Exercise Benefits Your Mental Health

Everyone knows that exercise is good for your physical health, but only recently have the positive effects on mental health and well-being gained recognition.

Exercise improves mood, enhances memory and focus, improves sleep quality and circadian cycles, decreases anxiety/stress, and has even been shown to have protective effects against Alzheimer's disease and age-related cognitive decline!

With the world's population getting older (not because we're healthier but because medication keeps us alive) and fatter, and with 1 in 3 of us now experiencing some form of mental health problem in our lifetime, there has never been a better time to get active.

The good news is that you don't need to commit to hours in the gym, as studies show that you can reap the same rewards with just 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, 5 times a week.

Even a 15 min walk outside in the fresh air has mood-enhancing effects.

The short term benefits
Have you ever gone for a run after a particularly stressful day and felt much better afterwards?

I'm sure you have all experienced the short-term reward that exercise offers.

Perhaps you don't enjoy the first 5 mins as your chest gets tighter, your heart beats faster and your muscles go into a mini state of shock, but after pushing past the initial hurdle (around 10-15 mins duration), a rush of energy, of positivity, of pain relief, and euphoria flood your body, and you feel pretty unstoppable!

This feel-good factor not only lasts for the duration of the activity, but can last up to 12 hours afterwards, so that increased focus and optimism can transfer into other areas of your life as well.

If you are new to exercise in general, the trick is to start off with a realistic and manageable regime. Many people are put off exercise because they set themselves up for failure by starting out way too hard or trying to do too much.

For example, exercising beyond your ventilatory threshold (the point which you can no longer hold a conversation), increases physical discomfort and delays the mood enhancing effects for up to 30mins so exercise wisely and work with your own body.

Exercise is also a good opportunity to practice mindfulness.

This involves gaining awareness of changes in physical sensations without attaching meaning to them and becoming fully present within each moment - a technique gaining huge popularity and proving very beneficial for those prone to anxiety or panic related disorders.

Even practicing as little as 10 minutes of mindfulness/meditation a day can reduce stress.

So why not kill two birds with one stone?

Next time you're working out, try concentrating on your breath or the sensation of your feet pressing the floor away.

You'll be amazed how adding this element into your workouts not only improves your technique and performance but also allows you to clear your head.

The Long term benefits
Getting regular exercise not only improves concentration and mood in the short term, but improves memory, cognitive processing, and motor control in the long term too.

This is especially important given the world's aging population where neuro-muscular weakness, age-related cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's are on the rise.

Regular exercise has also been linked to an increase in anti-inflammatory and infection fighting cells.

Over time, this increase improves both the brain and body's immune defence system, making you less prone to illness and more able to cope with environmental, physical and mental stressors.

As well as regulating various biological factors, exercise also has beneficial long-term effects on psychological well-being.

Building a goal-oriented training routine can give you a sense of purpose, the joy of accomplishment, and reinforce your self-belief and ability to cope with other physical and mental difficulties.

For many suffering from depression, anxiety and eating disorders, following an exercise program can provide a healthy and safe alternative to dangerous coping mechanisms like self-harming, the use of alcohol, recreational or prescription drugs, as well as improve sleep quality and can even help prevent relapse.

Exercise is a great natural and healthy remedy.

The science behind it all:It's not surprising that exercise makes us feel good, given that back in the hunter-gatherer days, exercise was essential for our survival: for finding food and for running away from predators.

Although these factors are no longer a risk in modern day society, looking after our mental well-being and quality of life should be a priority.

So what are the biological processes that underpin these exercise-induced transformations in our brains?

The feel good factor, pain relief and feelings of euphoria experienced during and after exercise, sometimes called the "runner's high", is due to the release of chemical signals such as dopamine, noradrenalin, endorphins, and endocannabinoids in areas of the brain associated with reward, motivation, emotional regulation and pain relief.

Anxiolytic or calming effects are thought to be due to the release of serotonin, a chemical transmitter associated with appetite, mood and sleep regulation.

Modulation of serotonin is also the major action of antidepressant medication and is most likely one of the reasons why following an exercise program can be just as effective as antidepressants in treating and preventing the relapse of depression.

The cognitive enhancing effects are due, in part, to the increased production of neurotrophic or "brain growth" factors, especially in an area of the brain called the hippocampus which is associated with memory formation.

Examples of neurotrophins include BDNF (brain-derived-neurotrophic factor), VEGF (vascular-endothelial-growth-factor) and IGF-1 (insulin-like-growth-factor-1) which aid in the protection of existing brain cells (neurons), increase growth of new neurons, and help clear the accumulation of "bad" proteins or plaques associated with diseases like Alzheimer's.

Conclusion
Find an activity you enjoy. Exercise doesn't require you to go to the gym. Why not try swimming, cycling, yoga, martial arts, playing tennis, or even just walking?

There is more than one way to get your heart racing, and in doing so, you're not only looking after your body but you are also looking after your mind.

---

5 week course book:
​mindset for health

• Would you like to learn how to set goals in a way that makes it almost impossible to fail? 
• Would you like to break unhealthy habits such as smoking, or other addictions? 
• Would you like to supercharge your willpower so that you still do the things you need to do no matter what? 
• Would you like to improve your self-esteem and belief to have the confidence to take action without worrying about what other people think? 
• Would you like to know how you can increase your motivation to exercise? 

access course