Physical activity and fitness are often recommended to everyone regardless of whether or not they’re physically fit. A healthy body can help you avoid conditions such as diabetes and heart disease as you age. However, there are also many benefits of physical activity on mental health.
Numerous research and studies conducted on physical activity and mental health have shown that exercising regularly can help you effectively deal with depression, stress, and anxiety, boost your mood, improve your sleep, and much more. Plus, exercise makes you feel more confident about your body and appearance. And, this gives you the courage to date anyone via dating sites.
You’ve probably heard the saying, “a healthy body equals a healthy mind”. That is why it’s essential to know about the positive effects of working out daily and not neglecting your mental health. In this article, we’ll go through the various ways physical activity boosts your mental health and how you can implement it in your life.
Helps You Get Rid of Stress
Stress affects not only your mental health but your physical health as well. Your muscles start feeling tense, leaving you with headaches and neck or back pain. Moreover, you might even feel tightness in your chest or muscle cramps. Furthermore, all these physical symptoms’ discomfort and worry can lead to even more stress, creating a vicious cycle.
Exercising helps you break this cycle by releasing endorphins in your brain, which help you relax your muscles. Stress reduction is one of the many physical activity mental benefits you receive by working out regularly. When your body feels better, so does your mind.
Reduces the Effects of ADHD
Working out regularly is one of the most effective and easiest ways to deal with ADHD symptoms. It enhances your mood, motivation, concentration, and memory. Exercising helps boost your brain’s serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine levels. All of these chemicals improve your focus and attention span. So, in a way, physical activity for mental focus produces the same results as ADHD medications like Adderall and Ritalin.
Fights Depression
Exercising daily helps in managing mild to moderate depression. It can be as effective as antidepressant medication, and you won’t have to experience any side-effects. In fact, to provide you with one of the many physical activity mental health facts, a study conducted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health stated that walking for an hour or running 15 minutes daily cuts down the chances of feeling depressed by 26%.
Furthermore, research proves that following a workout regimen can prevent you from relapsing. Physical activity releases endorphins in your brain, which are powerful chemicals that bring positive changes to your brain, such as feelings of well-being and calmness, reduced inflammation, and neural growth. And, if nothing else, it works as a good distraction from stressful thoughts and emotions.
Helps You Deal With Anxiety
Exercise is also very effective against anxiety. Again, because of the endorphins released through working out, your mental energy experiences a boost. This helps you get rid of tension and stress by clearing your mind. The more you keep your body moving, the more it’s beneficial for you.
However, the next time you engage in any physical activity, try to focus on your body, movements, and sensations. Pay attention to your breathing patterns and feel the wind on your skin and the sense of your feet hitting the ground. By implementing a mindfulness element in your exercise routine, you’ll be able to break the chain of anxiety-inducing thoughts going through your head.
Helps You Deal With Trauma and PTSD
Studies show that exercise helps people effectively deal with trauma and PTSD by serving as a distraction. By solely focusing on the sensations in your body when you exercise, you can make your nervous system become “unstuck.” This, in turn, helps you avoid the immobilizing stress response of trauma or PTSD. Some great physical activity mental well-being examples are mountain biking, sailing, hiking, skiing, whitewater rafting, and rock climbing, helping reduce the harmful effects of trauma and PTSD.
Other Physical Activity & Mental Ability Benefits
Even if you’re not suffering from a significant mental health ailment, exercise can help you in the following ways:
- Boosts your self-esteem – Exercising regularly is like investing in your body, mind, and soul. When you make it a habit, it makes you feel powerful and strong. This helps you improve your sense of self-worth. First of all, you’ll feel better about your appearance, and secondly, you’ll feel accomplished every time you reach your exercising goals.
- Improves your sleep pattern – Even small amounts of exercise every day can help you improve your sleep pattern. If you prefer exercising in the evening, then doing yoga, gentle stretching, and jogging can help you sleep early.
- Increases your stamina – By pushing your body a little bit more and more each day, you’ll be improving your endurance and stamina. It will increase your energy and help you develop that get-up-and-go attitude.
Final Thoughts
At this point, it’s no secret that physical activity can do wonders for you. In the beginning, it might seem hard, but we’re confident that if you keep at it, you’ll have not only a stronger body but also a strong mind. Exercising daily does wonders in the long term. We hope that this article provided you with a better understanding of this topic. If you have any queries regarding this topic, leave your comments below.
We would love to hear your ideas!
