Connect with us

Wellness

How Exercise Helps Improve Mental Health

Exercise enhances your mood and boosts your brain

We all know the benefits that exercise offers to our physical health, including increased energy levels, reduced risk of diabetes, lower blood pressure, and weight control. But that is not the end of the advantages that exercise provides us with. It improves our mental health considerably, benefiting it in many domains. Here is how exercise benefits our mental health.

1. Boosts our Brains

The power of our brain includes, but is not limited to, memory and intelligence. Exercise enables neurogenesis, which is a process that creates new brain cells. These new cells improve the performance of the brain, strengthen memory, and build intelligence. This prevents memory loss and brings to a halt cognitive decline by strengthening the part of the brain that is responsible for learning and memorizing things, called the hippocampus. Exercise also increases the energy levels of the brain and enhances creativity.

2. Provides Better Sleep

Good quality sleep is crucial for the brain to properly function. Exercise calms and relaxes our minds by making our bodies increase their temperatures, resulting in better sleep. Our circadian rhythms (the control panel that decides when we feel alert and tired) are regulated better, too, with exercise.

3. Decreases Stress

Stressful events cloud our thinking process, and regular stress can damage our brains. Exercise reduces our stress levels and stimulates the production of norepinephrine and neurohormones that help in uplifting our moods and improve cognition. Increased heart rates enhance our ability to fight stress by allowing better communication between our bodies’ sympathetic and central nervous systems.

4. Reduces Anxiety and Depression

Many psychologists recommend resorting to exercise to fight against depression and anxiety before prescribing medication. They do that because exercise enhances the production of endorphin, which is the chemical that our spinal cord and brain produces to offer us feelings of euphoria and happiness. Even moderate physical activities a few times a week can increase the levels of this ‘feel good’ chemical and improve anxiety and depression. It also helps prevent these conditions from occurring.

5. Increases Self-Confidence and Self-Esteem

People with high self-confidence and self-esteem are able to utilize the better part of their brains’ potential. When you have an increased muscle tone, higher endurance, more strength, and agility, you feel much better about yourself. This boost in confidence allows your brain to function more efficiently than it used to.

Exercise is for the Mind, Body, and Soul!

Exercise is not just beneficial for your physical health, but it boosts your emotional and mental states as well. It reduces the risks of mental illnesses and caters to your emotional well being. People who exercise regularly stay more alert and have higher concentration levels. It enhances your mood and enables you to confidently cope with problems and stressful situations by providing you with a strong sense of control. Mental health experts recommend 30 minutes of exercise five days a week to attain results. For people with mental illnesses, exercise is a great way to take out their frustration and feel more relaxed. It can be as effective as some psychological treatments, such as cognitive behavioral therapy and many antidepressants.

Lisa Lee
Written By

Lisa Lee is a proud mother of three living in sunny San Diego county. With three children under 10 years old and a pet pug named Daisy, Lisa sure has her hands full. Before starting her career as a family lifestyle writer, Lisa worked as a third grade elementary school teacher. Through her time teaching and parenting, Lisa has become quite the expert at dealing with children and wishes to share her vast knowledge and experiences with other fellow parents.

Advertisement

You May Also Like

Wellness

Some people don’t eat breakfast because they don’t have time to enjoy and savor it or they are not hungry and do not feel...

Wellness

Animals have played a crucial role in allowing scientists to learn more about the biology of human beings. Research on animals such as mice...

Parenting Advice

When a person finds it hard to connect with other people, they are said to be emotionally detached. This detachment can be temporary, in...

Wellness

The first and most important thing the family needs to realize is that they have not added to the mental illness of a loved...

Wellness

There are many cases of childhood trauma that, if left unresolved, can have long-lasting and severe effects even when the children reach adulthood. Anyone...

Wellness

Life can be stressful for everyone depending on their work, family, and different responsibilities. You can turn out to be excessively worried and occupied....

Wellness

Stress can become very problematic for one as it severely hinders one’s life. What’s worse is to deal with a family member struggling with...

Wellness

If you want to live a healthy life, you must adapt to a healthy lifestyle – one that allows you to engage in activities...