5 Incredible Mental Health Benefits of Physical Exercise

Exercise isn’t all about losing weight and toning muscles. It can keep the brain in better shape as well. Exercise actually plays a key role in mental well being. In particular, it can help you deal with depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, boost your mood and many others.

Unfortunately, the psychological benefits of exercise are often overlooked while the physical health benefits are overemphasized. Yet mental health is crucial in living a productive and enjoyable life. Well, let’s emphasize mental health by looking at 5 incredible mental health benefits of exercise:

5 Incredible Mental health benefits of Exercise

1. Exercise and depression

Exercise may seem like the last thing you want to do when you’re depressed. Nonetheless, once you get motivated, exercise can have a significant effect. It triggers the release of feel-good endorphins, which help to alleviate depression. These are naturally occurring cannabis-like brain chemicals that can improve your mood.

They help in diverting your attention away from worries, allowing you to break free from the depression-feeding loop of negative thoughts. Notably, working out with a personal trainer can enhance your mood by increasing social interaction and allowing you to meet new individuals.

2. Exercise and anxiety

Anxiety can be reduced by walking, swimming, jogging, cycling, gardening, exercise, and dancing. This is because of a mood boost, thought to be caused by an increase in blood circulation to the brain. The increase in blood circulation, in turn, influences the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis of the brain.

It is in this axis that stress is reduced, motivation and mood are controlled and fear is generated in response to stress. That said, exercise improves mood, reduces stress, and alleviates fear. More so, physical activity kicks up endorphin levels, to produce feelings of happiness and euphoria.

3. Exercise and stress

How does your body react to stress? Muscle tension, headaches, cramps, heartburn, diarrhoea, and acne… The list goes on and on. Well, whatever it is, exercise can help you get rid of it. Exercising lowers stress levels by lowering stress chemicals like cortisol.

It also boosts your mood by increasing endorphins. Lastly, it cures stress-induced brain damage by boosting the production of neurohormones like norepinephrine. These not only improve cognition and mood but also clear up thinking that has been clouded by stressful experiences.

4. Exercise and ADHD

ADHD can make it difficult to pay attention, regulate our emotions, and complete tasks. Exercise is an ADHD treatment that doesn’t require a prescription or a trip to the therapist’s office. Regular exercise helps with ADHD symptoms by boosting the brain’s well-being.

Whenever you exercise, your brain produces chemicals called neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, which aid with focus and clarity of thought. This enhances concentration, motivation, memory, and mood while reducing the symptoms of ADHD.

5. Exercise and PTSD/ Trauma

In many counties, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a major mental health issue. PTSD can occur as a result of being exposed to life-threatening situations such as military warfare, accidents, assaults, natural, or human-caused disasters and many others. Physical activity has been linked to a reduction in PTSD symptoms by reducing depression and insomnia as well as boosting mood.

Topic that might interest you: 5 Easy Ways To Kick Start Your Weight Loss Journey

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Exercise has many health benefits, both curative and preventive. In fact, no matter how minimal the exercise session may be, it will reap benefits. That said, get in touch with Transition Personal Training.
Our personal trainers will leave no stone unturned to ensure you amass the numerous health benefits of exercise. Your Healthy Life Starts Here. Get in touch with us!

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