There are several benefits of exercise on mental health -whether you workout 5 times a week or take a short walk once a day, its crazy how just getting your body moving can improve your mental wellness.
I have often found myself in dark places and realised… wait, I haven’t worked out in a long while. Its crazy to see that the moment I finally do workout, I feel instantly elevated. My mood is entirely different and I’m always motivated to do my best- funny how that works eh? I guess I have the hormones to thank for that.
What Are The Benefits Of Exercise On Mental Health?
Since 2019, there is no doubt that the whole world has been through countless stresses due to the pandemic. And it definitely goes without saying that not everyone’s mental health has been it’s best.
As a result, many of us have turned to exercise to act as a mood booster and a way to escape- and you’ll never guess what!? It really has been working!
But why does exercise have such a great effect on our mental health and well-being? Well let me get into that further:
Less Stress
This may be pretty self-explanatory but exercise really does reduce stress! Physical activity improves the blood flow in your body as well as the way you breathe which both have massive impacts on the way your brain works.
It was only a few months ago, I hadn’t worked out for nearly 2 weeks and I’m sure those around me would’ve compared me to an evil witch- the built-up stress was real! That first workout back was the biggest release and I couldn’t understand why I didn’t do it sooner!
Regular exercise is the perfect distraction, can really help you become more aware of yourself and allow you to forget about your worries. This doesn’t always happen immediately, but over time as the positivity accumulates, the better you will feel!
It is almost like meditating but (in my opinion) better!
Better Sleep
We all know that lack of sleep will result in the quality of your physical and mental health depleting drastically. When I don’t sleep properly, I’m about as useful as a walking zombie; my mind is clouded, my emotions are heightened and I become extremely on edge.
So how does regular fitness help stop all of this? Well, combined with temperature changes and the endorphins released into your body, one session of exercise during the day can leave you sleeping like a baby!
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Elevates Your Mood
You know that “yes, I did it!” feeling you get after exercise? Who doesn’t love that!?
If you’ve ever heard of “runner’s high”, it is completely real and we all get it.
After a workout session, our bodies are overwhelmed with a ‘highness’, and that’s all down to the endorphins produced during the period of physical exercise.
The harder you workout, the more endorphins produced; so if that isn’t motivation to push yourself, I don’t know what is! GO WORKOUT SIS!
Something to Do
Someone once told me that “idle hands mean idle mind” and ain’t that the truth! When you aren’t doing anything, your mind tends to wonder and eventually, you feel completely demotivated to do anything at all. Productivity is so important for our own mental health and sanity- where would we all be without it!?
Aaaaaaand so that’s where the mental benefits of exercise come into play. I know that personally, I feel completely lost when I haven’t worked out and it throws me off my schedule entirely. Once I have exercised, something about me complete and accomplished! It really is a great feeling.
Improved Confidence
Combining an increase in your physical strength, weight-loss and muscle growth; working-out can be extremely rewarding and a large contributor to your own confidence!
The more you workout, the more your mind, body and soul changes. You know that all of your physical improvements are down to you, you really did that and you have every right to be so proud of yourself!
Improves Physical Health
Whether you are walking for 20 minutes a day or completing high intensity workouts, regular forms of fitness are sure to keep your physical health in check . A healthier lifestyle leads to a healthier body and a healthy body leads to a healthy mind! It’s as simple as that really.
And there you have it, 6 amazing benefits of exercise on mental health! We tend to forget that a lot can contribute to the quality of our mental wellness including our physical health; so it’s important that we do everything we can to take care of our bodies and our minds! Every little helps.
If you are ever feeling like you don’t want to workout, let these 6 things motivate you- think of the feeling you will get once you finish. You don’t have to compromise your schedule– even if you are busy, there are so many ways to keep your physical health in check. Happy exercising!
Maria Khan
March 12, 2022IMPROVES PHYSICAL HEALTH. its very important
TheDailyShayla
March 25, 2022Yes that is very true!