About Mental Health
In light of it being mental health awareness month, I wanted to shed some light on the ways that exercise can be a major needle mover for people who deal with mental health issues or even those who want prevention.
As crazy as it sounds, over 50% of people are diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder in their lifetime.
Chances are, you or someone you know struggles with a mental issue, so you know how difficult it is, and what effect it can have on someone’s overall well-being. And a lot of times, it seems that nothing helps. It is important to acknowledge different natural and healthy ways to help, and exercise is a major one! There have been over 23 studies as of 2006 that prove that exercise helps decrease depression… surprisingly even more than medications can! I’ll tell you what you can do to start implementing exercise for prevention and treatment!
source: https://knowablemagazine.org/article/mind/2022/exercise-boosts-brain-mental-health
How Exercise Helps Mental Health
Exercise has been scientifically proven to improve mental health. Exercise can decrease anxiety, and depression, and greatly improves your mental state in many ways! It also relieves stress and increases your physical and mental energy and mood! Other benefits include increased levels of confidence, better sleep, weight loss, and more mental clarity!
Why Does the Improvement Occur?
Exercise affects your brain because there are endorphins in your brain being released such as serotonin. These increase your mood greatly, and when done consistently, exercise can change someone’s overall mental state greatly!
What can you do about this?
At the bare minimum, I recommend to exercise for at least 30 minutes, 3 days a week. This is enough to see a significant difference in your mental health! And the best part is it doesn’t even have to be consecutive! You can even do 3 10-minute walks and still reap the benefits! Different types of exercise that you can do includes jogging, rowing, swimming, cycling, yoga, weight lifting, and my favorite – outdoor activities like biking or hiking in nature! All of these can have extreme benefits for both your emotional and physical health!
