10 Ways That Exercise Helps with Mental Health

Learn how to keep your body lean and your mind positive.

When exercising, you’re likely to note the health benefits you’re receiving physically. You can see your hard work paying off. Your body is thinner and your muscles tighter, you have better stamina and less belly fat. You may even sleep better and experience less of an appetite because of the changes you’ve made.

A Big Boost Mentally as Well as Physically

What may be harder for you to conceive is how much physical activity improves your mental health. It’s not something that is talked about widely by the medical industry. It is, however, another reason for you to make exercise a priority in your life.

Ways That Mental Health Improves with Physical Activity

Ten ways that exercise helps with mental health are listed below with detailed descriptions for your benefit. This can help you become aware of how important it is to allow time for physical activity in your schedule. Picking and choosing the types of exercises that you enjoy and make progress doing helps you maintain momentum by creating a workout routine that benefits you.

Reduced Levels of Stress

Exercise increases the level of serotonin your brain produces, creating natural feelings of euphoria. The experience known as a ‘runner’s high’ can be traced to the feel-good chemicals in the brain. When you’re in the moment, pushing your body as hard as you can, you realize just how powerful you are. Stress is no match to the literal machine you are physically and mentally.

Fewer Instances of Anxiety

Stress can cause anxiety, a condition that causes you to worry excessively and fear the worst. Having something proactive to do such as to channel that nervous energy into exercise is ideal. It helps you combat anxiety quickly and effectively. You’ll notice soon after working out that you’re not as anxious as you were before exercising.

Relief from Symptoms of Depression

Depression can have its grip on a person, rendering them defenseless. If you experience symptoms of depression, exercise may help you forget about it for a few moments. As mentioned before, physical activity activates the chemicals in the brain that help regulate mood. You may benefit from an increase in serotonin if you have a chemical imbalance that causes your brain to produce too little of the chemical.

More Energy

Exercise gives you a sense of renewal. It bumps up your energy levels so that you’re able to power through your day with greater ease. When you go for a brisk walk or run first thing in the morning, you’re making your body feel more alert and limber. You’re able to accomplish much more because you’re not running on caffeine and sugar to help see you through to dinnertime.

Deeper and Better Sleep

Your quality of sleep improves significantly when you’re exercising regularly. Because sleep is imperative to good health, it’s absolutely essential that you get ample amounts of rest daily. You’ll be able to do far more good when you feel up to the task. Sleep deprivation can cause a myriad of physical and mental health issues. Add exercise to your day but make it five hours before you decide to retire for the evening.

Sharper Thinking

Your brain remains sharp because of the physical conditioning you continue to do with your body. After all, it’s the one driving the vehicle that you live in. Because so many actions are involuntary, you don’t think much about how hard your brain is working. It just does what it’s learned to do without little thinking involved. The more your body works out, the more your brain does, too.

Slower Aging

The brain and body ages at a slower rate thanks to the constant conditioning that you give it. This gives you a greater purpose. You’re able to look and feel youthful which helps improve your self-esteem. It also makes it easier for you to participate in the activities that you’ve grown to love. You don’t feel as though you’re missing out because your body has aged and isn’t capable of doing as much as it did before.

A Healthier Sense of Self

You know who you are and why you do things. Exercise allows you to really think things through. It gives you an outlet for exploration. While engaging in physical activity, you’re likely thinking of many thoughts. Among the most constant is just how good you feel mentally. Things come together when you feel as though you’re in your element. When you can control certain aspects of your life, you feel more content with where things are going, too.

A Renewed Feeling of Purpose

When you have somewhere to go every day and something to do, it gives you feelings of elation. You have a sense of self and purpose. You see how you’re destined for greatness and start living your life in a way that reflects that. How you look and feel are similar. Your life inspires others. They see the progress you’re making and consider you a role model because all you were able to achieve physically and mentally.

Feelings of Accomplishment

There is no greater feeling in the world than when you know your slaying your goals. When you start to see progress happening right in front of your eyes, it increases your confidence. You have feelings of accomplishment to look forward to because you’re seeing your hard work finally pay off.

Why Exercise Should Be Prioritized

You’ve got plenty of reasons to make physical activity a priority. From helping boost your mood to improving the quality of sleep that you get, exercise is imperative. Making sure that your schedule provides you with plenty of time to physically work out your body and your brain is essential to good health. It improves your overall well-being, too.

Explore the many ways that exercise helps you stay healthy physically and mentally. You’ve got options to explore that meet your needs immediately. Take time out of your busy schedule to focus on self-care and physical activity. By doing so, you make yourself and your health a priority.