Mental Health
Mental health is a state of well-being and consists of our emotional and psychological as well as social well-being.
Over the past few years, there have been many studies that show the effectiveness and correlation between physical activity and improving our mental health. Many of them prove that physical activity can be used in addition to medications and other types of treatment.
Keep reading to learn more!
Anxiety
Anxiety can be described as a normal reaction and emotion characterized by feelings of tension and worrying thoughts.
There are many different types of anxiety disorders: Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Specific Phobias, Agoraphobia, Social Anxiety Disorder, Separation Anxiety Disorder, etc.
Exercise on Anxiety
• Exercise can provide a distraction from feelings of tension and worrying thoughts.
• No matter your fitness level and experience, any form of exercise can result in the reduction of Anxiety.
• Through exercise, heart rate is increased and helps stimulate the chemicals in the brain like serotonin that aids in stabilizing our feelings of well-being.
• According to the Health Psychology Review, researchers found that physically active persons can lower the onset of clinical anxiety symptoms from between 28% and 48% (Rebar, et al., 2015).
To learn more about Anxiety, check out the National Institute of Mental Health or
Mayo Clinic.
Depression
- Did you know that Depression is one of the leading causes of disability?
It is becoming more and more common and contributes to morbidity and
mortality worldwide.
- Through many different studies, exercise exhibits the ability to have the power to produce a great result as a treatment for persons struggling with depression.
- Exercising can provide a distraction and can help keep our minds away from depressing thoughts.
- Our bodies do a great job of releasing endorphins that help make our bodies feel good. These hormones are also released when we partake in exercise. For example, joggers experience a "Runner's high."
- Researchers have found that exercise has the ability to assist in nerve cell growth in the hippocampus as well as improve nerve cell connections resulting in relieving and reducing depression symptoms.
To find out more information, click "Read More"
References
Bahrke, M. S., & Morgan, W. P. (1978). Anxiety reduction following exercise and meditation. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 2(4), 323-333. doi:10.1007/BF01172650
Rebar, A. L., Stanton, R., Geard, D., Short, C., Duncan, M. J., & Vandelanotte, C. (2015). A meta-meta-analysis of the effect of physical activity on depression and anxiety in non-clinical adult populations. Health Psychology Review, 9(3), 366-378. doi:10.1080/17437199.2015.1022901