It’s common knowledge that staying physically active is important for your health. But did you know that exercise can be helpful if you are struggling with mental health issues too? Research shows that exercise can play an important, role in mental health, that is still yet to be fully understood. Also, you don’t need to exercise that much in order to get the healthy benefits.
Exercise and Mental Health Research
Researchers from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Creighton University, and the Omaha Veterans Administration Medical Center published a paper that reviewed research into exercise and mental health issues. Their findings included that:
Exercise increases energy.
Sleep improves.
Exercise provides stress relief.
Endurance improves.
Exercise leads to better overall physical fitness.
Negative moods, depression, and anxiety levels are reduced.
Exercise can help address issues such as social withdrawal and low self-esteem.
These results applied to different forms of mental illness. However, the researchers noted that exercise was particularly helpful for those with schizophrenia.
Exercise and Schizophrenia
The Nebraska physicians examined one study where schizophrenia patients participated in a three-month program to improve physical fitness. What they found was that patients reported:
lower blood pressure.
increased levels of perceived energy occurred.
better tolerance to exercise.
improved upper body fitness.
improved hand-grip strength.
These findings are important because people who struggle from schizophrenia are at risk for being overweight. Also, the medications they take may cause them to gain weight too. Thus, there is a connection between exercising, maintaining physical health, and exercises contributions to mental health issues.
What Happens When We Exercise?
We are still learning how the brain is affected by exercise. The American Psychological Association discusses how exercise can help with mental health issues. For instance, serotonin (a neurotransmitter) may increase when we exercise. Other thoughts include ideas that exercise:
Supports growth of neurons in the brain.
Helps with sleep, which is important for brain health.
Reduces panic levels for those with anxiety.
Enhances mood. In fact, one only needs to be exercising for five minute to begin experiencing changes in mood.
Protects the brain as a “buffer” for how the brain responds to stress.
Interestingly, exercise is still being explored regarding its effect on the brain and how it creates these improvements.
How Much Exercise is Necessary for Mental Health Issues?
Thirty minutes of moderate exercise three days a week can make a big difference towards maintaining physical fitness. These thirty minutes can be done during one time period such as a workout session. Or, it can be broken up into three walks that are each ten-minutes long. For most people this can easily be achieved during an average day.
How to Get Thirty Minutes of Exercise
Some ways that you can get in thirty minutes of moderate exercise include:
Walking from the far-end of the parking lot to your office.
Taking the stairs instead of riding in the elevator.
Spending your lunch outside instead of in the break room.
Incorporating other light work, such as gardening.
Walking at the start or end of your day to unwind.
Choosing to walk or ride a bike instead of driving your car.
Getting up every once-in-a-while from your desk to stretch your legs and walk around the office.
By simply incorporating more walking throughout your day, you can make a difference in your mental health. To keep track of how much walking you do, use a pedometer. This can also be helpful for setting fitness goals.
The connection between exercise and mental health issues is still emerging. However, we do know that there are benefits for incorporating more exercise into your daily routine. This can improved physical fitness markedly, which leads to better mental health.
So what are you waiting for? Get out of that chair and start walking!
