Unfortunately, life brings many nasty emotions including stress, anxiety, depression, and an abundance of others.
If you are struggling with a few of these nasty bits of life, then I would almost immediately recommend exercise to you.
It’s definitely intimidating to alter your lifestyle around strenuous activity, but trust me, it’s worth the work. Backed up by plentiful research, exercise seems to be the universal cure for many of the common mental deficits that hit us hard.
Here, we will be discussing how exercise encounters the emotional downfalls that most of us encounter in our daily lives.
1. Anxiety
Anxiety lives in a variety of places including busy areas, parties, and even job interviews.
Here I will list a few (yes, just a few) of the ways you can combat anxiety with exercise. According to a Harvard study:
- Engaging in exercise diverts you from the very thing you are anxious about
- Moving your body decreases muscle tension, lowering the body’s contribution to feeling anxious
- Getting your heart rate up changes brain chemistry, increasing the availability of important anti-anxiety neurochemicals, including serotonin, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and endocannabinoids
- Exercise activates frontal regions of the brain responsible for executive function, which helps control the amygdala, our reacting system to real or imagined threats to our survival
- Exercising regularly builds up resources that bolster resilience against stormy emotions
As you can see, exercise can be quite the tool when it comes to reducing anxiety. But this brings up another question: How much should I exercise?
A study by meta-analysis in the journal Anxiety-Depression found that people with anxiety disorders who reported high-level physical activity were better protected against developing anxiety symptoms than those who reported low physical activity. So to answer that question: the more exercise, the better (but be reasonable).
2. Stress
If someone says they’ve never been stressed, they’re lying. From big exams to endless mountains of work, stress is present within all of us.
Exercise is an excellent solution to this problem. Exercise and other physical activities produce endorphins—chemicals in the brain that act as natural painkillers (feel-good chemicals)—and also improve the ability to sleep, which in turn reduces stress.
Not only that, but according to Healthline, “Physical activity can also help take your mind off your worries. The repetitive motions involved in exercise promote a focus on your body, rather than your mind.” By focusing on these repetitive motions, you also experience some of the benefits of meditation.
Chances are, you will notice an increase in feelings of well-being as you stay committed to a consistent exercise routine.
In addition to having a direct effect on your stress levels, regular exercise also promotes optimum health in other ways. By improving your physical wellness and heart health, you’ll have less to feel stressed about.
So overall, exercise will negate your feeling of stress and replace them will optimum health benefits and allow you to feel good again.
3. Depression
According to a study on college students from the Mayo Clinic Health System, “Up to 44% of college students reported having symptoms of depression” These are scary numbers to look at.
Luckily, exercise is an efficient way to reduce symptoms of depression.
Another study done by Harvard will explain it a little better, “In people who are depressed, neuroscientists have noticed that the hippocampus in the brain—the region that helps regulate mood—is smaller. Exercise supports nerve cell growth in the hippocampus, improving nerve cell connections, which helps relieve depression,” says Dr. Michael Craig Miller, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
Depression manifests physically by causing disturbed sleep, reduced energy, appetite changes, body aches, and increased pain perception, all of which can result in less motivation to exercise.
Because of these symptoms, it can be hard to get started, but Dr. Miller says getting up and moving just a little bit will help: “Start with five minutes a day of walking or any activity you enjoy. Soon, five minutes of activity will become 10, and 10 will become 15.”
Getting started is the hardest part, but when you get past it, you start to create a habit.