It is extremely important to remember that your mental wellbeing is just as significant as your physical wellbeing. Luckily, regular exercise has the ability to benefit both of these things.
Working out has proven to be a great way to reduce physical and mental stress that your body may be experiencing. During exercise, the concentration of norepinephrine increases and this moderates the brain’s response to stress.
Physical activity can actually make you happy! Exercising causes a release of endorphins which is why you often feel great when you finish your routine. There have been studies that have shown that exercise relieves symptoms related to clinical depression. Heading to the gym is actually recommended to those who suffer with depression and anxiety. If the gym isn’t your thing, it is worthwhile developing a few 30-minute workouts throughout the week to get your endorphins flowing.
If you do have anxiety, a 20-minute jog can calm you better than a bubble bath. As well as this, it has also been found that taking part in high-intensity interval training can reduce anxiety sensitivity.
For many drug and alcohol addicts, it is actually the feeling of pleasure from what they take that they become addicted to. The feeling of pleasure comes from the release of the chemical dopamine. Exercising fairly regularly in short sessions can be a great distraction and stops them from prioritising the harmful substances. Alcoholics also regularly struggle with falling and staying asleep. Along with the initial effects, over time exercise can help to reboot your body’s natural body clock so a more regular pattern can be formed.
Long-term mental wellbeing can be preserved if you live an active and healthy lifestyle. As the brain ages, degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s will kill vital brain cells, causing the brain to shrink and lose functions that are necessary for a healthy mind. Though it cannot cure the disease, exercise and a good diet can prevent cognitive design. You are more likely to degenerate after the age of 45 so you should take advantage of your workouts particularly between the ages of 25 and 45. This is because it will boost the chemicals in your brain that support the degeneration of the hippocampus; the part of your brain that controls learning and memory.
Aside from all of these healthy benefits, having good physical fitness will enormously improve your self-confidence. The better you look and the better you feel, the better you will feel about your self-confidence and self-image. No matter how much you weigh or measure, whether you’re male or female, old or young – exercise has the ability to improve the way someone feels about how they look.
What’s better than truly loving yourself?
