Over the next few weeks I will be covering common questions about how exercise saves our life. There are 13 major topics I will talk about and explain how exercise affects these to the betterment of our health.
The first question was about how does exercise actually benefit mental health?
Acute effects
Exercise can have an immediate effect on many forms of mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. This occurs through either reduction in heart rate that may be related to the anxiety and to use up ‘nervous’ energy built from anxiety attacks. Depression is helped by exercise through the ‘mastery’ of a session, which leaves you feeling good about yourself, it warms up the body and circulates oxygen and disposes of waste products at a higher rate (which will always make you feel like you have more energy), and can give you a short term confidence from the feeling that you are capable of achieving something.
Chronic effects
The longer term effects of regular exercise for mental health have been researched and shown to be a key role in getting progress for someone with a mental health issue. Treatment plans now almost always include some level of activity whether it is as an individual or as part of a group.
Exercise is thought to help through building of self-esteem and self confidence, from an individual feeling stronger, fitter and keeping themselves in a healthy body weight range. There are a lot of things we cannot control in our busy lives, which can leave us overwhelmed and even facing bouts of depression. Our health is something we can control. We can get ourselves into a routine and keep ourselves stronger, faster, fitter and reducing our risks of illness and mortality. This is a powerful platform to build on.
If you know someone who needs help and you cannot reach, pass them these numbers or have a chat to the organisations yourself.
Next week – How does exercise help your heart health?