Learn how to Use Exercise to Improve Your Mood!
Exercise is one of the few all-natural ways to permanently improve your mental health and improve your longevity at the same time. People suffering from anxiety, depression, trauma, or just temporary sadness can all benefit from the far-reaching benefits that exercise brings about.
Let's explore how we can use exercise to improve our mood.
The mind-body connection
The body craves constant exercise. It's one of the most potent means to improve your mental and physical health and is universally agreed upon to confer benefits as long as people don't commit to it to the point of pain.
Exercise is proven to
- Improve your stress tolerance
- Improve the quantity and quality of your sleep
- Improve your body composition
- Naturally provides anti-depression, anti-anxiety, and has pain-alleviating properties
Endorphins are produced in response to exercise. These endorphins are natural chemicals in your body that have morphine-like effects on your body. People that undergo regular exercise frequently experience a "high" that seems to elevate their state of mind and makes it easy to let go of their problems.
If you've done your exercise right, you should feel energized rather than tired and feel refreshed. In today's busy age, people commit to exercise in the early mornings or after work in the evening. But whether you use it to wind down or start your day, a consistent exercise regimen will provide mental benefits that last the rest of your day and carry over into superior health in the long run.
If you feel down, the act of exercising will feel a sense of pride and accomplishment when you complete your exercise session. You can exercise when you are upset to change your mood, or even better, exercise before your depression/anxiety kicks in to possibly prevent your bad moods altogether. There are tons of different ways you can approach this, and they all give similar positive benefits in the end.
Choose the right exercise regimen for you
For beginners, engaging in a simple low-intensity workout several times a week is the best way to ease into a routine.
For the experienced, short intense bursts of exercise like sprinting followed by walking is a way to take your health benefits to the next level. Let's see some simple, scientifically proven types of exercises you can adopt into a regular routine:
Walking
The ultimate in simplicity. Take a book, a music player, or a friend along for the ride and walk the miles away.
The safest form of exercise, walking is perfect for everyone and requires no complex exercise routines.
Heart patients and severely depressed people alike can safely walk to improve their health.
Yoga
Yoga
Yoga improves the activation of your parasympathetic nervous system with its combination of simple movements and breathing exercises.
Its physical movements are proven to improve your digestion and sleep. Different asanas are noted to have different effects on the body so people with depression, anxiety, or insomnia can target their problems with different physical movements.
The breathing exercises in yoga are a pathway to healing your nervous system by actively controlling your inhaling, exhaling, and holding of the breath.
Tai Chi
Tai chi is moving meditation. It is regarded as a self-healing workout that stimulates immune function and your autonomic system through activation of your HPA axis. It teaches your mind to relax with its simple, slow, and repetitive movements.
It is not strenuous, and even the elderly and sick can use it in small spaces to achieve big effects.
By regularly stressing your body, you train it to overcome that stress and become stronger through overcompensation. People that regularly exercise are calmer, more focused, and more intelligent than those that don't regularly exercise.
Results
The best exercise plan in the world is one that fits your schedule.
Make it a fun part of your life and you'll look forward to your sessions. Exercise will make you feel like a younger version of yourself. Even 15 minutes of daily exercise has tremendous long-term benefits.
You only live one life and are blessed with one body to live and experience life through.
Explore all your body has to offer and witness how amazing it is to be in good health.
