How Exercise Positively Affects Mental Health


Exercise is not only about physical gains; it is about mental gains, too. Those who exercise regularly feel more energetic throughout the day, rest better at night, have sharper memories, and are more relaxed and positive about themselves and their lives. Exercise is a powerful medicine to aid many mental health challenges, helping to improve anxiety, depression and ADHD. Implementing exercise into your daily regimen will help you get the best from life, no matter your age. Here is a look at how exercise benefits your mental health and how it brings purpose to your recovery.

Exercise and Depression

For some, exercise can have similar effects as antidepressant medication for a person with mild to moderate depression. In a study conducted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, evidence found that running 15 minutes a day or walking for an hour reduces the risk of major depression by 26%. Further, regular exercise can help to protect against relapse of depressive episodes. Exercise accomplishes this by promoting various brain changes, including neural growth, reduced inflammation and new activity patterns that support feelings of calm and well-being. It also produces hormones within the brain, such as endorphins, which aid in energizing your spirits, leaving you with a lasting sense of happiness. Exercise also serves as a healthy distraction, allowing you to find some quiet, listen to music, meditate and break out of negative thought cycles that feed depression.

Exercise and Anxiety

Exercise is also a natural treatment for anxiety; the output of energy relieves tension, stress and boosts both your physical and mental energy. It also helps with mindfulness which allows you to make profound connections with your mind and body. When you focus on breathing and how your feet feel while running or how your arms feel while pressing or pulling weight, you realize how everything is connected. Mindfulness also helps distract from the flow of negative thoughts because you focus on how your body responds to the activity. Being able to overcome your anxiety also boosts your self-esteem. When you continue to exercise, you create habits that foster your self-esteem, making you feel strong and empowered.

Exercise and Stress

When stress consumes you, your body begins to feel tense. Most tension manifests in the face, neck and shoulders, which can create back pain and headaches. You might also feel tightness in your chest, a pounding pulse, or muscle cramps. Stress can also be responsible for:

  • Insomnia
  • Heartburn
  • Stomach ache
  • Diarrhea
  • Frequent urination

If not addressed, the worry and discomfort of all these physical symptoms continue to build, creating more stress, and therefore, more challenging stress cycles to break. However, exercise helps to break stress cycles by releasing endorphins. These endorphins help you feel better emotionally, but their effects on the mind also help to relax tension held in your muscles.

Exercise and ADHD

Studies show that exercise helps to reduce symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and also helps improve a wide array of different brain function, including:

  • Concentration
  • Motivation
  • Memory
  • Mood
  • Creativity

Exercise immediately boosts the brain’s dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin levels, all of which promote better focus and attention. The added focus sharpens your memory and thinking skills that help you handle your tasks more efficiently. These same effects can also benefit your enthusiasm and creativity, thus promoting new ideas and new brain cells’ growth. The production of new brain cells slows the aging process of the brain.

Exercise and Trauma

When you tend to and listen to your body’s needs, you can help your nervous system become unstuck and begin to move without the immobilization of stress responses that characterize PTSD or trauma. Exercise involving cross-movement that engages both the arms and the legs, such as walking or running, is the best in supporting this. Exercising just 30 minutes each day helps to promote a significant decrease in PTSD symptoms.

Understand the Purpose of Exercising

There are multiple conventional and alternative ways you can exercise. However, knowing where and how to start can be tricky. Before beginning an exercise regimen, ask yourself, “What do I want and why do I want this?” Try to think beyond making superficial goals; such goals manifest as the result of the effort you put in but are not the sole purpose of why you exercise. What do you see yourself doing when you work out? Do you picture yourself at the gym, home, outdoors or in a yoga class? Having a solid visual lends insight into which one of these settings provokes passion, motivation and longevity from you. There is no wrong answer, just a feeling you get when thinking of different ways you can exercise. Once you have found an activity that you want to incorporate, get started on making a schedule to prepare.

No matter where you are in your mental health recovery journey, considering some form or movement to incorporate in your daily routine can help. At DiscoveryMD, we recognize that everybody’s recovery journey is their own, and our priority is finding treatments and practices that align with your individual needs. We also believe that exercise can be an excellent form of behavioral activation. You can incorporate your exercise goals into the work you are currently doing with your therapist and other health professionals Remember that your recovery should always come first. If you need help for mental health in general, contact us today.

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