Many people exercise purely for the physical reasons. We all want to look good.

What most people don’t know is that there is a strong link between physical health and mental health.

The mental benefits are highly overlooked but the research shows that people who regularly exercise have a better overall wellbeing in both the short and long term.

Our brains are one of the most complex and powerful structures in the body. By exercising our bodies, we actually exercise our brains as well. By exercising our brains, it changes the anatomy, physiology and function of them, says Neuroscientist, Wendy Suzuki in her TED Talk on the brain changing benefits of exercise.

I’ve talked about the outside benefits in various different posts but let’s bring them all together in this one post so its laid out crystal clear.

What is the science behind it?

When we exercise, the body releases endorphins, which are known as the “feel good” chemical. It also produces dopamine and serotonin as a result of working out. Serotonin is the “happy” chemical and dopamine is the “reward” chemical. There are a few others released as well but these are the main 3 to focus on. From these 3 alone, you could see how after a 1 workout your mental health may be improved in the short term at least for a few hours. Continuously working out over weeks and months will result in longer term improvements with mental health.

If you don’t know this already, these are the same chemicals released when a smoker gets a hit of a cigarette, a drug addict gets their drugs, or an alcoholic gets a sip of alcohol.

So yes, working out can literally become an addiction. Sometimes an unhealthy, obsessive one.

Additionally, during workouts, you tend to be focused and locked in, taking your brain away from any negative thoughts. So during workouts, we escape the depths of our brain into la-la workout land where nothing else is relevant other than how that workout is going.

What are said benefits?

Outside of the physical, working out can:

• Improve confidence levels. Improved confidence levels = boost in mood.
• Increase energy levels throughout the day. Increased energy levels = more productive throughout the day. More productive = boost in mood.
• Increase memory retention by producing brand new brand cells in Hippocampus short and long term. The more you can remember, the better! No one wants to lose their memories.
• Increase your ability to focus short and long term. Better focus = more productive throughout the day. More productive = boost in mood.
• Strengthen the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus which are the parts of your brain most susceptible to disease and decline in brain function with aging. Stronger brain = better chance of living longer (and healthier).
• Decrease stress levels in the body in the short term. Less stress = lower cortisol levels in the body. Lower cortisol levels = better mood.
• Help you sleep better at night. More sleep = less hangry and angry. Less hangry and angry = better mood the next day.
• Reduce the symptoms of mild depression and anxiety by around 25%. Less anxiety and symptoms of depression = better mood.
• Satisfy your bare minimum need for human interaction (even if you don’t physically speak to anyone there). Change of scenery from your lonely home or room = better mood
• Act as an outlet for frustration or anger. Less anger = better mood.
• Improves overall quality of life – able to do things you weren’t before, spend more time with kids/family, etc. More time with family being able to participate in events = better mood
• You can eat more…. THIS IS MAJOR FOR ME PERSONALLY. MORE FOOD= BETTER MOOD!
• BETTER MOOD = BETTER MENTAL HEALTH!!!

• It can also reduce the risk of conditions such as:
  • high blood pressure
  • diabetes
  • cancer
  • stroke
  • heart disease
  • dementia
  • Alzheimers disease

What qualifies as exercise?

Anything that is aerobic or anaerobic and gets your heart rate up would be considered exercise.

For those that don’t know, aerobic exercise uses oxygen mainly to generate energy. Most forms of cardio are considered aerobic.

Anaerobic exercise relies on the energy stored in your muscles mainly when oxygen isn’t enough. This is things like strength training and HIIT exercise.

Both are great forms of exercise. Aerobic focuses more on conditioning and endurance while anaerobic can potentially do the same with the additional benefit of being able to build muscle. It really all depends on your programming!

How much exercise is enough?

I recommend 30 minutes a day of exercise. I would try to exercise every single day. It doesn’t have to be intense exercise, a simple light 30 minute walk is enough to satisfy that requirement. As I’ve said before, you need at least one full rest day a week from strength training or high intensity training but preferably 2-3.

Conclusion

There’s very very few cons of exercising. Potentially injury is the biggest one and the only others that I can think of other than it can be exhausting and time consuming (depending on what you’re doing).

A portion of people who suffer from poor mental health do not exercise at all, or barely do.

A simple 30 minutes a day can change your entire life both in the short and long term and there’s absolutely no excuse in the world that is valid for why you cannot find 30 minutes a day to take time for yourself and go on a walk, hit a quick workout, or find some way to move your body and get your heart rate up.

Your excuse is simply that you do not want to make time for it, and by doing so, you’re not prioritizing your physical or mental wellbeing. If you don’t have your physical and mental health, you really have nothing at the end of the day regardless of what you may think you have in possessions, status or your job title.

So get your butt up and start moving!

Until next time,

Coach Emily