Studies have found that exercise consistently reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety and improves self-esteem and cognitive (thinking) functions….so exercise is good for your mental health.
Physical exercise provides unique benefits for a healthy brain. It does this by:
1. regulating neurotransmitters and other natural brain chemicals like serotonin and noradrenalin which can have an immediate and long-term effect on your sense of wellbeing.
2. taking your mind off your worries and helping you break the cycle of negative thoughts that feed depression and anxiety.
3. improving how you feel and your self-esteem.
4. relaxing you and improving sleep.
5. sharpening up thinking skills that can help you in day-to-day life such as studying and at work.
6. reducing your chances of cognitive decline and promoting continued brain health into old age.
How does it do that?
Research has found that regular exercise improves certain structures in the brain in frontal and hippocampal regions (Erickson et al., 2011). These areas are responsible for things like memory, attentional processes and executive-control processes, such as decision making etc (Chang et al., 2011).
Physical exercise has also found to reduce cognitive decline linked to ageing (Niemann et al., 2014), and the risk of developing dementia (Mandolesi et al., 2017).
Psychologists think that physical exercise enhances wellbeing by improving self-concept and self-esteem (Zamani Sani et al., 2016) through things like positive social interactions.
Studies have consistently reported benefits of physical exercise on reductions in depression (Mammen and Faulkner, 2013) and anxiety (DeBoer et al., 2012) suggesting the use of exercise as a treatment for these illnesses (Carek et al., 2011).
A recent systematic review found mounting evidence that physical exercise is an effective intervention for those who have poor sleep (Dolezal., 2017).
Remember, speak to your GP to determine what kind of exercise is right for you, how much you should be doing and what precautions you should take to ensure that your workouts are safe.