Mental Health Loves Physical Activity
Physical Activities
Benefits of Physical Activity
Releases those feel-good feelings! Endorphins are the feel-good hormones in your brain, and
when you work out, more of it is produced.
Getting lost in it. When we work out our mind tends to focus on the task in front of us. When
you work out you get to temporally forget those troubles.
Confidence. Setting goals and achieving them, big or small, will create more confidence in
yourself. Being physically active can also get you in shape and that will also create a new level
of confidence.
Making new friends. Getting out and being physically active can help in breaking the ice with
people who share mutual interest in bettering their health. Sometimes something as simple as
a small smile shared between two people in passing can also boost your mental health.
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Yoga for the Mind
Yoga is known to be a mental, physical, and spiritual practice by focusing on mind-body connections. Yoga as a mean of exercise and meditation has been found to decrease sympathetic tone and hence reduces feelings of stress and anxiety (Panesar & Valachova, 2011). Yoga is a popular form of physical activity that can be done throughout one’s life, physical strength or aptitude becomes irrelevant, it just becomes a matter of wanting to better yourself.
Those who suffer musculoskeletal injuries or other health issues, if performed under certain conditions, should be able to undertake this form of physical activity without any issues. Yoga is more about having an out-of-body experience and connecting with oneself to overcome hardships and fortifying and strengthening their mind. Yoga helps to slow down the mind and really dig deep into one’s soul.
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Benefits of Yoga
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Reduce stress
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Reduce anxiety
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Useful in schizophrenia
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Better social and occupational functioning
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Improved mood
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Beneficial emotional, psychological, and biological effects
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Increasing self-awareness
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Increasing reflection and ability to self soothe
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Yoga postures (“asanas”) and breathing exercises (“pranayama”) are said to produce great changes in the body. By practicing specific asanas and pranayama, different endocrine glands are stimulated, which in turn influence not only the body but also emotions. Yoga as a mean of exercise and meditation has been found to decrease sympathetic tone and hence reduces feelings of stress and anxiety (Panesar & Valachova, 2011).
Running for the Heart
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They say you shouldn’t run from your troubles; we disagree. Although you shouldn’t mentally run from your troubles, you should physically. Running recreationally has been shown to reduce stress and release the hormone endocannabinoids. Endocannabinoids share a lot of similarities to cannabis, which it releases into the bloodstream making its way to the mind and making you feel good. These feel-good effects drastically aid in reducing the symptoms of anxiety and depression. If given a choice between running outside or inside, choose outside every time. Running outside has shown it reduces depression by reducing the feeling of loneliness and isolation.
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When you create a habit of running, you can enjoy a consistent boost to your overall well-being and mental health. It’s common knowledge to know most of us to feel intimidated by running or a new routine in general, however, “many people struggle to set a running routine or do not feel motivated to run. The most important thing for your mental health is to get moving as much as you can.” (WebMD, 2021) So set those goals, one mile at a time. Each mile ran is a mile closer to your overall well-being and better mental health.
