If you know people who exercise on a regular basis, you may notice that they seem a bit happier and carry themselves with a spring in their step. This is because exercise is beneficial for both the body and the mind. With all the self-help books on the market and the personal health industry becoming more well known and in the mainstream, more people are realizing that personal enrichment is healthy and positive and necessary for a harmonious and balanced life. The connection between exercise and our mental health is becoming very clear. While exercise is excellent for getting in shape physically, it can also help get you into shape mentally.
So what can exercise do for your mind?
1. Exercise can improve your self-worth and give you a more positive self-image. While exercise not only improves your physical appearance, it also improves your ability to care for yourself. By valuing your physical appearance, you are illustrating that you value your body and mind. Exercising also forces you to become more disciplined. This allows us to set goals, accomplish them, and feel good about doing so. Exercising can give you visible and tangible results, which is a great start for improving your personal outlook.
2. Exercise can make you feel good. It helps increase formation of hormones like serotonin, the happy hormone; and endorphins, which make you feel euphoric. Mutually, these hormones can help you progress your psychological well-being. It is important to note that most anti-depressant medications actually are a type of serotonin regulator. By exercising, you naturally increase production of key hormones that can make you feel just as good as Prozac would.
3. Exercise is also effective for stress reduction. We all have problems, stress and annoyances that come up on a daily basis. No one person is immune to these things, but it’s what we do and how we react when negative things happen to us that will ultimately determine our fate. If you’ve ever wanted to run away from your problems, exercising may be your answer. You can literally exercise your stress away. Increased physical activity can aid you in relieving stress and clearing your mind.
4. Exercise can also raise your libido and decrease PMS symptoms, which can be appreciated by both men and women alike. Being more physically active can assist you in feeling so much better about yourself, giving you more self-esteem in the bedroom. PMS symptoms like cramping, back pain, bloating and bad moods can all be relieved by exercise.
5. Exercise also helps to improve your quality of sleep. Often, we have difficulty sleeping because our mind is still active and filled with the stress from the day. Some people have a very hard time relaxing and turning off the mindless chatter in our heads. By exercising, you can relieve this stress. It also aids in the secretion of melatonin, a hormone that assists in maintaining your sleep schedule.
In addition to the psychological advantages, you can also reap physical benefits as well. Some of the physical benefits you may experience from exercise are: loss of excess weight, better muscle tone, a healthier immune system, improved circulation, and many other benefits. With there being so many psychological and physical benefits, why not embark on an exercise plan now? If you put in a little time and effort each day, you can not only lose that pesky spare tire, but beat the blues at the same time.
You must be logged in to post a comment