Physical Exercise: Improving Mental Health - opinion
Have you ever noticed how good you feel after a tough session in the gym? Exercise at Home with Everyone on Demand Check out our Home Workouts Studies have shown that regular physical activity can have a significant effect on our mental health. This includes increasing self-esteem, reducing anxiety and depression. Adults should aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity, five times a week. This really can be anything. Swimming, running, walking, playing tennis, cycling, badminton, going to the gym, whatever it is that gets you moving. It all counts! Physical Exercise: Improving Mental HealthCalculate the price of your order
For example, Sabiston co-authored a study in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology that adolescents who consistently participated in team sports during high school reported lower depression levels in early adulthood. A Canada Research Chair in physical activity and mental health, Sabiston directs a lab that studies the connections between physical activity and mental health, developing and evaluating interventions to promote physical activity and mental wellness among people who are at risk of inactivity and mental health problems.
The lab also runs a six-week program called MoveU. HappyU that provides customized coaching and training aimed at reducing the stress and anxiety of students in the lab through physical movement. How closely connected are physical activity and mental health? Symptoms of mental illness such as anxiety and depression can impede physical activity and vice versa.
When you are experiencing symptoms, you may also encounter feelings of low self-worth and an inability to be motivated. Many of the symptoms tied to mental illness are also barriers to physical activity.
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On the flip side, there is uncontested evidence that physical activity is conducive to mental health. Physical activity prevents some forms of source illness, and, for individuals who have been diagnosed with mental illness, physical activity can help reduce those symptoms and improve their quality of life.
It holds its own weight in comparison to all other forms of treatment for mental illness, including psychotherapy and even medication. Physical activity is a Physical Exercise: Improving Mental Health adjunct to any other form of preventative or treatment-focused therapy.
Phhsical
How exactly does exercise lift our mood? There are a number of mechanisms at play, including physical activity effects that are tied to our brain activity and brain chemistry.
Physical activity increases our body temperature. When we are warmer, we are given the sense that we are comfortable and cared for. Also, from a historical perspective, we know that humans were naturally much more active in the past than we are now.]
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