There is no dubiety in the fact that exercise is very beneficial for physical health. It improves your heart, helps in burning calories, maintains your healthy weight, shapes your body, strengthens your heart and bones, and even adds some years to your life.
But all these are only physical benefits of a workout, there are some notable mental benefits of exercise too which most people forget to consider. Although, there are many people who do physical activities for their cognitive health; they consider mental health equally important as their physical health.
They do regular exercise because it gives them a great sense of well-being. They feel more energetic during the day, sleep better at night, their memories see improvement, and they feel more relaxed and positive about themselves and their lives. Exercise can be considered as effective as talking therapy and medication. Here in this article, we will focus more on the mental health benefits of doing regular workout than a physical boon.
Helps to overcome depression and anxiety:
It is widely believed that exercise can treat mild to moderate level depression better than antidepressant medication because exercise doesn’t have any side effects attached to it, rather it has many physical rewards attached. Studies show that those who do regular exercise are less prone to major depression.
Exercise also releases endorphin, a powerful chemical in your brain, that relieves stress and makes you feel energized. It can help alleviate long-term depression. Doing exercise will take your mind from the continuous ray of negative thought that causes depression. Conclusively, exercise is the best treatment for your depression and wellbeing.
Exercise to relieve stress:
When we feel threatened in some way or something upsets us, our fight or flight response activates which gives stress to our system. Our muscles will become tense, especially in the face, neck, and shoulders. You may feel tightness in your whole body.
Since your body and mind are so closely linked, when your body feels better so, too, will your mind and vice versa. If the stress is very high it may lead to insomnia, heartburn, stomachache, diarrhea, or frequent urination. To overcome we need to do physical activities because it releases endorphins which improves our stressful condition.
Enhances your mood:
It is evidently proved that exercise has a mood-enhancement effect. The studies show that doing exercise not only changes your bad mood to a good mood but also enhances the good mood to a better mood. After detailed research, we can claim that low-intensity aerobic exercise for 2-3 hours every week will surely keep you happy like a dog with two tails during the whole week.
“It is exercise alone that supports the spirits, and keeps the mind in vigor.” Marcus Tullius Cicero
Improves your sleep:
Even short bursts of moderate level exercise in the morning or evening can help regulate your sleep patterns. Exercise helps in decreasing depression, anxiety, and arousal which in turn assist in overcoming insomnia.
Exercise triggers a rise in body temperature, and the post-exercise drop in temperature, which may improve sleepiness. In short, exercise aids you to sleep better and rest completely the whole night and wake up more energized for your day’s work.
Improves your confidence and self-esteem:
Exercise is a great way to enhance your confidence. When you do any physical activity, it shapes your body and tones your muscles and after watching your body getting in attractive shape, you feel confident.
You are meeting the goals you set for yourself for workout class which boosts your confidence level and makes you feel better about your physical appearance. Therefore, regular exercise is a fair investment in your mind, body, and soul. When it becomes a habit, it can foster your sense of self -esteem, and self-worth by making you strong and powerful.
Some simple and elementary exercise for your mental health,
Walking
Walking is a good cardio exercise if you walk at a brisk pace for at least 3 miles an hour. This pushes your heart and lungs to work hard. Over time, your heart becomes stronger and more efficient. It will improve your blood pressure too.
Why walking is preferable?
- It won’t cost you much.
- You can do it anytime and anywhere.
- It’s low impact exercise and gentle on your body.
Swimming
It’s hard to find a single workout everyone agrees upon except swimming. It is an excellent exercise to work all the muscles of your body and cardiovascular system. An hour of swimming burns almost as many calories as running does, but running is not as interesting as swimming is. Swimming is the fourth most popular physical activity in the world.
Cycling
Cycling is a low impact aerobic exercise that improves your cardiovascular health, lifts your mood, and boosts your fitness. It also varies in intensity, you can pedal according to your suitability. Comparing it with running, it burns fewer calories than running. But running is also a boring and higher impact exercise which is harder on muscles and joints. Contrarily, cycling boosts your mood and mental health.
Yoga
Yoga without any doubt is yoga is a good way to reduce stress and stretch your muscles. It is the best form of work out for your mental health. All of its parts, deep breathing, stretching, and meditation have more relation with the brain than with the other body.
Dancing
Dancing is a fun kind of whole-body workout that can burn a large number of extra calories. It’s really good for your heart and very beneficial for your cognitive health too. It enhances your mood and improves your mental capabilities.
Final Thought:
Exercise has undeniable physical as well as mental benefits for you. Those who do regular exercise are always better than others physically and emotionally. They can easily overcome their depressions, stresses, and anxieties. It’s a good tip to buy yourself workout clothes and start a regular exercise from today if you really want to improve your cognitive health. You can get exquisite quality workout clothes from here.
Nina Smith 
Kim Marks 
Nicola Holder