This guest post is by Ryan Rivera, founder of calmclinic.com.
Maintaining your fitness is a crucial part of living a healthy life. Exercise affects every process in your body, from your heart and muscles to your hormones and organs – and the more you maintain your general fitness level, the greater your likelihood of living a long and healthy life. But despite the obvious advantages of exercise, many still have trouble finding the motivation to get fit. Presumably, they feel that their lives are too busy and too filled with stress already, and they don’t want to add the additional aches, pains, and exertion into their already anxiety-rich lives. Research has found, however, that exercise is useful for more than just physical fitness. Exercise has several profound benefits to your mental health, with some experts claiming that it can be as beneficial as anti-anxiety medications.
Here are a few of the benefits of exercise on mental health:
- Increased endorphin levels: Endorphins are hormones released by the brain during exercise. They serve to reduce pain and increase feelings of calmness and well being. Exercise then, has the two-fold affect relieving stress as well as reducing pain.
- Decreased cortisol levels: On the opposite end of the hormone spectrum is cortisol, a hormone released by the body during periods of stress. Excess cortisol is incredibly damaging to your mind and body. It affects brain cells, damages organs, and can lead to fat retention. Exercise helps neutralize the effects of cortisol.
- Exercise provides a relaxing outlet: Exercise is a way to take a healthy, productive break from the normal stressors of life. It is a healthy activity that focuses your mental energy on something other than the causes of anxiety and stress. The time out can be incredibly valuable, especially for those that have busy schedules.
We often focus on just the physical benefits of exercise (and there are many), but the mental health aspect should not be overlooked. Exercise is a free and easy activity that can greatly improve your overall stress levels, and provide you with many of the mental health benefits that medicines and therapy are used for. And while exercise may not be an anxiety cure, it is a very powerful tool indeed.
About the Author: Ryan Rivera speaks from experience in this post. Ryan suffered from anxiety and panic attacks for years, to the point where he became agoraphobic – rarely going anywhere but his home, car, and office. It wasn’t until he made lifestyle changes and intelligent decisions such as the decision to exercise that he was able to get through his problems. Read more on anxiety at Ryan’s site, www.calmclinic.com.
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