Everyone knows the physical benefits of regular exercise. It boosts your overall health, improves the quality of your sleep, speeds up the process of healing, and helps you shed those unwanted pounds.
Does Regular Exercise Is A Tool To Improve Mental Health?
But do you know that it is a great tool to improve your mental health? In fact, physical health is not the thing that motivates a vast majority of people to exercise regularly. It rejuvenates the mind, creates an overall sense of well-being, sharpens memory, increases the power of concentration, and helps a person relax. Working out also makes people optimistic. The feel-good hormone the body generates during a workout session helps you forget your negative experiences.
Here are some of the amazing health benefits regular exercising offers:
- It Eliminates Depression
Working out regularly is a scientifically proven medicine to treat depression. When physically active, your brain and spinal cord generate that feel-good hormone. This makes you happy and euphoric for some time. Its effects are quite pronounced that even doctors recommend an exercise routine before prescribing medication for the disorders like depression and anxiety.
- Regular Exercise Improves Your Sleep
After a few minutes of intense physical activity, your body needs time to recover. Thus your brain instructs your body to be tired. It helps you sleep deep and long. This, perhaps, is the most visible effect of working out. If you don’t sleep well, you will never become physically fit. Fortunately, your brain has got you covered in these instances.
- You Boost Your Self-Confidence
When in a gym, you are sure to be confident and sociable. This effect gets carried on to other aspects of your life. Spending time in the gym also creates a positive self-image. Remember, respecting yourself is the first step towards cultivating self-confidence.
- You Enjoy Your Time Outdoors
If possible, try to find an outdoor space to work out. Doing this will add up to your positive self-image. You can try anything; mountain climbing, hiking or you can just jog for a while in your favorite park. Your body also receives the vitamin D it needs from being under the sun for a while. See to it that you are wearing sunscreen as you need to protect yourself from UV damage.
- Working Out Slows Cognitive Decline
As you age, your brain starts declining. The statement may appear slightly bitter, but this is the truth that one has to accept. The health conditions like dementia destroy the cells of your brain. This affects its ability to perform at its best and working out at regular intervals slows this process, thus allowing you to stay intelligent for a little longer.
- You Overcome Addictions Without You Knowing It
Your brain rewards you for doing anything that brings you pleasure with dopamine. Unfortunately, this is the thing drugs do. But the cycle of reward they create makes you addicted to them. Here comes exercise to your assistance. Working out provides the distraction your brain needs to help you eliminate cravings for harmful substances.
- You Work Smarter
Lack of inspiration is a natural occurrence when working for hours. But a small break may be enough to arouse that creativity in you. Studies suggest that professionals who exercise regularly get more things done within the short time available.
- Physical Activity Recharges You
Does your automated life frustrate you? Work out for a while. When working out, your body receives the extra oxygen and the nutrients your body needs. As a result, your heart and lungs start performing at their best. This makes you feel energized and the mundane activities become easier to enjoy.
These insights present the next question; how much exercise a person should do? The answer depends on one’s physical condition. But the Department of Health and Human Services has the following recommendations for an averagely healthy adult:
- Aerobic exercise: More than 150 minutes for moderate activity. You may only need 75 minutes if you go for rigorous exercise. Someone opting for a combination of the same may distribute the time in a healthy manner.
- Strength training: Twice a week. Try to repeat one set of a tiring exercise like lifting weights 12 times at a stretch.
If time is a constraint, you can go for a shorter duration and spread them throughout the week.
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