People are often so focused on their physical health that they forget about their mental health completely. But perhaps the two are tied more closely together than people originally believe. Indeed, various research suggests that if you focus on staying physically fit, then you will improve your mental health at the same time. It’s worth exploring why this is the case and what steps you should take to ensure that your physical activities do provide benefits for your mental wellbeing.
Combatting Issues With Depression
Depression is far more common than most people realize. Indeed, some studies suggest that there are 264 million people across the world who are dealing with some form of long-term depression. Depression is labeled as any deep sadness that lasts for an extended period. This could be a few weeks or months. Depression can even linger for years if left untreated. Could the right workout routine be part of the answer to combating issues with depression?
Experts were quick to point out how important it was that people continued with their traditional routines during the coronavirus lockdowns. If they didn’t do this, researchers warned that they would throw their schedule off balance completely. This could lead to longer, restless nights and trouble getting up in the morning. If you have no purpose and no point to the day you will always struggle to get up in the morning at the right time. Exercise can be the answer. You can start an exercise routine in the morning that will help you kick your day into focus and provide you with the boost in energy that you need.
Exercise also causes the chemicals to flow through the brain. It can provide you with just the right positive attitude that you need to start your day on the right footing.
Dealing With Stress
Exercise is also a great way of dealing with stress. In the past year alone, one research study suggested that most than 75% of people had felt severely overwhelmed at some point. Again, this is likely tied to the pandemic however stress was already on the rise. Don’t forget, polls have suggested that job satisfaction levels are at an all-time low and have been for quite some time.
So, how can you deal with stress? Well, exercise is a fantastic choice. With the right exercise, you can work off the tension that you have built up through the day. Studies suggest that there are certain exercises that are incredibly calming. For instance, you could think about trying studio pilates. People who complete exercise like this swear that as well as strengthening their body it also helps them strengthen their mind at the same time. As such, it could be highly beneficial if you do constantly feel overwhelmed throughout the day. You might be struggling to fit exercise into what could be quite a busy schedule.
However, there are always ways that you can do this with possibilities like desk yoga. As the name suggests, desk yoga is an exercise that you complete at your desk. As such, they can be squeezed into the typical lunch hour.
A Good Night Sleep
Studies show that you need a good night of sleep to function effectively each day. The general consensus among researchers is that we should be aiming for about eight hours of sleep each night. This isn’t an impossible bar to reach but some people find getting to sleep at night incredibly difficult. Now, you might try a range of options to help you sleep at night. For instance, some people use melatonin tablets to give them the extra shot of the right hormone that they need to rest their eyes. However, it could be that you are not getting enough exercise throughout the day.
If you are struggling to sleep, then you should try working out before bed. In doing so, you can make sure that your body and your mind are both tired enough when your head does finally hit the pillow.
Killing Confidence Issues
Confidence is an important aspect of your mental health. If you don’t have a high level of self-confidence, then you’re going to struggle in various aspects of your life. You will struggle to succeed with personal and professional goals. It’s unfortunate but true to say that many people find their confidence is tied to the way they look and whether they feel fat or overweight. As such, losing weight and getting in shape could benefit your mental health, simply by ensuring that you do have the confidence in life that you need. People often think that losing weight is going to be a massive challenge, but it doesn’t have to be.
Instead, you can think about completing exercises that aren’t too strenuous regularly. This could include swimming. Indeed, studies suggest that swimming is one of the best ways to lose weight without causing painful issues. This is because it helps relax your muscles and joints.
Staying Young
Finally, it’s worth noting that research does suggest that working out and completing regular exercise can help you stay young. We don’t mean that in an abstract sense either. Studies suggest that exercise will cause your cells to age far more slowly than usual. Particularly, if you are dealing with inflammation that can be caused from over-exercising. To do this, you need to complete exercises like yoga that will help tone up your body without putting it under too much pressure. You might also want to consider using ice baths. Ice bathing is used by celebrities and athletes as a way to heal the body. Don’t forget, if you keep your body and mind young you could potentially avoid developing severe conditions like dementia later in life.
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We hope this helps you understand how staying physically fit could potentially benefit your mental health in the long term. By taking the right steps here, you can guarantee that there is far less chance that you will develop various issues with your mental health from depression to dementia.
Thank you for reading!
