Simple exercises and their benefits to your Mental Health!

A vigorous walk will do more good for an unhappy but otherwise healthy adult than all the medicine and psychology in the world

Paul Dudley White

If you’ve followed my blog for any great length of time, you’ll know I’ve never been shy about talking about my mental health, which in fairness, in general is very good. When I’m feeling anxious, and this week has been one of those weeks where my anxiety demons were getting the better of me, I turn to a combination of meditation, mindfulness and exercise. I’ve spoken about the benefits of exercise relative to your mental health however, a question I’m often asked is; what are the best exercises to help with my mental health? The simple answer is; all exercise is good for promoting good mental health however, in today’s post I’m going to be more specific relative to research that has been done to demonstrate the positive benefits of exercise, and I’m going to start off very simply!

Walking and Running

I know; here we go again, Lisa banging on about running! Well, yes however, more recently we’ve seen several studies that demonstrate the values around a regular brisk walk! If you not done any exercise for a while, walking is a great way to get active and slowly build yourself up. It comes with all the mental health benefits I’ve described in previous posts, while not being too strenuous.

Walking comes with a unique benefit too. The link between nature and mental health is becoming ever more established, something I’ll talk about in a future post. Walking allows you to get out to your local park, lake or nature reserve and take in the surroundings – boosting your mental health in the process.

Once you’ve built yourself up a bit, you might try running, an activity that maximises some of those physical and mental benefits to your health.

Getting down to the Gym

For those of you that feel you want who want to push themselves a little harder, joining a gym is a great place to start. Gyms can be great for providing increased motivation to exercise. Once you’ve signed up, you’ll have access to a plethora of different classes. Take advantage and book yourself onto some, setting yourself a future goal in attending and completing that class. Don’t fancy classes, I hear you! Every gym I know has a personal trainer that, after signing up, will offer to provide you with a personalised program of aerobic exercise and weights that fits with your motivation and your ability.

Yoga

Again, if you’ve followed the blog, you’ll know I’m into my downward facing dogs and cobras so, I make no apology for including it again here! While yoga is a little less strenuous than most activities, it comes with other psychological benefits. Depending on the type of yoga you engage in, it might involve things like breathing exercises, meditation and other ways in which you can relax.

These types of relaxation techniques are great for reducing anxiety, feeling more present, and controlling our emotions.

Sport in General

Whether it’s netball, basketball, five-a-side football or crown green bowling, many sports have a distinct advantage – they have a social element. Team sports are intrinsically social in nature. They’ll involve regular sessions with likeminded people, where you engage in teamwork to achieve a common goal.

If you’re wondering where to start when it comes to finding a club near you, just fire up google and type something like “local sports clubs”. If you’re in the UK, head on over to BBC Sport’s comprehensive list of club finders for pretty much any sport played in the country.

The million-dollar question now is, how much exercise do I need to do to help my mental wellbeing?

When it comes to how often and for how long you should exercise, there really is no absolute answer. Just getting off the sofa and on your feet is the most crucial step to improving your mental health through exercise. Ultimately, doing something is better than doing nothing! Even with a leisurely 10-minute stroll, especially if this is done outside in the fresh air, you’ll start to see some of the benefits.

Ideally, if you can, try and engage in 30 minutes of exercise at least 3 times a week. The Mental Health Foundation suggests that 30 to 35 minutes of low-intensity aerobic exercise, 3 to 5 days a week for 10 to 12 weeks is effective at increasing positive moods, it’s not that much is it!?

Wondering if this is useful to exorcise your own personal demons? The power of exercise is highlighted when you consider how it can also help people with diagnosed mental health conditions. From depression to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), here’s how exercise should be a central aspect of anyone’s recovery from struggles with mental health.

Exercise for Depression

The evidence that exercise helps when treating people with depression is developing all the time. Just one example, published in the Current Sports Medicine Reports Journal, suggests that physical activity can “confer protection from the development of depression in children, adults, and older adults.” It also emphasised the importance of social support and/or supervision of exercise professionals to increase the chance of success.

Exercise is great at reducing the symptoms of depression. It can improve your mood and reduce feelings of hopelessness or sadness. It might also stop you from using things like alcohol to make yourself feel better.

Exercise for Anxiety and Stress

For people with anxiety disorders like yours truly, or those under high levels of stress, exercise can benefit you in a similar way to that of depression. Studies of people with anxiety disorders, like a recent study highlighted in the Depression and Anxiety Journal, have found that those with higher rates of physical activity were better protected against symptoms of anxiety, I am living proof of this fact!

Exercise reduces muscle tension and tightness in our bodies, which can be key symptoms of anxiety. It also acts as a release for built-up emotions, and allows us a welcome distraction from problems at work or home.

Exercise for ADHD

ADHD is characterised by being restless and unable to focus on things for long periods. The neurotransmitter, dopamine, which is responsible for our cycles of motivation, reward and pleasure, is thought to be lower in people with ADHD.

Many medications look to increase levels of dopamine in order to reduce the symptoms of ADHD, but a natural way of doing so is through exercise. Therefore, exercise may help people who are diagnosed with ADHD to improve their focus and ability to concentrate.

It’s also thought that exercise improves our executive function (a group of skills controlled by the frontal lobe in our brains). These skills include paying attention, organising, planning and multitasking – all things which many people with ADHD struggle with. A study in the Frontiers in Human Neuroscience Journal found a link between the amount students exercised and their levels of executive function.

If you’ve got to this point, well done you! I have tried to make this as simple and concise as possible however, exercise and mental health is a complex, often misunderstood, relationship that, once you’ve taken the first few tentative steps based on knowledge, could literally change your life forever!

What’s on this week?