Everyone knows an active lifestyle is one of the best ways of taking care of your health, especially if coupled with good nutrition.
A consistent exercise routine helps you maintain a hearty weight, promotes heart health, improves your concentration and mind, and can even help you prevent an array of different illnesses that have been shown to be linked with a passive lifestyle.
But an active life doesn’t just improve your physical health. Here’s how exercise benefits your mental health.
Mental Health Benefits of Exercise
When you have an active lifestyle and exercise routine, the benefits span beyond your physical body:
- Decreased stress
Your body produces a lot of beneficial chemicals during working out, and some of those can help you manage and reduce stress. Norepinephrine, for instance, is a neurohormone that can help improve your mood as well as your cognition, meaning that stress levels can be effectively regulated by a good and consistent workout routine.
- Help for depression and anxiety
It’s been scientifically proven that exercising has a direct impact on your mood because of the production of various neurohormones. As a result, a lot of people who take on a more active lifestyle often see a decrease in depression and anxiety levels.
Physical activity also promotes endorphin production, which is a natural chemical that promotes a feel-good sensation, such as happiness. Many people seeking therapy for depression or anxiety will also be encouraged to start exercising more, and in some cases the recommendation might even come as an alternative to medication.
- Increased self-confidence and self-esteem
Working out consistently ultimately has a beneficial impact on the physical body. For instance, it can help people lose weight and gain muscle tone, greatly changing and improving one’s appearance, which can result in a boost of self-esteem.
But, it can also be quite beneficial to witness your own improvement during working out, such as being able to increase your endurance or perform certain activities you could not previously do. This can also greatly boost your self-confidence and self-esteem.
The reasoning for working out is not relevant here, so even if you don’t start working specifically to lose weight or improve endurance, achieving them can bring a sense of satisfaction and even pride, which will improve your mood.
- Better sleep
Working out increases the body’s temperature, which promotes a feeling of relaxation. It can also help you balance your circadian rhythm, the system which regulates when you go to sleep and when you wake up. If you struggle with having a consistent sleeping pattern or cannot go to bed or get up when needed, working out regularly can help you address this issue.
- Boost brainpower
Exercising improves blood circulation, which some studies have shown can promote the creation of new brain cells. As a result, many cognitive performances can be improved through working out, such as memory, reducing brain fog, and even promoting focus.
Moreover, if you factor in all the other benefits presented here, such as lower stress levels and better sleep, ultimately your brain is one of the first to be improved by these perks.
denova Healthcare Is Here to Help
If you are looking for a team of professional and compassionate mental health experts to help you, we at denova Healthcare are at your service. We take a “whole person” approach when it comes to health and wellness, so all our treatment plans are designed for the specific patient’s needs. The denova Healthcare therapy extends beyond the doctor’s office to ensure you get the best possible care.
Contact us today to find out more!
