Spring Forward into Improved Mental Health with Exercise
It’s no secret that getting regular exercise can make you physically fit, but you may not notice just how beneficial it can be for your mental health.
Here at Dupont Private Health, Dr. Jean Ann Beaton and our team understand the deep connection between your body and your mind and know that both are important to becoming truly healthy. Here’s what you should know about increasing your exercise to directly impact your emotional and mental health.
How exercise improves mental health
In some cases, exercise can be more versatile than any treatment you can find in a prescription bottle. It’s an incredibly effective therapy for a wide range of mental health problems. Check out some of the ways exercise improves common mental health problems.
Stress and anxiety
As you exercise, your body naturally becomes less affected by anxiety. Exercise may even work to ease symptoms of other problems that accompany stress and anxiety, such as irritable bowel syndrome.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
In both adults and children with ADHD, cardiovascular exercise improves motor skills and executive function.
Depression
Many with depression have found that regular workouts (light, moderate, or vigorous) reduce their symptoms. That’s because exercise promotes the growth of new neurons in key areas of your brain, namely the hippocampus. This plays a significant role in relieving some mental health problems, such as depression.
Panic disorder
If you suffer from panic disorder, you know what it feels like to live with bottled-up stress and emotions. You may find that fitting in exercise is an effective way to release some of those overwhelming feelings and reduce the intensity and frequency of your attacks.
Tips for working in workouts
If we’ve convinced you that exercise is a great way to improve your mental health, then we’ve only done half of our job. Life is busy, and it’s not always easy to find time to work out. If you’re one of those people who already feels overwhelmed by a busy schedule, you’re not alone.
And that’s why we’re equipping you with a few practical strategies that help you work out when you least expect it.
Get moving right away
The best way to make sure that you get your workout done for the day is to do it right away. We recommend that you do your best to get moving shortly after you wake up for the day. You might go for a jog around the block, follow a yoga video, or even just take a few minutes to stretch.
Get outside
Spring has officially sprung, which means nature’s gym is open for business. Try moving your workouts outside to reap even more mental health benefits. For instance, sunlight has proven to boost serotonin levels — your body’s natural mood lifters.
Sneak movement in wherever you can
You may not realize it, but your day is actually chock full of opportunities to move. Consider some of the following:
Walk during your lunch hour
Get up and talk to your coworkers instead of emailing
Suggest walking meetings
Flex your muscles while you wait in line
Park far away from store entrances
You might also try “deskercise,” which is a fun way to describe movements you can do while sitting down, such as biceps curls and leg lifts.
Skip the sedentary activities
Are you a couch potato the moment you get home? Do your friends love to get together over a happy hour? Why not turn these otherwise sedentary habits into healthy activities? Ask your friends to join you for a walk, or set up a treadmill in front of your TV.
Get support
Starting on this journey can be daunting if you go it alone. Try to loop your friends and family in on your goals to get added support. You can also invest in our concierge medicine program, which delivers essentially on-call medical care and one-on-one health coaching whenever you need it.
Want to learn more about how you can improve your mental health through exericse? We’d love to talk with you. Don’t hesitate to request an appointment online or over the phone at our Washington, DC, office today.
