How Does Exercise Aide with Mental Health?
Exercising does not only improve your physical health, but it can have just as big of an impact on your mental health as well.
Been Feeling Down Lately?
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Regular exercise can have a great impact on anxiety, depression, and stress. The levels of chemicals in the brain, such as serotonin, stress hormones and endorphins, change when you exercise.
Improving Your Physical Appearance Can Help Build Your Self-Esteem
Exercise can improve your sense of control, coping ability and self-esteem. People who exercise regularly often report how good achieving a goal makes them feel. You may be more likely to talk to others due to your increased self-confidence.
Although Working Out Seems Draining, it Can Actually Improve Your Energy Levels
Exercising boosts oxygen circulation inside your body. This increase in oxygen not only supports the mitochondria’s energy production, but it also allows your body to function better and to use its energy more efficiently. Plus, your body gets a boost from an exercise-induced increase in hormone levels that makes you feel more energized.
Having Trouble Making New Friends? Join a Gym!
It offers an opportunity to socialize and get social support if you exercise with others. Participating in a sport or aerobics class will introduce you to new people that share a common interest.
The Negative Effects
Exercise brings an abundance of positive outcomes for mental health, but we must also look at the bigger picture and see it's negative impact.
Negative Self Image & Body Weight perception
Exercise as weight management strategy could be compulsive and lead to distressing health outcomes. Exercise dependent individuals and exercise obsessive people are at a higher risk for suffering an exercise induced injury.
Exercise Dependence with Psychological Health
People who are dependent on exercise score higher on anxiety and depression scales and suffer negative effects on mood, self-satisfaction, social behaviour, and energy levels. Exercise is commonly used as a big distraction for negative and worrying thoughts.
Negative Impact of exercise to Immune Cells
There's evidence that prolonged bouts of strenuous exercise can temporarily supress or dysregulate immune function for a period of 3 to 24 hours after exercise. Exercise creates a short period of time for opportunistic intracellular pathogens to take advantage of a host with a weakened immune system.