Why Exercise is Good For Mental Health?

We all know that exercise is good for mental health, but why? Taking care of your body is a powerful first step towards mental and emotional health.

[RELATED: The Truth behind Good Mental Health]

The mind and the body are linked. When you improve your physical health, you’ll automatically experience greater mental and emotional well-being. For example, exercise not only strengthens our heart and lungs, but also releases endorphins, powerful chemicals in your brain that make you feel good.

[RELATED: Rearranging and Improving Your Daily Habits]

The activities you engage in and the daily choices you make affect the way you feel physically and emotionally.

• Get enough rest. To have good mental and emotional health, it’s important to take care of your body. That includes getting enough sleep. Most people need seven to eight hours of sleep each night in order to function optimally.
• Learn about good nutrition and practice it. The subject of nutrition is complicated and not always easy to put into practice. But the more you learn about what you eat and how it affects your energy and mood, the better you can feel.
• Exercise to relieve stress and lift your mood. Exercise is a powerful antidote to stress, anxiety, and depression. Look for small ways to add activity to your day, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator or going on a short walk. To get the most mental health benefits, aim for 30 minutes or more of exercise per day.
• Get a dose of sunlight every day. Sunlight lifts your mood, so try to get at least 10 to 15 minutes of sun per day. This can be done while exercising, gardening, or socializing.
• Limit alcohol and avoid cigarettes and other drugs. These are stimulants that may unnaturally make you feel good in the short term, but have long-term negative consequences for mood and emotional health.

How do you feel after leaving the gym or after a nice workout?

Photo credit: Ed Yourdon / Foter.com / CC BY-SA