8 Mental Health Benefits of Exercise
Exercise benefits your overall health more than just your physical health. There are also several mental health benefits of exercise that make physical activity a good way to take care of your entire well-being.
From stress relief to helping improve your mood, exercise can benefit your mental health in some great ways.
Even just going on a walk each day can do wonders for your mental health.
Why care about the mental health benefits of exercise?
You might be thinking, I exercise because I want to lose weight or want to improve my physical health…why do I need to know about the mental health benefits of exerise?
Well, I’m glad you asked!
The mental health benefits of exercise are important because it will help you stay motivated throughout your exercise journey. When you know the full impact that exercise can have on your entire well-being, not just your physical health, you will be less likely to put off exercising until tomorrow.
Additionally, learning about the mental health benefits of exercise will help you be more informed as you set self care goals and identify the best self care routine for you.
If you struggle with stress management for example, exercising can be an important tool in your self care arsenal.
So how much physical activity is needed in order to feel the mental health benefits of exercise?
The answer is that it really depends.
The good news is that you don’t need to establish a consistent exercise routine for months and months before you start to see these effects.
You really only need to engage in physical activity for about 30 minutes to start seeing some of these mental health benefits each day, like improved sleep habits.
However, for some other mental health benefits like managing depression and anxiety might take a little longer.
Either way, as always with any change in your self care routine, be patient as you wait to see the true impact from your actions.
This post is going to help you learn about 8 mental health benefits of exercise.
1. Decrease stress
The first mental health benefit of exercise is decreased stress. And who doesn’t want to feel less stressed?
Exercising causes your body to produce endorphins, or the feel-good neurotransmitters. You know, in the words of Elle Woods, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy.”
Because of those endorphins, exercise can help you reduce stress and the effects of stress on your body.
2. Manage depression and anxiety
In addition to reducing stress, physical activity can also help you manage depression and anxiety.
This study from the Mayo Clinic discusses the link between exercise, anxiety, and depression.
Similar to stress relief, the endorphins released from exercise can help your mental health and reduce the effects of depression and anxiety.
Additionally, the study notes that exercise can help distract your thoughts from your worries in the moment so it can help to lessen the weight of anxiety and depression on your mind.
3. Boost self esteem
Another one of the mental health benefits of exercise is boosting your self esteem. Exercise can heighten your self esteem and confidence in a few key ways.
First, when you set and meet your fitness goals, you will feel a sense of accomplishment and greater confidence. Additionally, as you make strides in your exercise routine and see your athleticism improve, you’ll also feel a boost in self esteem.
Lastly, exercise can help improve your self esteem as you get in better shape and feel more confident in your outer appearance.
4. Improve memory
Exercise can also work to improve your memory and prevent disorders that could lead to memory loss. Physical activity increases the amount of oxygen that goes to your brain which in turn keeps your mind sharp and boosts your memory.
5. Increased energy level
Another benefit of exercise is increased energy level. Because exercise increases the oxygen and nutrients that is distributed throughout your body, your will find an increased energy level through a healthier heart and lungs.
Try swapping your morning coffee for a little bit of physical activity. You might find that your morning exercise routine makes you feel just as awake and energized.
6. Improve sleep habits
Exercise can also help you improve sleep habits and feel more rested every night.
And the best part is that it doesn’t take years of building a consistent exercise routine to see the result. 30 minutes of exercise can lead to higher sleep quality starting that night!
For more on building healthy sleep habits, read more here.
7. Higher resilience
Another one of the best mental health benefits of exercise is higher resilience.
Resilience is someone’s ability to cope with stressors and adapt to changing situations. Exercise can increase your resilience through decreased stress hormones and increased energy.
8. Better mood
The last mental health benefit of exercise we are going to talk about in this post is a better mood.
As we discussed earlier, exercise leads your brain to release feel-good endorphins. Because of that, you will feel happier and in a better mood after physical activity.
Those are the 8 mental health benefits of exercise.
Exercising is a great way to boost your physical health – but there are also plenty of mental health benefits of exercise.
And the mental health benefits of exercise are important because it will help you stay motivated throughout your exercise journey.
Use the tips in this post to improve your mental health through physical activity!
If you loved this post, you will also really enjoy this article from Fitnazz that has a comprehensive list of the benefits of exercise:
Click to read 60+ Benefits of Exercise – The Ultimate List from Fitnazz.
Comment below with the ways you’ve seen mental health benefits from exercise.
