How to use exercise to boost your mental health

Exercise is great for our health, we all know that. And it’s not just our physical health that can benefit massively from exercise, but our mental health too.

We’ve all become more aware of mental health and its importance for our overall well-being. And it’s been proven that exercising is one of the very best things we can do for our minds, as well as our bodies.

Working up a sweat can not only help us maintain good mental health, but can be transformative in times of poor mental health too. It’s even been shown to have a significantly positive impact on conditions like anxiety and depression.

How does exercise benefit mental health?

Improves your mood

Exercising prompts the body to release endorphins – brain chemicals known as the “feel-good” hormones, because of their powerful ability to relieve pain and stress, and make us feel great.

You’ve probably heard of the ‘runner’s high’. Well, this comes down to endorphins. But you don’t need to run to get a boost of the happy hormone for yourself – any type of physical exercise that gets your heart rate up will cause your body to release endorphins, and improve your mood as a result.

It doesn’t even have to be cardio. A 2018 meta-analysis showed that resistance training can significantly reduce symptoms of depression.

Relieves tension

Stress affects far more than just our thoughts. It can cause tension throughout the body, which in turn can lead to tightness, and other uncomfortable physical symptoms like muscle cramps or stomach ache.

When stress strikes, rest seems the obvious solution. But when we’re stressed, we often can’t relax fully, and resting can sometimes have the opposite effect. Enter exercise. It may sound crazy, but placing your body under controlled physical stress has been shown to help relieve mental stress – and all that comes with it. Much of this comes down to those glorious endorphins, but exercise also reduces levels of the body’s stress hormones, like adrenaline and cortisol, helping you feel calmer and your mind feel clearer.

Helps with sleep

Sleep is closely connected to our mental and emotional health. So it makes perfect sense that anything that improves our sleep, can help us achieve better mental health as well. According to the Sleep Foundation, exercise can improve both our ability to get to sleep and the time it takes to drop off, as well as the quality of the sleep itself.

Getting active also helps us feel more awake in the short-term, therefore reducing daytime drowsiness, which contributes to better sleep come nighttime, too.

Boosts self-esteem

Improving fitness through exercise not only benefits our physical health, but can have a hugely positive impact on the way in which we view ourselves. Poor mental health often has links to low self-esteem, and exercise is one of the best ways we know to inspire greater confidence and feelings of self-worth.

It’s not all about changing the way you look, either. Sure, regular exercise will improve your body composition, but you’ll feel the effects of training on your self-esteem faster than you’ll see changes in your physique. Feeling stronger, having greater physical capability and recognising the commitment and discipline that goes into maintaining a fitness routine all help us feel great about ourselves.

What’s the best exercise for mental health?

So, we know exercise is brilliant for boosting mental health. So what type of exercise is best?

Well, the good news is that pretty much any activity can help improve your mood, relieve stress, help your sleep and boost your self-esteem. Even a brisk 10-minute walk can have an effect. So, ultimately it comes down to finding a type of exercise you enjoy that works well for you.

This might be running, which is great for releasing endorphins and leaving you on a high. Low-impact activities like yoga and pilates can work wonders for de-stressing and relieving physical tension.

Meanwhile resistance training combines pretty much all the benefits for mental health. It can release endorphins, lower cortisol, help with sleep and it’s incredible at boosting self-esteem, thanks to its impressive ability to both improve body composition, and give us a strong sense of achievement.

So if you want to feel better both physically and mentally, you know what to do.