Exercise and Mental Health: Part 3 - Daily Patterns
/We all know that regular exercise is important and can yield all sorts of healthy effects - decreasing risk of heart disease and stroke, losing weight, lowering blood pressure and resting heart rate, improving immune system functioning, and regulating hormonal balance just to name a few. In addition to these physical changes, exercise also improves mental health as discussed in parts 1 and 2 of this series: positive brain chemistry effects (HERE) and helpful mood effects (HERE). This blog will explore several areas of daily functioning that improve as a result of exercise.
Regular exercise leads to increased feelings of energy and decreased feelings of fatigue. It may seem counterintuitive that spending energy on exercise actually leads to feeling more energized, but that is exactly what studies show. On days participants took more steps, they felt 20% more energy at the end of the day and reported 65% less fatigue. The trick is that exercise signals your cells to start making more energy for the increased demands being put on your body and those effects last hours after the exercise session is over.
Exercise is also shown to help a person cope with stress. The body reacts to the physical stress effects (such as encountering a bear on a hike in the woods) in the same way it reacts to mental stress (such as a big presentation at work or school) by flooding the body with a hormone called cortisol. Research shows regular exercise protects the body from the harmful effects of cortisol providing a resiliency to the stress response.
Regular physical activity is also correlated with improved sleep, both quality and quantity. Studies show that a regular exerciser goes to sleep faster, wakes up less during the night, feels more refreshed when waking up, and feels less tired throughout the day. Since those who suffer from a mental health disorder usually report less sleep and poorer sleep quality, it is especially important to engage in some physical activity to help regulate sleep.
Check back next week for the fourth and final installment of this series!