In our country today, rates of depression and mental illness have reached an all-time high– a staggering 22.8% of adults have struggled with mental illness. That’s one in five adults, and that’s only the ones who reported it! Similarly, obesity rates are on the rise. With the invention of screen time, exercise and physical activity has become less and less common. Only about 24% of those aged over 18 met the Physical Activity Guidelines in both strength and aerobic training. That’s… shockingly low.
What this means is that the average person can’t do what an average person is supposed to be capable of. When researching this, I began to wonder if this was tied to the rates of reported symptoms of depression. I’ve always heard that exercise is good for you, body and mind, so it was a natural connection. But in this rabbit hole of research I fell into, I learned a lot about what exactly exercise does for your mind.
Firstly, there is a major difference between aerobic and anaerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise typically relies on oxygen; however, anaerobic exercise is typically reliant on energy stored in the muscles. It’s also typically done in shorter bursts because of this. Aerobic exercises include things like jogging, swimming, cycling, and dancing. They get the blood flowing, which increases activity in areas of the brain, including the limbic system, which is related to energy, motivation, and mood, the amygdala, related to regulating stress and fear, and the hippocampus, related to memory as well as mood and motivation. But that’s just one facet of the reasoning that exercise is so good for you.
Secondly, sociality and sense of self typically associated with the physical act of exercising is good for you. Self-efficacy is, in psychology, the belief one person has in himself that he is capable of achieving certain tasks. In other words, it’s a person’s ability to recognize where he may succeed. Exercise improves one’s self-efficacy by building confidence in areas related to physical strength. This reduces anxiety, especially social anxiety, as it changes the way a person thinks about their role in social situations. Additionally, exercise gives you something not only to talk about with others, but something which to relate to them,
Thirdly, when you exercise, your brain releases special neurotransmitters called endorphins into your brain. These endorphins are the very same ones that morphine mimics– similar to dopamine and serotonin, they’re “feel-good” chemicals. They’re released whenever a body reacts to pain or stress– in some cases, stress on the body is a positive thing, such as during exercise. It’s also what keeps you going in hard times. In fact, high levels of endorphins are able to be reached through healthy eating and positive activities.
There are many reasons that exercise is good for you, first and foremost because it’s good for the body. But there are many, many reasons why exercise is good for you mentally, too; one, it releases endorphins, two, it increases activity and blood flow in the brain, and three, it raises your self-efficacy and changes the way you think about yourself. I know it’s hard to do– I struggle with working up the motivation to exercise myself– but it’s scientifically proven to help with mental health. So, if you find yourself struggling, try (along with counseling, or anything else your doctors suggest!) adding exercise to your routine. Not only can the added structure calm your mind, the exercise itself can help you to feel better. It’s certainly worth trying!
