How Exercise Improves Your Mind!

We are aware of all the great physical benefits that exercise can do for our bodies, but there are also great mental benefits! Exercise benefits every part of the body, including the mind. Exercising causes the body to produce endorphins, chemicals that can help a person to feel more peaceful and happy.

Endorphins: The Natural High

When a person is physically active or exercises for a certain period of time - about 20 minutes or longer - the body releases endorphins, proteins in the brain that act as the body's natural pain reliever. When endorphins are released, a person may experience a feeling of euphoria. Many people enjoy this feeling and look forward to the natural high they get from keeping physically fit.

Benefits of Physical Activity and Exercise on the Mind:

1: Boosts Energy

Physical activity and exercise require energy, as does everything. In addition to expending energy, however, physical activity also gives people increased energy throughout the entire day.

The immune system, too, gets a big boost from regular physical activity. A healthy immune system helps fight colds, cancer, and other diseases, and speeds recovery from all kinds of injuries. The less time a person is ill, the more energy a person has to spend on living well.

To have energy to function, the human body needs sleep. Sleep, as does food, gives us energy. And regular physical activity helps people sleep more soundly. The more soundly one sleeps, the more energy one saves up during that time, and the more energy a person has to work, play, study, and do all sorts of things.

2: Improves Concentration

Concentration is important for learning and understanding new things and being able to perform well in all aspects of life. Being physically active and exercising can help improve concentration. This means that a person will be able to be more focused and perform better in class or during other activities. Staying physically fit has also been found to help people maintain memory longer in their lives. As people get older, their memory skills can deteriorate, and physical activity and exercise can help ward off this effect for some time.

3: Lifts the Blues and Lowers Anxiety

Many people suffer from depression and anxiety. A person may feel just depressed or anxious or experience both depression and anxiety at the same time. Depression can cause people to feel sad, tired, and/or hopeless, and suffer from low self-esteem. Anxiety causes feelings of panic. Both conditions can be treated by medication. But researchers have found that in mild cases, physical activity and exercise can help relieve feelings of depression and lower a person's anxiety.

4: Helps You Handle Stress Better

Stress is a normal part of every person's life. It is actually necessary to have some stress in life. Otherwise, a person would have no motivation for self-improvement or hard work. However, too much stress can cause many health problems. Some symptoms of stress include anxiety, high blood pressure, irritability, tense muscles, headaches, stomachaches, and lower resistance to illness. Physical activity and exercise, especially noncompetitive activity, help to manage stress. They give a person the opportunity to feel calmer and more alert, which can help a person work through the things that are causing the stress. They also boost the immune system, so resistance to illness will increase.

5: Builds Self-Confidence and Self-Esteem

Low self-confidence and self-esteem can cause a person to engage in harmful behaviors, such as self-mutilation, drug addiction, or disordered eating. They may also seek acceptance from others in destructive ways, such as having sex before they're ready or drinking alcohol to excess. People with high self-confidence and self-esteem are usually happy with themselves, outgoing, and positive. They take pride in accomplishments and are able to stand up for themselves. They are not afraid of taking on new challenges and are not afraid of failure. Researchers have found that physical activity and exercise can increase self-confidence and self-esteem.

Participation in sports - and other extracurricular activities such as band or dance troupes - is a great way of staying active, and sports offer wonderful rewards for mental health. Being involved in sports has been proven to help people learn valuable skills for dealing with life's ups and downs. They teach people how to interact with others and work as a team. This helps in daily life when working on a class project or a school play with others. Sports also help people become more independent and feel better about themselves. The result is positive self-esteem and self-confidence, which are extremely important to a person's happiness and success.

6: Helps You Become Goal Oriented

Another aspect of sports that contributes to a healthy mind is goal-setting. People who have goals are more likely to be self-motivated and are usually able to accomplish more because they know what they need to do in order to get ahead. Without goals, people tend to lack direction and focus. In sports, goal-setting is essential for improving individually and working as a team. This is also true in life. For example, if a person wants to get better grades, accomplishing specific goals—such as studying for a certain period of time each night - is the fastest way to get those A's.

7: Helps You With How to Handle Failure and Success

Sports also offer a fun and exciting environment in which to learn how to handle both failure and success. Everyone wins and loses at times in both sports and life. Winning feels great and empowering but can also cause a person to feel pressure and anxiety in the next attempt to win. Losing usually produces feelings of sadness, depression, and disappointment. Learning how to cope with these different feelings is important for good mental health.

 

American School Health Association. [Online] http://www.ashaweb.org
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [Online]
Kid's Health. [Online] http://www.kidshealth.org
National Association for Sport and Physical Education. [Online] http://www.aahperd.org/naspe.html
President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. [Online] http://www.dhhs.gov/progorg/ophs