Physical Exercise: A Step To Better Mental Health

A lot of people today are facing mental health issues. Especially in this global pandemic, when everyone is home and alone, mental health has become a serious issue. According to a lot of researches and reports by experts, physical exercise and keeping your body fit helps a lot in keeping your mental health stable. It is clear that exercise reduces the likelihood of depression and also maintains mental health as we age. There are a lot of reasons for the same which are proven facts.
Exercising regularly has a lot of benefits. And not just physical health benefits, but mental benefits as well. In your brain, exercise stimulates chemicals that improve your mood and the parts of the brain responsible for memory and learning. Basically, physical exercise improves your mood, charges you up because of which you feel better, and mentally you feel better. It releases chemicals like endorphins and serotonin that improve your mood. It can also get you out in the world, help to reduce any feelings of loneliness and isolation, and put you in touch with other people. If you exercise regularly, it can reduce your stress and symptoms of mental health conditions like depression and anxiety, and help with recovery from mental health issues. Exercising regularly also improves your routine and sleep cycle which makes you feel fresh.
Physical exercise reduces the risk of falling sick, getting heart, lungs, or any organ diseases and thus, helps your mental health stay good. It pumps the blood to the brain and helps you think more clearly. Physical exercise increases the size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for memory. It also increases the connections between the nerve cells in the brain. This improves memory and helps protect the brain against injury and disease. Exercising for about 30 minutes every day can reduce the risk of diseases like cancer, diabetes, obesity, etc. Also, it helps to lose weight if you want to, which is good for your health overall and might be good for your self-esteem too.
Thus, physical exercise overall has a lot of benefits. It directly affects the brain. Regular exercise increases the volume of certain brain regions—in part through better blood supply that improves mental health by improving the delivery of oxygen and nutrients; which help in growth, connections, and stable mental health.

By: Surbhi

Content: https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/exercise-and-mental-health