May is Mental Health Awareness month. Mental health can include disorders that require specific medications and treatment plans. It also includes stress, anxiousness, feelings of loneliness, difficulty concentrating, confusion, and other feelings and thoughts that may occur from time to time. Always discuss changes in mental health with your doctor. Caring for our mental health is just as important as caring for our physical health. Physical exercise has been proven to improve mental health, and can improve many aspects of physical health too.
In the United States, sedentarism is a growing problem. Sedentarism refers to a lifestyle that lacks daily movement and exercise. Basically if we sit for long periods of time for work or leisure, we are leading a sedentary lifestyle. A sedentary lifestyle can worsen mental illness, obesity, back problems, heart disease, cancer, dementia and other illnesses.
The alternative to a sedentary lifestyle is a physically active lifestyle. According to the Mayo Clinic, doing 30 minutes (or more) or exercise per day for 3-5 days a week may significantly improve depression or anxiety symptoms. And even as little as 10-15 minutes at a time may help improve symptoms. Some examples of physical activity include things like dancing, cycling, jogging, swimming, aerobics, guided workouts, yoga, and lifestyle changes like standing instead of sitting, taking the stairs, regularly taking walks, gardening, working with a physical therapist, etc. Physical exercise helps the brain release endorphins, chemicals that elevate our mood and make us feel happy. Increasing our heart rate through exercise (cardiovascular exercise) helps reduce stress in the body and promotes neurogenesis: the production of new brain cells, which can lead to improved cognitive health.
A clinical psychologist at Duke University, James Blumenthal, PhD, did a study in 2007 that found that regular exercise was not only important for treating depression and major depressive disorder, but also helped prevent relapse in his patients a year later, who had continued a regular exercise plan. Physical activity and exercise will offer numerous health benefits if we regularly practice it. That means 30 minutes a day, a few times per week. Of course the type of exercise will vary depending on physical capability, lifestyle, and health needs/restrictions. Discuss with your doctor what type of exercise and activity would best fit you.
Don’t let physical limitations keep you from staying active. Start with what you are currently capable of doing. The best choice for your body is movement, even little movements to start off. With the warmer spring weather, now is a great time to go outside and get physically active.
