However, anyone who has heard this advice knows that it is easier said than done. Although exercise can promote our mental health, it is difficult to put it into action without motivation. In particular, a depressed or anxious person may lack motivation, so it seems more difficult to take action.
Anti-depression effect of exercise
The research on the effect of exercise for decades shows that exercise helps to relieve the symptoms of depression and anxiety. The World Health Organization and the British National Institute of Health and Healthcare Medicine also suggest that physical exercise should be implemented in the standard treatment of depression. A research review found that when a person does not seek any other treatment, the positive effect of exercise on the symptoms of depression is particularly obvious:
At present, the analysis results show that exercise is an effective intervention method for depression compared with various control groups. As an independent treatment, exercise has a very obvious effect, especially compared with the situation without intervention.
Therefore, for those patients who are ineffective, waiting for treatment, or who do not accept or do not want to accept traditional treatment for different reasons, exercise can be used as an alternative treatment.
Therefore, for many patients with depression, exercise brings the hope of relieving symptoms.
Why does exercise help to relieve depression and anxiety? There is evidence that exercise may be beneficial to our immune system and overall health. Of course, there are many other explainable reasons to support it, and researchers are not completely sure about the specific mechanism. This may also be because exercise causes our brains to release neurochemicals that make us feel good, such as endorphins.
The benefits of exercise on mental health.
In addition to physical effects, exercise has some psychological benefits, including:
Clear your mind.
Nowadays, it is difficult for us to disconnect from this world that has been connected to the Internet. However, as long as you relax your vigilance, turn on the music and concentrate on what you are doing, exercise can help you get rid of your troubles.
Improve your self-evaluation.
Doing more exercise makes your body healthy, which in turn helps to keep your mental health. When you do something to make yourself better, your evaluation of yourself will also improve.
Better sleep.
Regular exercise helps us to regulate two main mechanisms related to sleep quality-circadian rhythm and internal balance rhythm. So more regular exercise means better sleep, and better sleep means better mental health.
Increase social interaction
Although exercise is not necessarily a social activity, if you participate in it, you will also benefit from socializing.
A healthy decompression method
There are many ways to deal with the stress in life, but exercise is definitely one of the healthiest ways. It allows you to deal with setbacks in life more effectively without hurting yourself or others.