Regular exercise is not only good for the body but also the most effective way to improve your mental health.

Depression, anxiety, ADHD – all are reduced thru regular exercise. Multiple benefits include stress relief, memory boost, enables good sleep, and provides good mood. Good news is that modest amounts of exercise can make a difference without having to slave it out. Irrespective of one’s fitness level or age or gender, exercise is a powerful tool to feel and perform better.

What are the Mental Health Benefits of Exercise?

• Typically, we co-relate exercise with better stamina and rippling muscles. Exercise does improve physical health and looks but true benefit is the enormous sense of well-being it delivers. Such persons feel more energetic through the work day, sleep soundly at night, enjoy sharp memory and usually are more positive in their lives. So, this means exercise provides you with mental health along with physical health.

• Exercise can treat mild to moderate depression better than antidepressants as it promotes all kinds of positive changes in the brain and creates new activity patterns that promote feelings of calm and well-being. Exercise also releases endorphins which makes you feel good. Exercise can also serve as a meditation in its own right.

• Exercise is a natural and effective anti-anxiety treatment as it relieves tension and stress, boosts physical and mental energy, and enhances well-being through the release of endorphins.

• Under stress, your muscles get tense leaving you with back or neck pain, or painful headaches. Other symptoms are chest pain, high pulse and even muscle cramps. You may also experience insomnia, heartburn, diarrhoea etc. Exercise is an effective way to break this negative cycle as endorphins in the brain take over to relax the muscles and reduce tension throughout the body. Since the body and mind are inseparable – a sound body leads to a healthy mind.

Other Mental and Emotional Benefits of Exercise are as Follows Which Students Need Pay Attention to.

• Exercise can give rise to sharper memory and thinking. Endorphins make you feel better also help you concentrate and feel mentally sharp. On the other hand, exercise also stimulates the growth of new brain cells which helps one to crack exams. On a long-term basis, exercise keeps one alert and helps prevent age-related decline.

• Higher self-esteem. Regular exercise is an investment in your mind, body, and soul. When it becomes a regular habit, you develop strong sense of self-worth. This, in turn, make you feel strong and powerful.

• Better sleep. Any amount of exercise in the morning or evening can help regulate your sleep patterns. At night, one should avoid very strenuous exercise. Instead, relaxing exercises such as yoga or gentle stretching can help improve sleep.

• More energy. Increasing your heart rate several times a week provide more enthusiasm to be always active. You can start off a few minutes of exercise a day, and increase your workout as you go. This will leave you feeling more energized.

• Stronger resilience. When faced with mental or emotional challenges, exercise helps you to moderate your choices and reduce resorting to abusive substances or other negative behaviors that ultimately feeds more on the negative. Regular exercise boosts your immune system and reduces the impact of stress.

For details, you can read the full article at Helpguide.org by authors: Lawrence Robinson, Jeanne Segal, Ph.D., and Melinda Smith, M.A. Published/Updated: September 2018.