Working Out Helps Mentally as Well, Not Just Physically

We well know the physical benefits of working out. After all, yoga, aerobic exercises and strength training have been proven to reduce blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels, reduce weight, and whittle down your waistline, which has positive health implications. However, working out doesn’t just benefit the body physically but mentally as well. Read on to learn more about how working out can not only give you a great excuse to buy new workout outfit sets or workout leggings, but it can also improve your overall mental health as well:

Proven Help For Depression

Unfortunately, depression is a common yet serious medical illness that alters the way a person feels, acts, and interacts with the world around them. According to the American Psychiatric Association, around one in 15 adults are diagnosed with depression in any given year. If you have ever been diagnosed with depression, you know how debilitating the condition is and how it alters everything about your life. Thankfully, there are treatments available that counteract the symptoms of depression. In addition, studies have proven that working out positively impacts symptoms of depression and boosts overall mood in various ways such as increasing feel-good hormones.

Reduces Stress

Another way working out can benefit you mentally is effectively reducing stress levels. Let’s face it, today more than ever, life is stressful. Sustained levels of increased stress will eventually have a substantial negative impact on your mental state. Thankfully, working out regularly will counteract the negative symptoms of stress and reduce the impact it has on the brain. For example, by increasing your heart rate through sustained physical exercise, you stimulate the production of neurohormones, which in turn reverses stress-induced brain damage.

Boosts Brain Function

Working out has also been proven to boost brain power by creating new brain cells through neurogenesis. This means exercise literally improves the way your brain functions and its overall performance, enhancing memory, and cognitive ability. It also happens to boost creativity. Therefore, if you are ever in need of inspiration for your next great idea, put on your favorite sporty yoga pants and get moving. Who knows, it might be the boost your brain needs to come up with an ingenious invention or solution to a problem.

Reduces Anxiety

Although depression and anxiety sometimes go together, you might experience anxiety without the presence of depression. Either one is difficult to deal with, and dealing with both can be devastating. Thankfully, exercise is a natural way to treat anxiety. It works by releasing endorphins, which calms the body. While any exercise will help reduce anxiety, those that focus on mindfulness are even better at it, making yoga one of the best types of exercise to try when feeling anxious.

Helps You Get Better Sleep

Although not inherently “mental,” sleep is very important to achieving mental wellbeing. Thankfully, working out has been proven an effective way to increase the quality of your sleep, giving your body what it needs to recuperate each night while you rest, both physically and mentally. Working out helps regulate the body’s circadian rhythm, which serves as the alarm clock for the body, telling it when to be alert and tired. Therefore, by working out, you get better sleep, which in turn helps your body function better overall, including from a mental capacity.

There is no question that working out helps us physically, but it is also pretty great at improving our mental health as well.