The physical benefits of regular exercise, including increased strength and a lower susceptibility to disease, are well known. But most are still not aware of the proven neurological, psychological, and emotional benefits of an old-fashioned sweat session.
For starters, here are four marvelous mental benefits of exercise:
Workouts Can Be Relaxing
When you reserve time to work out, your mind gets a relaxing break from the rest of your worries. This effect will be even more pronounced if you actively avoid stress-inducing thoughts while at the gym. Try focusing on your body, instead, by carefully counting and controlling your footfalls or breaths. By setting your daily concerns completely aside, you may find you’ll return to them later only to arrive at novel solutions that had previously eluded you.
Burn Away Your Stress
These days, stress often seems unavoidable, but regular exercise can physically burn away stress-causing neurotransmitters in your brain. The chief chemical culprit, cortisol, is flushed from the brain during moderate exercise. But be careful, intense exercise can stimulate a fight-or-flight response and raise levels of cortisol, adrenaline and other stress-causing chemicals in the brain. The good news is everyone can benefit from a brisk walk to sear away stress.
Experience The Runner’s High
Exercise not only burns away stress-causing chemicals in the body, it also boosts production of a variety of feel-good neurotransmitters called endorphins. This may have had evolutionary benefits to early humans who often had to run-down their dinner, but in modern times we can experience what is often called “the runner’s high” after periods of prolonged, demanding exercise. For some, this feeling of bliss and tranquility can last for hours!
Feed Your Brain With Exercise
According to research conducted at Harvard University, starting their mornings with moderate exercise helps students focus and provides the best shot at learning new or difficult concepts. This is likely because exercise increases blood flow to the brain, which carries with it oxygen and nutrients that super-charge our mental abilities and even encourage increased neural interconnectivity. Of course, there’s no reason to believe that what works for the very young won’t help everyone.
So, the next time you’re trying to decide if you have time for a workout, remember that your brain will thank you for it just as much as your body!