Exercise: More than just the Physical Aspect

We're now mid-way through spring, the days are getting longer and (I want to say) the sun is shining more - but let's be honest, in Britain we can have 4 seasons in one day! This week I want to talk about exercise and what it means to me.

Exercise can so often be conveyed as a surge of effort, to get that perfect beach body or to look the way those models do in that magazine or maybe you want to get to your peak physical fitness. If I'm honest, these are still all great things, and I would be lying to you if I said I wasn't one of those people who does care about the way she looks, and is easily persuaded by society's version of the 'perfect body'. Despite this, I want you to know - this isn't the primary reason I exercise.

Exercise has an incredible impact on our mental health as well as our physical health. At present, I don't suffer with any mental health issues, but in order to look after my mental health (just as you would your physical health), I use exercise to nurture my well-being. Why exercise? Isn't that only for physical health? - Well why don't you find out my personal found benefits below:

1) A distraction technique - Depending on whether you are at school, work, home with a family, I can imagine there will always be a day when things haven't gone your way. In my case, I love my job, but it's a very busy job and with the many good days, there is a bad day now and again. Exercise is my way to switch off from the everyday, to just concentrate on me and not what has gone on around me in that day. This means I can go home and not mix work with personal life; my way of getting that important, work - life balance.

2) Happiness - Exercise is literally biologically proven to make you happy! According to Web MD, any exercise that gets you moving is good for your mood - whether it be a gentle walk, a hard-core gym sesh or team sports. Exercise is proven to increase the levels of serotonin and dopamine (types of neurotransmitters) in your body. Some of the things serotonin affects is: mood, appetite, sleep, memory and temperature regulation; low serotonin levels are connected with depression. Dopamine affects movement, emotional response and your ability to feel pleasure. So basically, exercise actually makes me happier afterwards, which gives me that motivation to go back each day.

3) Provides routine - By prioritising protected exercise time, it forces me to plan my day, to ensure that I have time to fit in all I need to get done. This may mean I wake up earlier, or I prep my meals the night before to make sure I have the time. I have found that during the week I fit the gym in straight after work on 3/4 weekdays and then my weekend's are more flexible, as every weekend routine is different in my case.

4) Reduces Stress, Boosts Self Esteem and Increases Relaxation - It will never be impossible to eliminate stress, but exercise is one of my ways to reduce stress (although there are plenty other ways out there). According to ADAA, the increase in endorphins produced in your body whilst exercising (as explained above) has the effect of decreasing overall levels of tension, alleviates and stabilises mood, improves sleep, and boost self-esteem. Therefore by reducing the stress and filling your body with an increased production of positive brain chemicals, it increases your ability to relax. I definitely find that when I exercise, I sleep better, and am able to enjoy and concentrate on reading, writing and am generally more alert.

5) Health Benefits - According to NHS Choices there are the obvious health benefits, which makes you just have that feel good feeling, that you're doing good for your body - y'know? Some of these benefits are: It strengthens your heart, increases energy levels, lowers blood pressure, improves muscle tone and strength, strengthens and builds bones, helps reduce body fat and reduces a wide variety of health diseases.

So from the above list, I would not be able to continue going to the gym, or increase my exercise ability without the positive benefits that it has on my well-being. These benefits, are what gives me the motivation to carry on looking after both my mental and physical health.

Of course, there are plenty other ways that have been proven to look after you're mental health, such as art, music, diet, discussion and group activities; and this is by no means an exhaustive list. This blog post was to share my personal method of nurturing more than just the physical aspect of my health and to inspire you to research into, what your preferred method would be.

Lots of Love

Ruth xxx