Have you ever
noticed that you feel great after going to the gym or for a run?
The vast
majority of have shown that there is an important link between exercise and
mental well-being and improved mood.
The researchers
of these studies consistently found that exercise has a positive impact on
mood. It has been demonstrated that physical activity stimulates the release of
endorphins, the “feel-good” chemicals in the brain. Some researchers think that
exercise also acts as a diversion from negative thoughts. Also, some researches
show that the social interaction taking place in some types of exercise, like
team sport for example, contributes to a greater personal satisfaction and
therefore a mood enhancement.
Something we
don’t know is that exercise has also been studied as an alternative treatment
to antidepressant medications and therapies used for depression; and it was
concluded that exercise has an important clinical impact on depression.
Now
to keep convincing you of the benefits of exercise, there are 16 reasons why
exercise makes us happy:
1) Increased
dopamine in the brain (feelings of pleasure and happiness)
2) Lower anxiety
and depression (achieve long term relief)
3) Energy boost
4) Stress reducer
5) Slow down
cognitive decline
6) More self
confidence (feel a great sense of accomplishment)
7) Be more social
8) Get better
sleep (improve sleep quality)
9) Be more
creative (better mood = creativeness)
10) A more productive you
11) Memory booster (increased memory capabilities)
12) Be more relaxed
13) Better coping skills
14) Gets addiction under control (helps in
addiction recovery)
15) Enjoy the great outdoors
16) Increase your brain power (good cardio can
help to create new brain cells)
Lastly,
some practical tips for exercise: try to engage at least 30 minutes of physical
activity a day, try to vary the type of exercise you do and choose activities
you enjoy, and keep in mind that even if you cannot do high impact workouts
there are plenty of low impact activities such as biking, walking or even
swimming !
SO REMEMBER TO KEEP MOVING NOW !