There is no longer any doubt about the huge benefits to our overall health and wellbeing when we engage in regular physical activity. Of particular interest is the boost our brain receives. Neuroscience allows us to see what happens in the brain and we can now measure many of the positive effects exercise has, and even quantify how much we need to make a difference.
The benefits of exercise for our brain include the following; the release of endorphins, dopamine and serotonin to improve our mood, reduction in the level of the stress hormone cortisol, improvement in mood through boosting self-esteem leading to less depression and anxiety, enhanced cognitive function leading to better memory and problem solving ability, better sleep quality and improvements in poor sleep patterns, increased social interaction when carried out with groups or partners, improved body image and a more positive self-image, greater resilience to outside stressful situations and finally, improved neuroplasticity allowing the brain to better organise, reorganise and adapt.
Wow! And all of that is achieved simply by moving your body more. But I can almost hear the plaintive cries of “I don’t have enough time to do exercise” as people read this. The good news is it’s far easier than you think, walking at a brisk pace for 20 minutes a day is enough to gain the above benefits, and everyone can find 20 minutes, even if it means combining or rearranging how you do some activities already.
Often when I suggest walking to clients, they respond by saying “When I feel better, I’ll walk” the problem with this is you need to walk first to feel better. Waiting till you feel good enough to walk almost certainly means you never will. It does take some effort to change a sedentary lifestyle, but just think of the benefits, not only to mental health, but also your physical health.
There is now evidence that frequent short bursts of activity during the day will also give huge benefits. For example, jogging or walking quickly up stairs, getting up and walking for a minute or two every hour, changing the program you watch manually rather than with a remote. These are only limited by our imagination and willingness to do them.
Doctors are increasingly prescribing exercise for both mental and physical health and it probably should be the first thing we do before using medication for most people.