The Connection Between Physical Fitness and Mental Wellness

As most of us know, physical fitness through exercising and healthy food choices have always been effective in building our immune system, strengthening our heart and lung capacity to perform healthier, fighting off obesity-related diseases, dropping those inches around your waistline, and ”tightening up loose ends,” just to name a few. It also doesn’t hurt if you notice a few extra muscles you didn’t see before when you walk by the bathroom mirror! But what effects does your physical fitness have on your mental wellness? Can physical fitness improve your mental health? Are there any scientifically proven studies that show enhanced brain function or ability to change anything that goes on upstairs chemically? The answer is ... of course it does!

Let’s go over a few factual studies first before we go over the philosophical nature. Regular exercise can have a profoundly positive impact on depression, anxiety, ADHD, and more. It also relieves stress, improves memory, helps you sleep better, and boosts your overall mood. And you don’t have to be a fitness fanatic to reap the benefits. Research indicates that modest amounts of exercise can make a difference. No matter your age or fitness level, you can learn to use exercise as a powerful tool to feel better.

A recent study done by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that running for 15 minutes a day or walking for an hour reduces the risk of major depression by 26%. In addition to relieving depression symptoms, research also shows that maintaining an exercise schedule can prevent you from relapsing. Exercise promotes all kinds of changes in the brain, including neural growth, reduced inflammation, and new activity patterns that promote feelings of calm and wellbeing. It also releases endorphins, powerful chemicals in your brain that energize your spirits and make you feel good. Finally, exercise can also serve as a distraction, allowing you to find some quiet time to break out of the cycle of negative thoughts that feed potential depression.

Exercise and stress

You ever noticed how your body feels when you’re under stress? Your muscles may be tense, especially in your face, neck, and shoulders, leaving you with back or neck pain, or painful headaches. You may feel a tightness in your chest, a pounding pulse, or muscle cramps. You may also experience problems such as insomnia, heartburn, stomachache, diarrhea, or frequent urination. The worry and discomfort of all these physical symptoms can, in turn, lead to even more stress, creating a vicious cycle between your mind and body. Exercising is an effective way to break this cycle. As well as releasing endorphins in the brain, physical activity helps to relax the muscles and relieve tension in the body. Since the body and mind are so closely linked, when your body feels better, so, too, will your mind.

We can go on for weeks and months listing all of the benefits and potential benefits that physical exercise has on the brain, but let’s hit pause here for a moment on the chemical relationship between mind and body. Let’s dive into a more philosophical nature. Human beings thrive when in a state of routine If you stop to think for a moment of any successful person you may know, anyone who is driven by their passion, famous or not, anyone who has ever accomplished great things in their life, there will always be one constant behaviour: routine. We are most productive when we are in a state of motion. To be stagnant in any situation means losing momentum, falling back into unproductive habits, and delaying your life goals further. One thing for sure that I’ve learned in life is that it keeps on going, keeps moving forward, with or without you.

Physical fitness leads to mental strength; by pushing yourself physically, you will ensure that you don’t burn out mentally. I always tell my clients to control the things in life that they can control, one of the main ones being your physical wellbeing, and all the rest that cannot be controlled, at least you can mentally prepare to deal with them as they arise.

If I were to summon all of this up into our mission statement at DBFitFocused, I would simply state that what we’re about is changing lives for the better — giving you a few of the essential tools needed physically to promote and maintain a mentally productive life routine.