As a side effect, in addition to improving fitness, exercise provides several psychological bonuses
Generally, when someone makes the decision to exercise, they do so with a clear objective: to improve their physical condition. What is not always taken into account is that putting it into practice continuously and moderately provides numerous benefits for mental health. Ivonne García, from the Canvis psychology center in Barcelona, mentions that “physical activity is a very effective complementary aid for the prevention and treatment of psychological imbalances.”
But also, “exercising regularly is good for mood, memory or learning,” according to psychiatrist John Ratey of Harvard Medical School.
The ideal is to practice it at least three times a week for half an hour to combat a sedentary lifestyle. Dare to do it in the company of your friends, motivate each other!
What are those benefits?
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Promotes the release of endorphins, chemical substances that produce a feeling of happiness and euphoria and that are secreted by the brain during and after exercise. Psychologists recommend that people who suffer from depression or anxiety include it in their daily lives to reduce the symptoms that both diseases produce and thus improve their quality of life.
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Reduces stress. Doing so increases the production of norepinephrine, a chemical that can moderate the brain’s response to stress, through the body’s ability to deal with the tension that stress produces. We invite you to read:
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Improves self-esteem. Exercise increases your positive perception of your attractiveness and, consequently, makes you value yourself more.
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Helps prevent cognitive decline. After the age of 45, the risk of suffering from a degenerative disease increases. By carrying out physical activity, brain chemicals that prevent the degeneration of hippocampal neurons are increased, the risk of suffering a stroke is reduced, and cognitive function is improved, reducing the possibility of suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s.
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Improve your memory and ability to learn new things, as it increases the production of hippocampal cells that are responsible for memory and learning. A study by Winter and Breitenstein (2007) showed that sprinting, for example, improves vocabulary acquisition and retention in adults.
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Increase your brain capacity. Your brain produces more neurons and more connections between them, a phenomenon known as neurogenesis. Therefore, you will gain shape and increase your learning, thinking and decision-making capacity.
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Helps you be more productive. Research in 2011 by Schwarz and Hasson showed that if it is done before going to work it will avoid moments of inattention at work, but also that workers who practice it are more productive and have more energy than those who do not.
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Helps control addiction. Short exercise sessions have a positive effect on alcohol or drug addicts by postponing withdrawal.
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Helps reset the biological clock and fall asleep. Various studies have shown that daytime sleepiness is less in physically active people. In case you are interested in reading: