The Effect of Exercise on Mental Health

Updated: Dec 23, 2020

Table of Contents

• ADHD, Depression, Anxiety & Exercise

• Exercise and the Brain

• Let's Work Out!

  • What Type of Exercise?

  • Create a Routine

• Online Therapy with FP Counselling

• Free Phone Consultation

• References

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, medical and mental health professionals are seeing an increase in clients seeking therapeutic support, with rates of depression and anxiety continuing to rise.  More than ever, finding alternative forms of preventing, managing, and treating depression and anxiety is incredibly important.

As cities have begun re-launching their economies, requiring many to return to their jobs along with outside commitments and responsibilities, we can expect to see this increase in mental health concerns. As such, the maintenance and prevention of mental health symptoms is of the utmost importance.

It’s well understood that  exercise is extremely important for our overall health. Exercise has many physical benefits that both reduce our risk, and prevent several health concerns such as cardiovascular and heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure.  However, the physical benefits only scratch the surface as to why exercise is so important for our health. Research supports that low to moderate exercise has profound impact on mental health concerns such as ADHD, depression, anxiety, along with great effects on people’s overall well-being and sense of self. Depression impacts 1 in 6 adults at some point in their life time. The Center for Disease Prevention reported that 16 million American adults each year will be affected by depression (CDC, 2020)  Studies show that exercise can be effective in treating mild to moderate depression as effectively as antidepressants.

Harvard published a study in January 2019, that indicated that by running for only 15 minutes a day or walking for an hour reduces the risk and likelihood of experiencing depressive symptoms by 26% (Harvard Gazette, 2019).  The results of this study indicated that any movement, big or small, that a person is aware of, can add up over time and is shown to reduce depressive symptoms significantly. This research highlights that in order to notice anti-depressant effects, you don’t necessarily have to go for a large run or do intensive weight lifting.  The benefits of exercise go much further than anti-depressant effects, however. Research supports that exercise may help people to have increased energy, better sleep, sharper memories, and more positive overall outlook on themselves and their lives.

Exercise and the Brain

When we think of exercise, many of us engage in it for the physical aspects. Fitting into our clothes better, feeling more positive about our appearance, and the physical benefits that it has on our heart health may contribute to exercising more often. As we have already learned, exercise does far more than that. Research suggests that exercise has many positive impacts on the brain, including reduction in inflammation, and new activity patterns that promote feelings of calm and well-being. Exercise releases positive endorphins and enkephalins, better known as the body’s natural feel good hormones (Reynolds, 2016).

Exercise increases the volume of certain brain regions by providing better blood supply and improving neuronal health by improved oxygen and nutrient delivery. The hippocampus, located in the brain, is involved with memory, emotion regulation, and learning (Reynolds, 2016). Evidence suggests that many mental health concerns are present when there is a reduced neurogenesis, or hippocampal neurons in the brain. Anti-depressants, along with exercise are said to increase neurogenesis in the brain, therefore increasing cognitive flexibility that can lead to lasting mental health changes and outlook on new and existing memories in the brain (Reynolds, 2016). Simply put, exercise is a natural anti-depressant that supports your brain in flexible thinking, directly counteracting the effects of inflexible thinking that is often present in many mental health concerns.

Let’s Work Out!

So, how does this translate into actually engaging in exercise? Well, studies show that 40-60 minutes, 3 or more times a week is effectively shown to treat chronic depression. Often times we see many “quick fix” diet trends and fitness trends that continue to be all the rage right now given the fast paced life many of us live. However, this quick fix method cannot be particularly useful in treating mental health. Instead, research suggests that exercise should be continued at least 10-12 weeks to see an anti-depressant effect (Reynolds, 2016).

You might be thinking that 10-12 weeks seems like a long time to commit to, however it’s important to note that small positive changes to our exercise and diet create a positive upward spiral. This upward spiral increases our sensitivity to dopamine receptors that signal reward, which means that exercise might eventually become rewarding believe it or not!

What Type of Exercise?

As with anything, it’s important to remember that varying physical abilities and overall health play a factor in engaging in exercise. For some, this might look like going for a long distance run, participating in a high intensity interval training class, or weight lifting. Evidence supports that small movements add up over time and have the same impact on mental health and depressive symptoms as those larger scale more intensive styles of exercise (Harvard Gazette, 2019). Therefore, it’s not the type of exercise, so much as the frequency in which we move that is of greater importance. This is great news, particularly throughout the pandemic having limited resources and the inability to go to fitness facilities.

One activity that can easily be done, requiring no equipment is of course, walking.  Walking is a low-impact, easily accessible form of exercise that can better suit individuals with varying barriers to more intensive forms of exercise. As the gyms remain half-capacity, or some not even open, walking is an excellent cost effective, safe alternative to indoor gyms.

Create a Routine

Many fitness experts report that the most significant challenge that they see people face in exercising is actually showing up.  As we previously highlighted, exercise does not have to be complex or intensive to have anti-depressant effects. Setting aside time for yourself requires a great deal of discipline and commitment.  The pandemic has created a lot of barriers for exercising, many of which have caused a lot of people to simply forgo exercise for the time being. This can be one of the biggest barriers to taking care of ourselves as the demands for us to be present along with balancing multiple roles throughout our day has increased throughout COVID-19.

It  can be hard to imagine carving out time for yourself and sometimes it’s easiest to put ourselves last when we are juggling so much. However, as the old saying goes, “put your own oxygen mask on before anyone else’s” also applies to things like exercise. If we want to be able to show up for our families, we have to attend to our own self-care and wellbeing first.

One of the more effective resources that one can utilize is creating a routine and structure within their schedule. Physically writing in time set aside for your workout into your calendar can help you to stay consistent and holding yourself accountable to your goals. It takes 2 weeks to form a habit and to get into a routine. This means having to devote at least 2 weeks to trying something new, creating a structured routine and setting aside time for yourself before exercise becomes a part of your daily routine

Online Therapy with FP Counselling

If you are finding it difficult to cope with the current changes in the world, you are not alone. FP Counselling is proud to accommodate COVID-19 and offer online counselling in the format of both phone and video sessions. We offer free 20-minute consultations for you to see if we might be a good fit and would be more than happy to speak with you to see how we can support you through these challenging times. We look forward to hearing from you! Schedule a free 20-minute consultation:

References

Evans, J. (2016). Combating depression - Drugs vs Exercise. Retrieved August 04, 2020, from
https://www.wddty.com/magazine/2016/april/combating-depression-drugs-vs-exercise.html

Gingell, S. (2018). How Your Mental Health Reaps the Benefits of Exercise. Retrieved August 04, 2020, from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/what-works-and-why/201803/how-your-mental-health-reaps-the-benefits-exercise

Godman, H. (2020). Regular exercise changes the brain to improve memory, thinking skills. Retrieved August 04, 2020, from
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/regular-exercise-changes-brain-improve-memory-thinking-skills-201404097110

Reynolds, G. (2016). Which Type of Exercise Is Best for the Brain? Retrieved August 04, 2020, from
https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/02/17/which-type-of-exercise-is-best-for-the-brain/