You’ve probably heard that exercise is great for your physical health. However, did you know that exercise can greatly improve your mental health, too? Exercise is a form of self-care.

Regular exercise, like walking, swimming, or yoga, can improve your self-esteem, sleep, and mood. This is due to chemicals that are released when you exercise. When exercising, your brain releases endorphins, like dopamine, which make you feel good.

Along with the immediate effects, working toward something like an exercise goal, can help you feel purposeful. Overtime, regular exercise can improve your strength, flexibility, and stamina. Seeing improvements in yourself can give you a real confidence boost.

Exercise is good for the mind (sounds like self-care)

Experts suggest that 30 minutes of exercise each day can have drastic improvements in your mental health. If 30 minutes sounds like a lot, you can split it up into smaller chunks throughout the day. Additionally, you can choose low-impact exercises like walking. Low-impact exercises aren’t as strenuous and difficult to get into. However, they still have amazing physical and mental health benefits.

The mind and body are interconnected. So, if you improve your physical health, your mental and emotional health will benefit, too. As previously mentioned, exercise releases endorphins that make you feel good. This chemical boost helps to brighten up your mood and give you additional energy.

Exercising consistently means your mood is boosted often. Over time, this adds up to having a major impact on your mental, physical, and emotional wellness. You become better able to handle stress and hardship. It also helps you sleep better, which leads to greater emotional stability.

Exercise for Chronic Pain

Exercise is often one of the first habits to go when you develop chronic pain. The idea of movement, vigorous or not, can be daunting. 

Many people with chronic pain conclude that exercise will be painful; therefore, they avoid it. However, exercise can help with chronic pain as it builds muscle, stamina, and flexibility, and improves circulation. Additionally, the added mental health boost is worth the effort.

Often, there is a mental hurdle you must get over to view exercise as an option. Here are a few things to keep in mind when trying to exercise more, despite chronic pain:

• Exercise doesn’t have to be intense and vigorous, it can be low-impact, slow, and brief
• Small steps lead to bigger strides
  • Start small and very gradually work your way up 
  • For example, you can start with walking for five minutes and gradually increase the time, distance, and speed 
• Don’t push yourself past your limits, this is very important

How to exercise when you hate to exercise

The greatest barrier to exercise is the mental hurdle of convincing yourself to start. For many people, exercise isn’t fun or exciting; so, motivation to exercise is often lacking. Additionally, the fear of getting hurt or being bad at it can get in the way. However, there are ways to exercise that don’t feel like exercising.

For example, you can try walking or biking around instead of driving (listen to your favorite music or podcast on the way). You may enjoy walking through a park with a friend or going shopping in a mall. Another great way to get moving is to play with your kids, grandchildren, or pets. Pick an activity you enjoy that requires movement like hiking, gardening, dancing, or swimming.

Exercise doesn’t have to be a chore. Further, you don’t need to overexert yourself, become covered in sweat, or make your muscles sore for it to count. Consistent exercise leads to great outcomes, even in small amounts.

Tips for starting to exercise  

The great news about exercise is that it can be accessible. You don’t need to buy an expensive gym membership or fancy equipment. Rather, you can exercise right now without any of that.

You can go outside and go for a walk, or you can do an activity in your house, like a yoga video. 

Here are some general tips:

• Try to get about 30 minutes of exercise each day
  • Break this into smaller chunks if 30 minutes is too much (e.g., three 10-minute sessions)
• When in doubt, go for a walk outside
• Choose exercises that incorporate your whole body (e.g., walking, running, swimming, dancing, yoga, etc.)
• Mindfully exercise (e.g., focus on how you feel or your surroundings instead of your thoughts or judgements about your performance)
• Exercise with a friend
• Going outside has its own mental health benefits, so exercise outside when you can

Just like other ways of self-care, exercise is personal to you. Not all exercises will be right for you. You must experiment to find what feels good and what you enjoy.

Practice

Below, you will find the worksheet for this lesson: the Exercise Worksheet. This worksheet will help you decide which exercises you’d like to try and which ones you know you’ll enjoy. It’ll help you identify and analyze your primary excuses that get in the way of exercising. Further, you’ll keep track of your mood before and after exercise.

Reflect

Reflect on your relationship with exercise. Do you love exercise? Do you dislike it? Have you noticed a link between exercise and your mental health?

Is there a new exercise or activity that you’d like to try? Is there an exercise or activity that you know you’d be able to stay consistent with?

In the next lesson, you will learn about eating a healthy diet to support your mental health.