We’ve all heard that exercise and fitness training is good for us, but what does that even mean? Can physical activity really impact your mental health? How do you know if you’re reaping the extensive benefits from moving your body? In this blog, we’ll discuss what exactly movement does for your brain and some ways to track progress when results can be hard to see.
Self-Efficacy
A person’s belief in their own ability to complete a goal is known as self-efficacy. Everyone goes through moments when they doubt themselves and that can be a tough thought pattern to pull yourself out of. One of the easiest ways to re-establish or improve your self-efficacy is through exercise. Completing a small fitness goal establishes a sense of achievement and helps to increase confidence by demonstrating that you can overcome a physiological challenge. Developing self-efficacy overtime can increase internal motivation which is vital for establishing and sticking to goals and good habits. When we are internally motivated, it’s easier to take on new challenges and we rely less on external sources of motivation that we can’t always control. The simple act of going for a 15-minute walk can give your brain the boost it needs to realize that you can do way more than you might think. Eventually, that goal of walking for 15 minutes can develop into a bigger fitness or personal goal that you feel much more equipped to take on, all because you took one small step to begin with.
What does exercise do to the brain?
While any kind of movement is excellent, the specific movement I’ll be referring to with regards to positive effects on the brain, is moderate aerobic exercise. This means an activity that gets your heart rate up for 10-15 minutes and might have you breathing a little heavier. This does not mean crazy complex movements or sprinting, there’s a lot you can do just in one spot on the floor that can get your heart pumping just as well. When we engage in this type of movement, our brain experiences improved neuroplasticity and neurotransmitter function. All this means is that our brains are better able to change their response to a situation and the signals in our brain and body that communicate thoughts and feelings function a little more smoothly. In the short term, this can look like temporarily thinking more clearly, and better focus. Another benefit our brains experience with movement is bilateral stimulation. The brain has 2 hemispheres which control different parts of the body and specific movement can stimulate both sides of the brain to allow for better processing of emotions and memories. One more important thing that happens when we exercise is, some of our hormones are regulated. Specifically, cortisol, better known as the stress hormone, is moved through the body rather than being stored in one place and causing tension and stress. Feel-good hormones like endorphins and dopamine become the dominant hormones instead of cortisol and can temporarily increase your mood and emotional regulation. These effects can stick around long term with consistent exercise.
How do I know if movement is really improving my mental health?
Just like growing muscles and learning a new skill, improving mental health takes time. It can be easy to think nothing’s changing because obviously, you can’t see your brain and track improvements like you can with physical health. There are ways to check-in on your progress and stay motivated to continue working towards your goal. Just like people log workouts and the weights they lift or distance they run, you can log mental exercise and how it felt. By tracking things like daily movement or overall mood, you can easily see overtime how you’ve progressed – even if you don’t feel it every day. It’s important to remember that progress is not linear and even if you are doing everything right, you might not get “better” right away. Improving any kind of health is about growth and growth can look different in different stages of your life. Tracking your own mood, movement, or goal achievement can be hard to do alone so including a trusted friend or loved one to help support you or keep you accountable is a great way to add another safeguard to your habit building. Seeing a mental health professional is also a really easy way to track your mental health goals. They’ll tell you when they see improvements and will be able to notice so much more than you might be aware of. There are also physical health professionals who can provide you with the movements to unlock these benefits and guide you through healthy physical habit building.
If you have any questions or would like to explore further, please book a free, no-charge online appointment with either myself, Evelyn Merriman, BKin, RKin, or another Kitchener Kinesiologist at CARESPACE. We are happy to listen and are here to help!
