Exercise & Mental Health

I always felt that my greatest asset was not my physical ability, it was my mental ability.

Bruce Jenner

Exercise & Mental Health

We know that exercise has positive effects on the brain. Researchers at Duke University demonstrated several years ago that exercise has antidepressant properties. Other research has shown that exercise can improve the brain functioning of the elderly and may even protect against dementia. How does exercise improve mental health?

One theory for some of the benefits of exercise include the fact that exercise triggers the production of endorphins. These natural opiates are chemically similar to morphine. They may be produced as natural pain relievers in response to the shock that the body receives during exercise. However, researchers are beginning to question whether endorphins improve mood. Studies are showing that the body's metabolism of endorphins is complex, and there are likely additional mechanisms involved in the mental health effects of exercise.

Some studies have found that exercise boosts activity in the brain's frontal lobes and the hippocampus. We don't really know how or why this occurs. Animal studies have found that exercise increases levels of serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. These neurotransmitters have been associated with elevated mood, and it is thought that antidepressant medications also work by boosting these chemicals.

Exercise has also been found to increase levels of "brain-derived neurotrophic factor" (BDNF). This substance is thought to improve mood, and it may play a role in the beneficial effects of exercise. BDNF's primary role seems to be to help brain cells survive longer, so this may also explain some of the beneficial effects of exercise on dementia.

Furthermore, exercise or physical activity assists the psycho-physiological adaptation of emotional stress. Weight training, in particular, has shown to raise body image and global self-esteem. Exercise has been shown to improve mental function and is speculated to enhance creativity and problem solving ability. Exercise can be seen as one of the components essential for physical and mental health in today's society.

The bottom line is that most of us feel good after exercise. Physical exercise is good for our mental health and for our brains. Someday we will understand it all better -- but we can start exercising today.

Mental Health

• Exercise improves
• Mental Health
• Emotion
• Mood
• The National Institute of Mental Health
• Recognizes exercise as a valid treatment for anxiety and depression.
• Exercise is self-impowering
• Bring responsibility toward self
• Positive addiction
• May replace negative addictions
• We don't know (Landers)
• Optimal intensity or duration
• Optimal mode
• Dose/response curve
• Time course (acute)
• Law of initial values
• Relative values - ceiling effect
• Lower initial value - greater potential for improvement
• Unfit, anxious, depressed - greater improvements
• Exercises effect on emotion
• Fit vs unfit - lower anxiety for fit
• Chronically trained / adaptation - lower anxiety
• Acute bout of activity - lower anxiety

As you change your brain, you'll also change your life, by becoming more connected to your senses and feeling more alive. Your awareness will grow, you'll be able to make better, more informed choices, and even appreciate the beauty you may have forgotten.

Sondra Kornblatt