Why do we see most of the youth population hit the gym so frequently nowadays? While the obvious answer may seem to improve their physique, or maybe add in a couple of more abs to the body, or improve or maintain their health, which isn’t wrong, the main reason so many of them manage to stick to such often outrageous regimes involves a sense of motivation for them to improve their overall well-being, which besides being physical, is more inclined towards mental and emotional well-being.

Aside from its physical benefits like weight loss, improvement of physique, better health benefits etc, exercise has proven to have significant therapeutic potential for improving mental health and resilience. Exercise has shown to have a transformative impact on the mind that is profound and widespread in nature, and has a variety of psychological benefits, ranging from alleviating depression and anxiety symptoms to fostering emotional regulation and resilience.

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Various studies have focused their areas of research to study the relationship between mental health benefits and exercise and most of these studies have yielded favorable results. Studies have shown that introduction of exercise into the lifestyle of individuals suffering from anxiety, mild to moderate depression and cognition problems have helped to significantly reduce their symptoms. Certain studies have also shown that regular exercise has helped in improving mental retardation and bring up IQ scores by certain points. Exercise has also proved to be a good treatment aid for individuals undergoing rehabilitation for alcohol/drug abuse.

But how exactly does physical exercise improve mental health? Any form of physical exercise or even movement, such as a walk or 20 minutes on the treadmill or even yoga for that matter, which involves movement of parts of the body, activates the release of endorphins, also commonly known as the ‘feel-good’ hormones, which are neurotransmitters responsible for regulating emotions of happiness and overall emotional well-being. With these endorphins released into the bloodstream, they travel throughout the body and subsequently cause the body and the mind to feel good and happy.

Exercise also helps create an outlet both for distraction from and relieving stress. Some people indulge in exercise in order to stop the negative thoughts and ideas that plague their minds most of the time. Involvement of other parts of the body helps the individual direct their focus towards the activity they are doing, thus ensuring that rumination over negative thoughts is temporarily stopped.

Individuals also relieve stress by making exercise a safe outlet for them to let out how they feel and also manage/control what they are going through. Physical activity helps stimulate the body's stress response system, which in turn allows the body to relieve tension and regulate cortisol levels. Exercise can also help promote mindfulness and inner peace.

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Exercise can also reduce loneliness and feelings of isolation amongst individuals, mostly older people. Joining a gym or a yoga/aerobics club, or even joining a meditation group can help individuals interact with others and foster a sense of teamwork. Indulging in team sports or activities like running marathons, playing team sports such as basketball, cricket etc can help provide opportunities for social interaction and support based on common interests, which are essential for fostering mental well-being of people.

Lastly, exercising regularly helps boost people’s self confidence, self-esteem and also improves their cognitive abilities and efficiency in performance in other aspects of their lives. An Amazon Prime documentary titled ‘Mind Games - The Experiment’ (2023) attempted to understand the reality of the relationship between cognition capacity and physical exercise. The show followed 4 individuals, each of whom were experts in the fields of chess, mahjong, memory games and E-Sports, all of whom were not regular exercisers, and aimed to see whether the introduction of the same would improve their status and skills in the field they belonged to. In the end, the experiment was able to successfully demonstrate how exercise can sharpen even the brightest minds as it showed how each gamer significantly improved their performance and mental well-being during the course of the programme.

Regular exercise, in general, helps build up resilience and emotional strength of the individual as they strive for good health. Yielding continuous results also help improve the person’s self esteem and motivation to pursue it more often.

Exercise, however, does have its limitations and side-effects. Like any kind of intervention or treatment, exercise if not monitored can have adverse effects on the mental health of the individual. Exercise can become addictive and cause people to use it to enhance their mood, self-esteem, and body perception. Certain disorders that can be associated with it include body dysmorphia, eating disorders and commonly cause appearance anxiety. Hence, moderation must be practiced when it comes to exercise routines and over-indulgence should be avoided. 

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In conclusion, as we human beings strive to prioritise our mental health in the increasingly complex world that we live in today, the therapeutic advantages of exercise come to our aid as a powerful ally in the journey towards healing and well-being. By inculcating movement as a form of self-care and self-expression in our daily lives, individuals can learn to harness its transformative potential to develop resilience, promote emotional well-being, and begin on a journey towards overall good health and vitality.

For professional support, reach out to a therapist at Heart It Out today!

“Exercise is the most potent and underrated antidepressant.” -Bill Phillips.