Exercise for mental and emotional well-being

Lockdown affects us all, sometimes in a subconscious way and we can’t understand why. Here is a situation which you might relate to. You wake up, you start the day, and you begin to realize you’re feeling pretty flat today. Your quality of sleep was fine, and your mood was good yesterday. However, today the mood is a little flat and you cannot figure out why?!

It’s a common theme in lockdown that we all go through. That feeling exacerbated by a lack of social interaction or maybe a dulling of the senses because we haven’t left the house for anything exciting in ages! We all describe it differently, numb, hollow, empty, flat, lack of motivation, feeling lethargic. A psychological trudge… How to get out of that trudge and get back to skipping and whistling through life? Exercise is often the answer…

Our body is designed to move, as a result the domino physiological effects of our mental, emotional, and social health are often reliant on this need to move. At a cellular level, our body and brain are literally conditioned to be rewarded for exercise, that hit of pure feel good, as endorphins and serotonin (feel good chemicals) rush your brain and cortisol (stress hormone) is washed away. That alone might be the kick you need to get out of your psychological slump and find some joy and excitement in the little things!

This chemical washout also starts to activate that domino effect as depression and anxiety symptoms start to relieve, your sleep improves greatly, you can think more clearly throughout the day and you notice your memory capacity is boosted, dinner tastes better and your overall energy levels seem to be much more sustainable! All proven benefits of exercise.

So if you are feeling a little flat today, get out there and exercise!