The Mental Health Benefits of Exercise

By Tonny Wandella

People who exercise daily do so because it offers them a tremendous sense of well-being. They have more energy all through the day, sleep well at night, have clearer memories, and are more relaxed and optimistic about themselves and their life. It’s also an effective treatment for a variety of common mental health issues.

Exercise regularly can have a profoundly favourable effect on depression, anxiety, and even ADHD. It also reduces stress, enhances memory, promotes sleep, and improves your general mood. You don’t have to be a fitness enthusiast to gain the benefits. According to research, even small quantities of exercise can make a significant difference. You may learn to use exercise as a strong tool to deal with mental health issues, increase your energy and attitude, and get more out of life, regardless of your age or fitness level.

Exercise has been shown in studies to be as helpful as antidepressant medication in treating mild to moderate depression—without the adverse effects, of course. A recent Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health study discovered that running for about 20 minutes a day or walking for an hour reduced the risk of severe depression by 26%. In addition to alleviating depression symptoms, research shows that sticking to an exercise routine can help you avoid relapsing.

Exercise is a safe and effective natural anti-anxiety medication. It reduces tension and stress, increases physical and mental vitality, and improves overall well-being by releasing endorphins. Something which gets you moving will help, but paying attention rather than zoning out can provide a greater benefit.

Regular exercise is one of the simplest and most effective strategies to minimise ADHD symptoms and improve focus, motivation, memory, as well as mood. Physical activity quickly increases dopamine, norepinephrine, plus serotonin levels in the brain, all of which influence focus and attention. In this regard, exercise functions similarly to ADHD drugs such as Ritalin or Adderall.

Get a Free Voice Over

Stay mentally focused all of the time (Edited version)


Do you want to  improve your focus  

A few tweaks are all it will take, if I can finally get to grips with focusing more, I’m sure you can too.

You may not  realise that what you do in your free time, or how much sleep you get each night has a huge impact on how well-focused and productive you are during the day. That’s why this post will teach you some easy ways to stay mentally sharp at work and avoid burnout so that even after hours when it’s time for family or friends, there will still be plenty of energy left over for them.

Working on your projects can be a bit of a struggle too when you have other things to do. There are times where you need to focus and produce something, but it’s hard to get in the right mood. It’s easy to just give up or not try at all because you’re too busy. But how do you stay focused? Here are some things that will work for you:

Do what needs to be done first – if there’s  something that needs more attention than anything else, then prioritize it so that it gets done before anything else. 

Create time blocks – look at the day and  where there is space for creativity. Listen to yourself, it will make those moments easier to find since they’ll come out naturally instead of being forced. We all have our own natural rhythms. Personally, I love early mornings for creativity and the afternoon for more menial tasks. But, we’re all different. Listen to you.

You may not realise that what you do in your free time, or how much sleep you get each night has a huge impact on how well-focused and productive you are during the day.

Doing things like watching too much TV before bed, spending too many late nights out partying without sleeping enough, eating sugary foods just because they’re there; these habits increase boredom levels which leads us down an inevitable path toward burnout. Try reading before you fall asleep, don’t eat for a few hours before you sleep and cut out (or reduce) junk. Do it for a few weeks and I can guarantee you will be surprised by your new awareness.

Reduce your phone time. The average person spends 12 hours a day on their phone, and it doesn’t help us focus or maintain our sanity in any way. Our attention spans today are less than a goldfish!

When you combine this with the lack of exercise most people are getting nowadays (seriously, why are there so many people out there who can’t get off their couch?), unhealthy food choices all week when they know damn well what’s going to happen to their bodies if they do that every single day of their lives. (Okay, rant over).

You might not think that planning your day and night can have a serious impact on the quality of your work, but it does. If you don’t plan for what needs to be done you will end up with a messy day, because there’s  no other way to achieve anything without taking time  to focus on one task to complete another. It builds momentum into our day and makes us unstoppable.

When we’re always winging our days, it takes more energy and  leaves us less focused,  Why do it?  But by keeping good tabs over these things before they happen or even during them, if need be, any difficult situation becomes easier as long as  you’ve been paying attention and understand your body and mind.

Conclusion

Mental focus is a key ingredient to success. How are you using your brainpower? What can you do today to make sure that it’s focused on what matters most?

If you want to be mentally focused, plan your day ahead of time, stop bad habits that may cause stress or anxiety, and eat healthy foods. In days you will find more balance in your life.

It also helps if you have a routine every morning,  when you wake up and go through some exercises or stretches before starting work or school each day.  A simple routine will help ensure that no matter what happens throughout the week, there is always something positive happening at least once per day. Stick to it.

Your thoughts will always create your reality. Continuous self-improvement, motivated desires, self-discipline plus positive powerful thoughts will transform your life. It has far more potency than a mix of self-defeating lack lustered negative self-talk and inaction will ever have.

If you want different results in your life stop using the same mental program. It’s time to conquer you!