5 Exercising benefits for your depression, anxiety, and mental health

Step Chain
4 min readJun 17, 2021

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We usually exercise to stay healthy as we know that physical activity is good for the body and the brain’s health. The brain benefits from exercising in many ways, and even mental health is boosted by physical activity. It does not only boost your mood, but it can alleviate your depression, anxiety, and other mental health conditions. Here are 5 Exercising benefits for your depression, anxiety, and mental health.

1- It can decrease depression and anxiety

It is so far scientifically proven that exercise is a mood booster that can lower symptoms of anxiety and depression. Being active increases the endorphin levels which is known to be the body’s feel-good chemical, which the brain and the spinal cord produce. It can create positive feelings of euphoria and happiness. Exercising even moderately can significantly affect both anxiety and depression conditions and for this reason, it is recommended by doctors and psychologists alongside therapy.

2- It can lower stress

Stress is one of the most harmful things for our health, and working out can help us instantly lower its levels in our body. When your heart rate increases it can reverse any brain damage caused by stress due to the stimulation of neurohormones production such as norepinephrine which improves mood and cognition as well as thinking during stressful situations. Exercising pushes the body’s sympathetic and central nervous systems to communicate with one another which can improve your body’s overall ability to respond to stress.

3- It can increase self-confidence and self-esteem

Working out improves your endurance helping you lose weight and increase your muscle tone. Such results are one of the main reasons why people decide to work out, alongside boosting their health. Once they are achieved, these consequences can boost your self-esteem and self-confidence due to your stronger and improved body image. Your clothes could fit better, your physique will look slimmer, and your ability to make more physical effort will increase.

4- Your sleep quality will improve

Exercise is known to make your sleep better and give you a good night’s sleep especially the same night when you work out. This is because being active raises your body temperature calming your mind and allowing you to sleep better. It also works on regulating the circadian rhythm of the body which is its clock that controls the times when it feels alert or tired. Even though better sleep is an outcome of working out, experts recommend working out long before bedtime, as it will energize you and could make it hard for you to sleep. Therefore make sure to be active two hours before bed so your body has time to regulate.

5- It can give your brain a boost

Brainpower is increased when a person is active in many ways, from strengthening memory to building intelligence. Studies have proven that cardiovascular exercise can produce new brain cells (which is known as neurogenesis). It can also improve the overall performance of the brain and prevent memory loss and cognitive decline. This happens because the hippocampus (the part of the brain responsible for learning and memory) becomes stronger.

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Step Chain
Step Chain

Written by Step Chain

StepChain is a responsible Fitness App for fitness and blockchain adoption by rewarding its users with STEP Tokens they generate while exercising.