How exercise affects anxiety and depression

How exercise affects anxiety and depression

Exercise is generally viewed as an activity that primarily benefits our physical health. From improving muscle strength, balance and oxygen flow, there are dozens of fitness-related reasons to stay active throughout your life.

However, even many psychologists are not fully aware of the effects of exercise on mental health, including mood disorders such as anxiety and depression.

There one estimated a third of people in the US suffer from symptoms of anxiety and depression (almost twice as high)original estimatesfor 2020), health coaches need to consider howExercise and physical activity guidelinesapply to those suffering from these conditions.

In this article, we review the evidence and science on how exercise affects anxiety and depression.

The science behind the impact of exercise on mental health

overview

Exercise and physical activity require increased breathing and heart rates, as well as activation of parts of the brain that control balance, muscle activation, and coordination. When we exercise, our metabolic rate (the processes by which our body converts food and drink into energy) increases, giving our cells access to energy as activity increases.

The brain is involved every single one these processes. While we tend to separate mental health from physical health, remember that the brain is responsible for controlling both conscious and subconscious actions. Conscious actions that originate in the cerebellum, including picking up a weight, moving from Warrior II to Triangle Pose, or deciding to pick up the pace on your morning walk. Unconscious actions originate in the brainstem and include increasing your breathing and heart rate and controlling your blood pressure.

However, when we refer to mental health, we are referring to thoughts, feelings, emotions and cognitions. Of course, these also have their origin in the brain, or more precisely in the Limbic system, which includes the amygdala, hypothalamus, and hippocampus.

The effects of exercise on mental health

Generally, health professionals less conscious mental health through physical activity than physical health. This is partly because the relationship between exercise and mental health is less researched and only limited sources have theorized and tested the biological mechanisms of action.

To date, the majority of research examining the benefits of exercise and physical activity focuses on mental illness more on mental health. There is a lot of evidence showing how physical activity benefits people with anxiety and depression, which we discuss below. Yet few researchers have examined how exercise promotes mental health independent of mental illness, in part because of the challenges associated with identifying and reporting positive mental health interventions.

Recently published research in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity took up the challenge. The researchers examined how participation in physical activity affected basic psychological needs. They enrolled 937 children aged 10 to 11 and took regular measurements of physical activity and mental health.

Researchers found that physical activity promotes mental health by providing three basic psychological needs:

Autonomy:a feeling of ability, self-determined behavior, decisions and decisions
Competence:a Feeling of mastery through effective interaction with the social environment and opportunities to express one's abilities
Relationship:feeling secure sense of belonging and connectedness with others in the social environment

The more years participants participated in physical activity, the better they perceived their overall mental health.

Finally, the researchers found that, in general, the longer participants were regularly physically active, the more likely they were to engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity. Has moderate to vigorous physical activityadditional physical health benefitsfor most people.

Some of the Theories and explanations how to such as exercise and physical activity can benefit mental health:

Increased blood flow to the brain stimulates the release of endorphins, which are natural mood-enhancing chemicals. Exercise increases levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is linked to improving mood and helping brain cells survive longer. Exercise increases levels of the brain-stimulating phenylethylamine, which is likely linked to the release of dopamine and endorphins - two natural antidepressants. Exercise can influence brain plasticity by facilitating increased adaptation, cell renewal, and cell-protective processes. Regular exercise changed the stress response.

The Effects of Exercise on Anxiety and Depression: What the Research Says

A growing body of research shows this therapeutic effects Exercise for mood disorders, including anxiety and depression. Below we summarize the key findings of this research:

Sport protects against depression.

A systematic review of studies investigates whether exercise is effective in preventing depression. The researchers found that there is substantial evidence from longitudinal studies that physical activity and exercise are protective against depression in adolescents, adults and older adults.

Exercise is an effective adjunctive intervention for the treatment of mild to moderate depression.

The same systematic review mentioned above also examined whether studies were consistent in their findings that exercise therapeutic effects in people with mild to moderate depression. The researchers found that there is actually support for using exercise for depression symptoms. The impact can be significant, but a lack of consistent study designs does not allow the potential impact to be quantified.

Exercise is associated with better health outcomes in people living with mood disorders.

In people with mood disorders, anxiety and depression increased the body's stress response, increasing generalized inflammation. Inflammation is associated with an increased risk of numerous negative health consequences, including chronic disease and a weakened immune system. Exercise helps balance inflammation, not only Reducing the risk of chronic diseases but also potentially improving the outcomes of mood disorders.

There is limited research on the effect of exercise on anxiety, but the results are positive.

Research published a systematic review of inpatient studies (studies of patients hospitalized for mental health episodes) in which exercise was recommended or prescribed as adjunctive therapy in the International Journal of Mental Health and Nursing.

While researchers confirmed that there is significant evidence of the positive effect of exercise on people with depression, there is a serious lack of evidence examining the effect of exercise on anxiety disorders. However, the studies identified found a positive effect.

Both resistance and aerobic exercise may benefit less active people with generalized anxiety disorder.

A six-week randomized control triall was conducted with sedentary women who had generalized anxiety disorder. The researchers found that anxiety and irritability decreased in those who performed resistance exercise twice a week, and there was a moderate decrease in worry symptoms in groups that combined aerobic and resistance exercise.

Tips for integrating this knowledge into your coaching practice

As a health or fitness coach, you probably already incorporate strategies to help your clients engage in regular physical activity. A person's transition from wanting to move, to starting to move, and then maintaining the movement as part of theContinuum of health behavior changeis not a natural process for many.

This is where your coaching skills can make a difference to support clients on their physical activity journey.

Here are some tips to help your client who may be experiencing mental health issues make exercise a part of their daily routine:

Help them identify sports they do and don't enjoy. Create a safe space for them to discuss their past experiences with training, including elements that may not have made the experience enjoyable. Help them find resources that will allow them to seek professional mental health support. Avoid pressuring clients to work out or shaming them for not sticking to a fitness plan. If a client is not following the fitness plan, work with the client to reevaluate the plan and make changes if necessary. After getting their permission, offer information about how exercise can benefit their mental health.

Main takeaways

The human body evolved to move. Researchers have demonstrated the benefits of physical activity in supporting multiple dimensions of well-being, including mental and emotional health.

Mechanisms of action that describe how exercise can positively impact mental health include increasing blood flow, modulating hormone release and absorption, and reducing inflammation.

Clinical studies with people living with and at risk of depression and anxiety have shown that regular physical activity and exercise can help prevent and treat symptoms of mood disorders.

As health coaches who may have clients with anxiety and depression, it is important to implement the best coaching practices thatsensitive, such as anxiety and depressioncan influence your clients' interactions with you and create a safe space for them to build trust in wanting to work out.

References

... more about that in the next part.
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