words Al Woods
Mental health and wellbeing have been a trending topic for the while, and the often-forgotten part of health is finally getting some attention. However, you can help get physically fit, whilst also helping to improve your mental health and wellbeing, are some tips to help you do just that!
Improving your Concentration
It has been said that fitness and keeping physically fit, through sports and more can also help you improve your concentration. A study had shown that doing a mixture of both aerobic and muscle-strengthening exercises are really good for helping concentration. So, instead of sitting there scrolling through Instagram or another form of social media, why not exchange that time into some time you can dedicate to exercise, which will, in turn, help your mind and help strengthen your concentration.
Helps Set a Routine
This is a big point to make when talking about fitness and its effects on mental wellbeing. A routine is so useful in many facets of life. From organizing study time whilst in education, to managing time around a job, a routine is crucial to keeping your mind active and not falling into a slump. One-way fitness can help you do that is classes. Most gyms out there offer gym classes that happen regularly, so why not join one if you can. Every Wednesday there may be a yoga or a cycle class. A boxing class if you are into boxing, as a routine has always helped boxers achieve their best fights. The same can be said for athletes, gymnasts. A routine is key in keeping you going in the long term, and also just organizing your life around your fitness and keeping your body, and your mind, in check.
Help Improve your Mood
A huge driver on whether we have a good, or a bad day, is our mood, and most people would much rather better than bad days. Well, fitness has been shown to help with mood! When you are playing a sport or participating in an exercise routine, it releases chemicals into the brain that help make you feel happier, or more relaxed. This has been found to be much higher during team or group-based sports, which have the added benefits of communication and also forming bonds with other people, who could become really good friends in the future!
Feel Better about Yourself
What is the main reason most people go to exercise? They want to look better or improve the way they look by losing weight, or gaining more muscle, or toning their body. Sport and fitness can do all of this, but at the same time, this has a mental impact too. The more change you see in your body, the longer you endure to your exercise routine, the better you are going to feel. If you see no change after a couple of days, you are not going to feel much better about yourself, but if you stick to it you will see a drastic change. One way to can keep a log is monthly pictures of yourself. This can be daunting to many people but take a private picture of yourself before you start, then a month into your routine take another, then another and you get the idea. Once you start seeing progress, and you start seeing the ideal changes that you wanted from the fitness regime you are doing, you will start to feel much better about yourself, and this would ultimately build your self-esteem too.
Sleep Benefits of Fitness
Sleep can be a huge factor in your mental health. If you are not getting much sleep during the night, this could have a negative impact on your mental health in the long run. When you are exercising, you are not going to feel the sleep effects, these come later in the day once you have finished. Sport and fitness can help you fall asleep faster, and also on top of that help deepen your sleep and improve the quality of it too. This can have really good benefits for your mental health in the long term, as after you exert yourself on the field, your body will be more tired and want to sleep to regain its energy. This is just another example of the added benefits fitness has to your mental health, which is majorly overlooked. The body, and with that the mind, is not going to work to the best of its ability when it is lacking energy and is tired, so keep that in mind!
Develop New Relationships
Last, but by no means least, is developing new relationships. As said previously in the article, fitness and sports can help release brain chemicals that help you feel happier and more relaxed and that these increase during team-based sports. This can lead to far more than quick spurts of happiness on the sports field. Doing team-based sports or joining a new gym class yourself and without anyone, you know, can be a great way to connect with others and speak to new people, strike new relationships. Team-based sports force you to communicate well with your teammates, as without communication, your team will not do very well. This emphasis on communication could stretch outside the field, and help you communicate and connect better with people on a daily basis.
With that in mind, after reading these tips which ones stick out the most for you? Is it sport that helps improve your mood? Or maybe you want to help increase your network, so maybe you will consider a group sport to help you achieve that? Or maybe you feel that at this moment your life is really hectic and lacks a solid routine? Whatever it may be, exercise and fitness can be a simple, fun, natural remedy to improve and help strengthen our mental wellbeing, as well as keeping us fit and healthy in general. So, whenever you are feeling demotivated and drained, or feel life is really stressful, try a new sport and see what it could do for you.
