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Benefits of exercises on mental health


We all know that exercise is beneficial, you hear all the time that you should exercise because it's good for physical and emotional health. What is this mean? Exactly. 


What a lot of people might not be aware of is the effect that exercise can have on a person's mental health and also provide a healthy life style. Firstly exercise is proven to greatly reduce day-to-day stress, increase self-reported, happiness, levels, and lower the levels of sadness, depression and loneliness.


Both in the short-term and long-term exercise can prevent depression, stress and anxiety disorders and in some cases can even be as effective as psychological and pharmaceutical treatments to improve mental and physical health. 


The study also found that running for just 15 minutes a day or walking for one hour, can reduce the risk of major depression by 26%.


So, why does exercise have a positive impact on the body?

Well, exercise boosts your body's production of endorphins which are hormones that help you relax feel more pleasure, and less pain, and reduce the amount of the stress hormone in your body called cortisol. Exercise also helps your brain produce more dopamine and serotonin which are chemicals responsible for making you feel happy. 


Also, activities like Fitness classes and team sports are opportunities for social interaction, which has proven to boost mood and decrease feelings of loneliness. When it becomes a habit exercise, can also improve self-esteem and sense of humor. 


An observational study shows that about 1.2 million adults across the u.s. found that on average, there is a 43.2% reduction in the number of poor mental health days experienced by those who exercise regularly compared to people who don't exercise. 


Exercising for half an hour per day was relate with the biggest reduction in poor mental health days. But exercising, for more than three to four hours per day, was associated with worse, mental health, than not exercising at all. Therefore, it's obvious that obsessively exercising is not healthy at that time when doing extra. 


It was also found that teams sports and aerobics were associated with the biggest reductions in poor mental health days. 


Unfortunately, most of adults across the world, do not get enough exercise. Therefore, you should identify what exercises you enjoy doing and then set reasonable goals and stick to an exercise routine for good body figure. 


Here are some general suggestions. Individuals in their 20s can allocate to a broad variety of exercises but should well defined on developing bone mineral density. So they should do weight-bearing exercises that promote, bone, growth these include exercises, such as running, dancing playing sports , or martial arts.


 Individuals in their 30s and 40s start to lose muscles and therefore weight, training is especially important during this time, it is also important to do cardiovascular exercises like rowing and swimming. 

 

Individuals over 50 should focus on exercises that help to reduce the rate of diseases. They should consider water, aerobics stretching, and Performing lightweight activities with little hard work. However, it's important to check with your doctor before starting any new exercise routines to make sure that they're safe for you.


The stay well program at the Saint Joseph's healthcare center in Hamilton provides therapeutic exercises, for those who have medical conditions such as neurological disorders or heart disease to gain perspective on this program and the benefits of exercise.


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