Sunday, December 28, 2008

Exercise To Improve Your Mood

By June Bell

People are always being warned about the health benefits of exercising, mainly the improvement and maintenance of physical fitness and the prevention of heart disease, blood pressure illness, and diabetes. Countless others do not,while many of us happily comply. For some reason, health and fitness do not seem to provide sufficient incentive to get us off the couch and unto the treadmill, into the pool - or even into a pair of sneakers to walk around the block.

I believe that if more emphasis were placed on the mental benefits of exercising, more people would exercise. If you tell someone that doing a little bit of exercise might improve their well-being, said person might be more willing to actually exercise in order to improve mood, fitness, and health. While this is not logical, it is the way peoples minds work. It is likely that when you are not feeling good about yourself, you are not motivated to take on any long term physical challenges and goals.

It is a much easier task to motivate people to exercise to improve their moods. About ten minutes of moderate exercise will have a positive effect on a persons mental state, putting them in a better mood, making them feel more energetic and less tired. On the other side, you can not expect to get good results from exercise (exercise along with healthiness) unless you commit to at least thirty minutes of moderate but regular exercise a day, for however long it takes ,usually forever, since ceasing to exercise altogether is not good for your health or physical well-being..

Research has shown that exercising exerts its effects on the brain in several ways, including something called neurogenesis the development of nerve tissue) and endorphin release, which is believed to enhance a persons mood. Your body warns of stress and pain through the release of endorphines from your pituitary gland. which is precisely what exercise means to many people. Sense they stop the transmission of pain signals going to the brain and give off the same feeling of euphoria, endorphins which are all said to be natural feel good chemicals. An improvement in the moods of patients experiencing depression who have been given Beta-endorphin injections has been reported by researchers. Serotonin, adrenaline and dopamine, which are all released by your body when you perform exercises, these all work together so that you naturally boost your mood - almost instantly.

"Endorphin" literally refers to morphine that the human body manufactures. For what reason? The molecular composition of endorphins is comparable to that of morphine, meaning that both can help to relieve pain. Morphine and endorphins act upon the same brain receptors. Exercise has more of a role than just triggering the release of endorphins in your body present in one's bloodstreamlevels of the stress hormone cortisol are also lowered, leading to less tension and anxiety.

The best part is that you dont need to run a mile or to spend an hour at the gym. Your mood with be significantly improved if you exercise moderately. In addition to these natural chemical processes, exercise can, of course, improve your self-image, boost your confidence and distract you from everyday worries, making you a happier person on the long run.

Turn off the TV and go for a brisk walk. You will definitely feel better, a lot better, so much that you just might want to do it again the next time you are feeling bored or low, and possibly do it again the next time. There will become a point that you may notice an improvement in your mental well being as well as your physical. - 15432

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