Can Exercise Relieve Stress?
Many people think of exercise as a chore. You may be one of them. But exercise has an upside that is beneficial in helping you manage the stress in your life.
Why do people exercise?
• Lose weight
• Look better
• Feel better
The last one is what you are going for with stress management. The other two are just great bonuses. Feeling better from the inside out can change your entire outlook on life. Sometimes, a stressful situation just needs a fresh attitude.
How Exercise Can Help
Exercise can boost your stress coping skills. First of all, exercise can help you to release those pent-up frustrations. Let’s say that you had a trying day at work. You missed a deadline you forgot about and your boss chewed you out. You scrambled all day to make up for it and by the end you couldn’t handle another thing.
Now, add an exercise class to that. Spending time performing aerobics, kickboxing, boxing or some form of martial arts can help you let out that stress through the movements. Your movements get more forceful each time. You can even envision yourself punching out your stressors (not your boss) or kicking them away. You’ll have the best class of your life.
Second, exercise releases endorphins in the brain. It’s like your own personal St. Johns Wort. Whenever you want to lift your mood, go for a run outdoors or on the treadmill (if the weather is bad). Go for a swim or lift some weights. You are not only working your body and getting healthy but you will notice how much better you feel afterwords.
Third, exercise clears the mind and sharpens your focus. The brain utilizes more oxygen than any other part of your body. As you exercise regularly, your lung capacity will increase as you learn to breath.
This puts more oxygen into circulation in your bloodstream. That clarity combined with a change in mood, can help you arrive at a solution to a problem that has been causing you stress. You didn’t see it before because you were foggy with emotion and tenseness but you see it now.
Fourth, exercise increases your productivity. Maybe part of your stress was stemming from being unhealthy. You were always tired and couldn’t meet the demands of your day. Now that you are working out on a regular basis, you have more energy. After a day at work, you can still come home and help with dinner for your family or sit and enjoy time together instead of falling into bed.
Stress increases the amount of cortisol, a stress hormone, released into your body. Cortisol leads to weight gain. Exercise can limit cortisol production and help you lose weight also.
Are you shying away from exercise for various reasons? One really important reason (or rather four as mentioned above) to get moving is how much better you will feel and handle stress. Stress, especially on a long term basis, can cause numerous emotional and physical issues. The first step in dealing with stress is to understand what it is and what it does to you.
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