2021-06-25 how fitness helps mental health

      When it comes to exercise, we may think more about the role of exercise on the physiology, such as: muscle gain, fat loss, plasticity, physical adjustment, etc., often ignore the positive effect of exercise on the human psyche, especially in today's society, depression, autism, neurasthenia and other psychological disorders are becoming more and more prevalent, mental health is also increasingly important to people, then, how exercise is a positive effect on mental health What is the positive effect of exercise on mental health?

      (1) Improve cognitive behavior: Regular participation in sports can promote positive thinking, which can weaken those negative thoughts and can improve anxiety and depression. Because in sports, one is able to continuously achieve their goals through their own efforts, which strengthens the sportsmen's sense of competition and improves their recognition of their abilities, and at the same time, they are able to withstand greater pressure and eventually achieve greater success.

      (2) Distraction: Taking part in sports can distract people from their anxiety and depression, freeing them from the chores of anxiety and depression and allowing bad moods to be released, thus benefiting them greatly physically and mentally.

      (3) Raising hormones: Hormones are chemicals produced by the brain in response to stimulation. Large amounts of hormones can change a person's emotional state and enhance a sense of well-being, and the reason why exercise can benefit a person psychologically is that it is associated with an increase in the amount of hormones produced in the body. Increased hormone production can reduce the level of depression, anxiety and other negative states.

The positive effects of exercise on the psyche are manifested in.

1) Exercise helps to get a good emotional experience

      The ability to regulate emotional states is the most important indicator of the impact of physical exercise on mental health. In a complex and changing social environment, people often have adverse emotional reactions such as tension, depression, and apprehension, and fitness exercise can free people from worry and pain, reduce stress levels, and enhance the ability to deal with stressful situations. McMann et al. showed that the level of negative psychological variables such as state anxiety, depression, tension and psychological disorders was significantly lower in those who regularly participate in fitness exercise than in those who do not participate in physical exercise, while the level of positive psychological variables such as happiness was significantly higher. The reason why fitness exercise can regulate emotions is because participants in fitness exercise can experience the pleasant feeling brought by exercise. Psychologists believe that moderate load fitness exercise can promote the body to release a peptide substance - endorphins, which can make people get a pleasant, euphoric emotional experience. Therefore, participate in fitness exercises, especially those that you love and good at fitness exercises, can make people get pleasure from it, uplift the spirit, and thus produce a good emotional state.

2) Fitness exercises help to eliminate psychological disorders

      The increasing competition in society and the increasing pressure of life may cause many people to become pessimistic and disappointed, which in turn leads to depression, loneliness, anxiety and other psychological disorders. When people participate in a certain sport and keep exercising, their physical skills and fitness will be improved, and they will also master and develop some sports skills and techniques accordingly. As a result, the body will transmit its achievement information to the brain in the form of self-feedback, so as to obtain the cognitive and emotional experience of self-achievement, resulting in a sense of pleasure, exhilaration and happiness. Therefore, fitness exercise can make individuals with psychological disorders obtain psychological satisfaction, generate a positive sense of achievement, thus enhancing self-confidence, get rid of depression, pessimism and other negative emotions, and eliminate psychological barriers. Many countries have used fitness exercise as one of the means of psychotherapy.

      A survey in the United States showed that 80% of 1,750 psychologists believe that fitness exercise is one of the effective treatments for depression, and 60% believe that fitness exercise should be used as a treatment to eliminate anxiety disorders. Clinical studies have shown that by participating in some physical exercises such as jogging, walking, and freehand exercises can effectively reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms and increase self-confidence. In addition, the psychotherapeutic effects regarding fitness exercise are also reflected in studies on schizophrenia, alcohol and substance abuse, and somatoform symptoms. Although the etiology of these psychological disorders and the underlying mechanisms by which fitness exercises can help treat them are not fully understood, fitness exercises have begun to gain popularity as a psychotherapeutic tool.

      Among students, fitness exercises can slow down or eliminate symptoms such as anxiety and depression caused by academic and other frustrations, provide a reasonable and effective means of venting bad emotions, and prevent the occurrence of psychological disorders or diseases.

3) Reduce physical fatigue

      Fatigue is a comprehensive symptom that is related to both physiological and psychological factors of a person. When a person engages in activities with negative emotions, or when the demands of the task exceed the individual's ability, fatigue can quickly develop both physiologically and psychologically. If you maintain a good emotional state and ensure a medium-intensity activity when engaging in fitness activities, you can reduce fatigue. Some studies have shown that fitness activities can improve physiological functions such as maximum output and maximum muscle strength, which can reduce fatigue. Therefore, fitness activities have a particularly significant effect on the treatment of neurasthenia.

      In short, regular participation in sports can not only make our bodies stronger, but also make us mentally healthier, and only then can we meet greater challenges and thus achieve greater success.