Sound Mind Sound Body

Sound Mind in Sound Body

Physical activity helps maintain and improve mental wellbeing in a number of ways. It causes chemical changes in the brain, which can help to positively change our mood.

Exercise in almost any form can act improve your mood and releive stress. Physical activity boosts the feel-good endorphins in your brain and distract you from your daily worries.

Planned physical activity (be it jogging, cucling, a session at the gym, a swim, or a game of tennis) is meditation in motion. Focus on a single physical activity for a regular period every day, helps shed daily tensions, boosts energy and optimism, and can help you remain calm and clear in everything you do.

Regular exercise improves mood, and self-confidence. Tt relaxes you, and helps overcome anxiety and mild depression.  It makes you sleep better, especially when you are finding it difficult to sleep  because of stress, and worry. It  gives you a sense of command over your body and your life. 

Aerobics: Aeronbic activity boosts your mood. Aerobic activity includes jogging, running, treadmill, swimming, bicycling,  dancing, jumping rope etc. Get creative.

Healthy adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week. It doesn’t have to be all at one time. Aerobic exercise can even be done in 10-minute increments.

Stretching: Aerobic and strength training programs cause your muscles to contract and tighten. Stretching after aerobics helps relax the muscles, boosts circulation, and improves the range of motion of your joints. Even if you are unable to do aerobic exercise regularly, stretch a few times a week after a brief warm-up to maintain flexibility.

 

How to get exercising

Find someting you love to do: It can be walking, stair climbing, jogging, bicycling, yoga, tai chi, gardening, weightlifting and swimming.

Don’t do it all at once: Set SMART goals: Choose a activity. Break it down into SMALL, MESURABLE, and ATTAININABLE, REASONABLE, and TIME-LIMITED steps.  Gradually step it up. You don’t have to do it every day. Three or four times a week is enough.

Keep it gentle and easy: As an added bonus, gentler workouts may enhance your exercise while also decreasing your stress.

Exercise in increments: Even brief bouts of activity offer benefits. If you can’t fit in a 30-minute walk, try three 10-minute walks instead.

Interval training helps: Brief bursts (60 to 90 seconds) of intense activity at almost full effort, with a interval of a few minutes of gentle activity, is a safe, effective and efficient way of gaining many of the benefits of longer duration exercise.

Do it with a fried: Working out with a friend, co-worker or family member often brings a new level of motivation and commitment to your workouts.

Vary your routine:  Doing the same thing over and over again can be boring. Interseprse aerobics with yoga, swimmimg with running or cyucling etc.