Increase your mental wellness through exercise!

It’s Mental Health awareness week this week in New Zealand from the 27th September – 3rd October.

This year's theme focuses on taking time to kōrero/mā te kōrero, ka ora - a little chat can go a long way.

It’s proven that exercise improves mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and negative mood and by improving self-esteem and cognitive function. Exercise has also been found to alleviate symptoms such as low self-esteem and social withdrawal, but the focus this year is to promote how the everyday conversations we have can be surprisingly important.

There are many amazing benefits that exercise can have on our Mental Wellness and through this blog, we have added our top 5:

Brain Health

Physical exercise directly affects the brain, but unfortunately Western medicine often neglects the mind-body connection. Exercise not only increases blood flow, oxygen and nutrient delivery to the brain, and encourages the release of hormones, growth of new brain cells and neural pathways.

In particular, exercise leads to the creation of new cells in the hippocampus (the area of the brain responsible for learning, memory and emotional regulation). Exercising our bodies can actually help prevent cognitive decline and increase mental acuity.

Mood Booster

Through extensive research, it has been proven that exercise can be a powerful treatment for depression, anxiety, and general emotional well-being. Why? Well, working out releases endorphins, mood-boosting chemicals and these produce feelings of euphoria and happiness.

Self-Esteem

By exercising consistently this can offer a sense of control over your well-being, which effectively leads to a better self-esteem and motivation. By setting & achieving goals, while sticking with a routine can really offer a sense of accomplishment which in time builds confidence and a boost to your self esteem.

Better Sleep

Did you know that with all daily movement, this can help to regulate your circadian rhythm, which will help you fall asleep faster create a deeper sleep? Sleep is integral for our mood regulation and emotional well-being – that’s why you will generally feel much happier after a bad nights sleep.

Stress Less

There is nothing better than sweating out your stress. The time spent working out is an amazing way to unplug and focus on the present. Working out from home allows you to be mindful, remove your worries and gain perspective while giving yourself some ‘me time’.  

Here at Blue Fitness, we have a wide variety of home gym equipment to kick start your journey to a healthier, happier mind. You can check out this equipment here or simply connect with our team now with any questions.

We would love to help you on your journey to a fitter mind and body.