How Exercise Reduces Stress

By Richard Clarke

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Research proves that regular exercise can offer many psychological and physiological benefits. Feeling psychologically (mentally) good makes life a lot more enjoyable. A bad day at work, an argument with your partner, financial issues etc. can lead to increased levels of stress.

Stress can be defined as ‘an imbalance in physiological systems that activates physiological and behavioural responses to restore balance.’

All people experience different levels of stress in everyday life and it depends entirely on the person how well they are at dealing with the stress. Constant high levels of stress can be linked with depression ... obviously something we would like to avoid!

Constant high levels of stress can be linked with depression … obviously something we all would like to avoid, but is more common that you may think!
So how can we reduce these levels of stress ... Yep you guessed it EXERCISE!!!

Stress relief exercises release the pent up energy that the stress response can create. With some types of exercise you can release your body’s feel good chemicals, increasing your happiness levels, muscle relaxing exercises and deep breathing exercises can help lower levels of stress.

The best exercise for de-stressing is actually something I have given lots of stick in the past – slow (boring) cardio! Slow cardio may not be the best for fat loss but for stress relief, it is the best solution.

So how does exercise reduce stress?

• Relaxes the muscles
• Utilizes the stress hormones
• Uses fat and cholesterol
• Reduces pent up frustration
• Take your mind off problems
• Improve appearance
• Provide social support
• Reduce the impact of illness
• Improve your resiliency to stress

Here are some stress relief activities:

• Deep breathing exercises – just taking a few seconds in a stressful situation to breathe can help. Deep breathing increases the lungs capacity to deliver oxygen to your blood, this creates a more relaxing effect.

• Progressive muscle relaxation – By tensing and releasing certain muscle groups the body can relax more, in turn reducing stress.

• Just try laughing – Laughter is a great way of dealing with stress, just try and see the funny side of some things and this can make you feel so much better.
Another reason how exercise can benefit your life in a positive way. Get yourself active before it’s too late, something light to start.

If you have experienced a massive de-stress effect after starting a new exercise routine please share it with us, comment about today’s article below.