October 10th is mental health awareness day. It is a day where, as a society, we recognize the effect of mental illness on many of those around us and acknowledge that asking for help does not show weakness. Exercise has been proposed as a beneficial and effective form of treatment for mental health issues. The research has found that exercises that can help optimize our mental health includes aerobic exercises such as walking, cycling, and cardiovascular training. The advantage to using exercise includes: little to no costs and exercise is easily accessible by anyone.
Mental and emotional benefits to exercises include sharper memory and thinking as well as endorphins to help with concentration and staying mentally sharp. In addition, regular activity can help foster a sense of self-worth and improve one’s sense of strength and power, consequently leading to greater self-confidence. Looking back at our healthy aging blog post, our mental health can also benefit from social connectedness and interaction, which can be achieved by spending time with friends and loved ones in an active environment. One of the greatest benefits to exercise on our mental health is that it can result in greater resilience to mental and emotional challenges. Exercise can help us cope in healthier ways and can aid in boosting the immune system and decreasing the impact of stress on our bodies.
So where can you get started? At Rebalance Rehab, we aim to help you start increasing your activity and social interaction by providing one on one treatment to get you moving in any and all capacities. Helping our clients have an active lifestyle, combined with providing our clients with a form of companionship helps improve overall physical and mental well-being.