More Evidence Exercise Is Good For Your Mood

exercise is good for mental health

More Evidence Exercise Is Good For Your Mood

Those of us who exercise or workout on a regular basis already know this and dont need a study to tell us that exercise is good for our mood. However, another study suggests that people who exercise regularly may experience symptoms of mental health disorders less often.

To that I say “no kidding” but if you need some evidence, here it is. Read on!

Here Are The Facts

The study at The Lancet Psychiatry looked at data collected from more than 1.2 million American adults. Participants were asked how often in the past month they had exercised. They were not including any physical activity done at work on the job. Participants were also asked how many days their mental health was “not good” due to stress, depression and problems with emotions.

Overall, people reported an average of about 3.4 days of “poor mental health” each month. Compared to people who never exercised at all, those who did some physical activity outside of work had an average 1.5 fewer days of “poor mental health” each month. The effect appeared even bigger for people with a history of depression. In this group, exercisers experienced an average 3.8 fewer days of poor mental health each month than those who never worked out.

What Exercise is Best For My Mood?

All types of exercise appeared to influence how often people reported poor mental health.

Some of the strongest associations were:

Team Sports and Cycling – They showed a 22% reduction in poor mental health days compared with not exercising.

Aerobic and Gym Exercises –  They were linked to a 21% reduction of poor mental health days. For this think things you would do at your local health club or workout facility.

Mindfulness exercises like Yoga and Tai Chi were also linked to a 23%reduction in poor mental health days, relative to no activity at all.

Even household chores were tied to at least a 9.7% reduction in poor mental health days compared to being inactive. That’s a win – win – win! Burn calories, good mood, and a clean house!

More Exercise Must Is Better For My Mood / Mental Health Right?

Not exactly – From a mental health perspective, its possible to exercise too much.

Adults who exercised longer than 90 minutes per session had smaller reductions in poor mental health days than people who exercised from 30 to 60 minutes. Those who exercised more than three hours per session reported more poor mental health days than those who exercised only 45 minutes or who didn’t work out at all. So like so many things, too much is not good either.

Need Help?

If you are someone who needs fewer “poor mental health” days then I suggest starting to exercise on a regular basis. There are lots of different ways to start! Hopefully getting exercise will help you, its a potential easy solution to so many different health issues, Give it a try! If you need help with what to do or a little extra motivation we are here to help – check us out at www.lakecountrytraining.com

Thanks!

Matthew Meyer