Psychological Benefits of Exercise

I think we would all agree that exercise is good for us.

We have been told by many people in our lives such as doctors, teachers and parents that exercising is good for us.

We know that exercise has many physical benefits. These benefits include weight management, increased strength and fitness, increased energy, improved bone and muscle health, healthier skin and having a reduced likelihood of developing health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

However, there are also numerous psychological benefits to exercise. These psychological benefits are often not acknowledged as much as the physical benefits. It is important to note that the psychological benefits and the physical benefits gained from exercise are not mutually exclusive.

For example, imagine an overweight man has a goal of losing 5kg and has engaged in exercise to lose this weight. He joined a running group with some friends and after a number of weeks he lost the 5kg, achieving his goal. Losing the excess body weight would be a physical benefit. A psychological benefit of losing this weight may be that he reduces his anxiety and increases his confidence in social situations. Two other psychological benefits include: (1) the sense of belonging and social connectedness he gains from exercising with his friends and (2) the sense of accomplishment he gains from achieving this goal and increasing his self-efficacy. So you can see in this example, there are both physical and psychological benefits that are related.

Here is a list of some other key psychological benefits of exercise.

Exercise:

  • releases neurotransmitters such as serotonin and endorphins which are responsible for regulating mood. For example, an individual engaging in aerobic exercise can experience a “runner’s high”, a pleasurable feeling generated by the production of endorphins in the brain.
  • reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety.
  • helps with managing stress.
  • improves memory ability.
  • improves mental clarity and concentration.
  • improves cognitive function.
  • improves sleep.
  • assists with work-life balance.
  • improves body image.
  • improves awareness and living in the moment.
  • increases confidence.
  • increases happiness.
  • improves social connections and relationships, if exercising with others.
  • improves communication and leadership skills, if exercising with others.

Based on these psychological benefits, here are 2 questions I encourage you to reflect on:

  1. What benefits have I gained from exercising?
  2. What type of exercise helps me most?

Some of you might be reading about exercise and thinking:

“I don’t like exercise”

“I don’t have any friends to exercise with”

“I struggle to find motivation to exercise”

“I don’t have enough time to exercise”

These are common thoughts to have and in the next blog I will address the issue of motivation, which many of us can experience!