Exercise Is Essential to Your Mental Health

This week is Mental Health Awareness week in Canada.  The Canadian Mental Health Association explains that” mental health is a state of well-being, and we all have it. We might have a mental illness, and we might not. Either way, we can all feel well.

• One in five Canadians lives with mental health problems, mental illnesses or addiction. But the reality is, five in five of us have mental health, just like we all have physical health.
• We can all benefit from celebrating, promoting and acknowledging the role that good mental health plays in living a full and meaningful life. Let’s #GetLoud about what mental health really is.  It is about having a sense of purpose, strong relationships, feeling connected”
  (CMHA Mental Health Week Key Messages)

Vintage Fitness is an in-home personal training company whose vision is to energize the lives of people over 50 with exercise.  We see mental health and the health of your body as in inextricably linked.  You can’t talk about how strong and flexible your body is without considering your energy levels, mood and motivation to engage with the people around you.  Harvard Health states that “High-intensity exercise releases the body's feel-good chemicals called endorphins, resulting in the "runner's high" that joggers report. But for most of us, the real value is in low-intensity exercise sustained over time. That kind of activity spurs the release of proteins called neurotrophic or growth factors, which cause nerve cells to grow and make new connections. The improvement in brain function makes you feel better. "In people who are depressed, neuroscientists have noticed that the hippocampus in the brain—the region that helps regulate mood—is smaller. Exercise supports nerve cell growth in the hippocampus, improving nerve cell connections, which helps relieve depression," explains Dr. Miller.¹

Our older adult personal training clients often have improved mood and energy levels as key goals that they are working towards in their exercise program.  The most difficult step is often getting the motivation to start moving if your energy level and mood is low.  Over the next few weeks I will tackle exercise and motivation in this blog.

For today why not try these short, no equipment exercise videos to get your blood flowing and those feel-good endorphins flooding through your body?

Videos:

If you would like to improve your mood and energy levels and would like to know more about in-home personal training with Vintage Fitness email erin@vintagefitness.ca or call 416-951-7978

Good Luck!

Erin

Vintage Fitness

Click to Call    416-951-7978

Vintage Fitness is an in home personal training company in Toronto, Canada.  We specialize in energizing the lives of people over 50 with exercise. 

¹ https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/exercise-is-an-all-natural-treatment-to-fight-depression