Scientists are sure: We are born to move. The benefits that exercise has to offer are unlike any drug that exists. Effective movement can have remarkable effects on our brains. This is evident in both the short- and the long-term. In addition to helping us stay persistent in skills that benefit our survival in the short-term, exercise also helps to reduce inflammation in the brain, which over time can protect against depression, anxiety, and loneliness. How can we best recreate these short and long-term benefits?
The Power of Movement
Almost all published scientific research supports that exercise is beneficial for the mind. A thorough literature review (by NLM) has found that both short and long-duration exercise has the power to revolutionize your mental health. The study stated that exercise provides “too many benefits” to “fit into a single pill”. It refers to exercise being a powerful tool in optimizing your functioning and disease prevention. Without surprise they conclude that exercise should continue to be integrated into clinical settings given its whole-body, health-promoting nature.
Harvard Movement Expert – Tal Ben-Shahar
Trying to understand our ancestors is able to teach us a lot about how our brains have evolved and developed over millions of years. The emergence of science has allowed us to further expand our understanding of the powerful effects of movement on our bodies and mind. Research on a global and smaller, cellular level allowed us to gain the knowledge that has us understand the power of movement.
Tal Ben-Shahar taught two of the largest classes in Harvard history. He taught one class on positive psychology and the other on leadership. Both are topics which he has written multiple books about. His research has examined the relationship between children, exercise, and mental health, and concluded that the more fit a child is, the better student he or she is. In fact, a study performed on a baffling 2.6 million school kids from Texas found a strong correlation between activity levels and school grades.
The more active they were, the better they performed in school. Ben-Shahar has linked the mental benefits of exercise to not only kids, but also adults.
Academic Performance of Active Kids
Active school kids were found to be more attentive and focused, and were better able to concentrate during class and while doing their homework. In addition to that, they were also able to retain information more effectively than kids who lived a more sedentary lifestyle.
Furthermore, children who grow up being physically active are more likely to stay active into young and middle adulthood.
This means that starting to exercise at a young age can directly and indirectly be linked to greater success and performance in later life. It can decrease the likelihood of the onset of many adult diseases. Additionally, it reduces the chance of suffering from any excess-weight-related illnesses such as heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, and various cancers.
Ben-Shahar’s research goes to show that at quite a young age, when our brains are still young, healthy, exercise can help to optimize our mental processes. For both children and adults, exercise helps to optimize our mood. It makes us overall happier and more productive human beings. This increases our potential for success and satisfaction in all areas of life.
Being Inactive = Taking a Depressant Pill
Then there’s the emotional aspect. Ben-Shahar states that exercise is required to stay mentally sound. He quotes that “…not exercising is like taking a depressant.” Every day that you are not as active as you should be, your mental health takes a small hit.
If you get into a non-exercising rut, it could potentially lead you down the road toward depression. And the longer it takes to resume a workout program following a break, the more difficult it will be to get back into a good routine.
Therefore, to be able to keep up with the program. We need to create a program that helps us stay persistent. The more persistent we are, and the more we listen to the promises that we make ourselves. And the better the relationship with ourselves. And the better the relationship with ourselves, the more confident we are.
Long story short, we need a program that is structured, meaningful, and fun, and is also sufficiently rewarding so that we are enthusiastic about making it an integral, on-going part of our lives.
Evolutionary Research: The Hadza Tribe
For many years, researchers as part of a study followed the Hadza by accompanying them on their daily hunts. The Hadza are a modern Tanzanian tribe that subsistence hunts and forages for berries, honey, baobab fruit, and tubers. Researchers were measuring the tribe’s blood pressure, lipids, and other cardiovascular health markers.
The study was performed to help you gain a better understanding of the long-term effects of leading an active lifestyle. According to the study, our bodies, particularly our hearts, prefer to be worked, at least moderately. Pathology may develop if they are not.
You should move often, researchers advise. The need for activity appears to be built into our bones, hearts, and being. Next up, let us talk about the short and long-term benefits of regular activity.
The Exercise High
Amazing how much simple movement can do for us. It appears that evolution has provided us with natural rewards for participating in activities that enhance our survival.
How can we recreate these amazing benefits in the most effective and efficient way? How can we ensure that we implement fun exercise into our lifestyle so that we stick with it? For that, let us dive a little deeper into the exercise high.
Once you understand what it has to offer, we will go into how to recreate it.
What is the Exercise High?
To answer this question, let me ask you to think back. Try to recall a time where you just finished a good run, workout session, or a specific sports practice. Do you remember those thrilling sensations that set in shortly after you stopped your activity? Does it ring a bell?
I am talking about those exciting, slowly-spreading feelings of joy. That tingling you get in your stomach. That sensation that made you smile uncontrollably and has the power of temporarily removing all of your worries.
Recreating the Exercise High
Mother Nature appears to be urging us to move. What other reason is there to be rewarded with the ecstatic feelings of an exercise high or a runner’s high, as well as all of the mental benefits that exercise has to offer?
With my background as a personal coach and physiotherapist, and my previous research and experience with movement, I consider it my mission to educate others about the incredible mental and physical benefits of exercise.
As a result, I am constantly striving to improve and expand upon my frameworks. I do this to improve the mental experience of my own workouts as well as those of my clients.
I frequently ask myself what strategies I can use to extend and intensify the runner’s high. Is it possible to extend the runner’s high through various small tweaks in lifestyle and exercise planning?
I frequently ask myself what strategies I can use to extend and intensify the runner’s high. Is it possible to extend the runner’s high beyond the typical 10-20 minutes before it fades away? What if we could just extend it a little longer? What effect do you think it will have on your running experience, the rest of your day, and even the days that follow?
For more information, check out my article on “how long does a runner’s high last?” or book a free coaching session with me.
Short-Term Mental Benefits (Exercise High)
Benefits | Description |
---|---|
Mood | The engagement of our happy hormones provides us with a rush of our happy hormones which almost instantly can boost our mood. – Endorphins, Endocannabinoids, Dopamine, Serotonin |
Energy | Exercise increases the activity of your mitochondria. Mitochondria are small organs within your cells that are responsible for the production of energy. This, with greater blood flow and a more alert mind, helps to boost your energy. |
Pain Relief | Exercise produces hormones responsible for masking pain almost instantly by decreasing the activity of nerve signals within the body and brain. – Endorphins, Endocannabinoids |
Stress Relief | When we release our happy hormones, our levels of stress hormones decrease, leading to sudden relief in stress. This is why it is a good idea to move frequently when experiencing stressful situations. – Endorphins, Endocannabinoids, Serotonin, Dopamine |
Self-Esteem | When we commit to activities that we know are good for health and well-being, we improve our relationship with ourselves, leading to a boost in our self-esteem. – Serotonin |
Memory | Exercise helps to increase our bDNF levels. Proper bDNF levels are responsible for communication between nerve cells and functions related to proper nerve health. This is how exercise helps us recall information and think better. – bDNF |
Concentration | Exercise increases the production of dopamine, which increases our motivation, action, and cognition. – Dopamine, Serotonin |
Long-Term Mental Benefits (Exercise High)
↑ Cognitive Function | ↑ Mood and Happiness | ↑ Self-Confidence | ↓ Aging Process |
↑ Memory & Learning | ↑ Attention/Concentration | ↑ Motivation | ↑ Ability to Socialize |
↓ Anxiety & Depression | ↑ Chronic disease prevention ↓Parkinson’s Disease | ↓Stroke | ↓ Dementia/Alzheimer’s |
Conclusion: Are We Born to Move?
There you have it. A comprehensive list of the short- and long-term benefits of the Exercise High on our mental well-being and overall health. Were you surprised about any of them? Have you felt any of these benefits during or following an exercise session?
I hope by now you understand the power of exercise for getting you to the best-feeling version of yourself. It’s a truly convincing case, and something that millions of people experience and can attest to. Would you like to be one of them, and enjoy the Exercise High?
Book a free virtual session so I can show you how you can fit effective and efficient exercise into your daily live. Start your journey towards the best-feeling version of yourself now.