stress and exercise

If I were to say to you "exercise" what would your first thoughts be? Would it be lots of sweating just to lose a few pounds? Would it be lycra clad bodies on expensive gym equipment trying to pump their muscles up to exaggerated proportions? Or would it be as a form of relaxation?

When most of us think about exercise we instantly think about the building muscle and losing fat aspect, but there's a lot of other things that exercise can do for us too. Did you know that exercise is a natural way to increase the release of endorphins and give ourselves a natural ‘high'?

This feeling of happiness tends to last proportionately longer than the exercise you do to achieve it, and this has a prolonged affect on your day and your ability to cope with the normal stresses and strains you'll find yourself under - as we'll see in the articles below.

So yes, some of the images conjured up by the mention of exercise might be true, but they are not the only things you should think about, because not only will exercise get your body into a better physical state it will also help your state of mind too.

So go on - exercise yourself fit and happy.

Everything these days seems to have some form of stress related to it, whether it's travelling to work, managing the finances or generally dealing with life's little surprises - they can all take their toll. Although stress is seen by many as a psychological problem it can have some very physical implications too.

If left unchecked stress will run your body down and play havoc with your immune system - which in turn makes you more susceptible to illness and causes you even more stress when you aren't able to accomplish the things you need to do. So what's the answer? Exercise. The more exercise you do, the more you help your resistance, so the better you'll feel.

There's no need to buy any expensive fitness equipment or join a gym, simple exercises are just as an effective way to relieve stress. The exercises could range from taking a short break for a walk around whenever you start feel stressed, through to doing some light bending and stretching - the key is to remove yourself from the stressful situation for a few minutes.

So, apart from taking you're mind off of the stressful situation, why does exercise have such an effect on stress?

Exercise has a direct influence on the amount of endorphins, the brains ‘feel-good' neurotransmitters, created in the pituitary gland and hypothalamus. The endorphins induce a ‘high' that relaxes the feelings of stress that you have. So, as well as helping to build up your general health and fitness you will be giving yourself a ‘shot' of happiness.

Remember that it doesn't take a lot of exercise to start to feel the benefits and bring about a certain amount of stress relief. The more exercise you do the better you'll feel and the less stressed you'll be. Of course exercise along won't take away the problem that's causing your stress - but it will put you in a better frame of mind to be able to deal with it.

Spend a few minutes each day to do some form of exercise and start to feel the benefits both physically and mentally, beginning today.

The amount of exercise, or any other strenuous activity you perform during the day, will have a bearing on how you sleep at night. The reason why you'll sleep better when you've been more active during the day is because you'll be burning up more energy, meaning you shouldn't be left with an excess that'll keep you awake at night.

You should, however, make sure that you aren't doing any exercising in the three to fours hours just before you go to bed, this is because the exercise will release endorphins into your body and they'll work as a stimulant - so you're brain will be too active to be able to relax and let you sleep properly.

The exercise you do during the day should add up to around 30 minutes. It doesn't have to be 30 minutes all in one session, if you have a busy schedule you could try to fit in three sessions of ten minutes. The exercise could be as simple as just going out for a walk during lunchtime when you might normally have just sat down to eat. If you have to take some form of public transport to get to work you could try getting off one stop earlier. If you're a Mom looking after a small child why not take them out for a short walk if you have one or two groceries to get? There's a number of ways that you can fit a small amount of walking into your day.

The aim of any of the exercise that you're doing is to increase your heart rate through aerobic exercise. This will increase the amount of blood being pumped around your body and help to release the stress relieving endorphins that will relax you - although you may not feel too relaxed at the time.

So, by doing three ten minute sessions of activity that increase your heat rate you can improve your sleep. Remember it doesn't mean you have to go out and buy any expensive fitness equipment or join a gym, just slightly adjusting your normal routine may be enough to give you that peaceful night's sleep you're after.