We all know that exercise is good for our physical health, but did you know that it can also boost your mood and mental well-being? Whether you’re feeling stressed, anxious, or depressed, or just want to feel happier and more relaxed, exercise can help you achieve that. In this post, I’ll explain how exercise affects your brain and mood, and share some tips on how to make exercise a regular part of your life.
How Exercise Affects Your Brain and Mood
Exercise has many benefits for your brain and mood, such as:
- Releasing feel-good chemicals. When you exercise, your brain produces endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, and endocannabinoids. These are natural substances that can make you feel happy, calm, and euphoric. They can also reduce pain and inflammation in your body.
- Reducing stress hormones. Exercise can lower the levels of cortisol and adrenaline in your body. These are hormones that are released when you’re under stress or in danger. They can make you feel anxious, nervous, or irritable. By reducing these hormones, exercise can help you cope with stress better and feel more relaxed.
- Improving blood flow and oxygen. Exercise can increase the blood flow and oxygen to your brain. This can improve your cognitive functions, such as memory, attention, and learning. It can also protect your brain from aging and diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and dementia.
- Stimulating new brain cells. Exercise can stimulate the growth of new brain cells and connections in the hippocampus. This is the part of the brain that is responsible for emotions, memory, and learning. It is also one of the areas that is most affected by depression. By increasing the size and activity of the hippocampus, exercise can enhance your mood and prevent or reverse depression.
How to Make Exercise a Regular Part of Your Life
Now that you know how exercise can improve your mood, you might be wondering how to start or maintain an exercise routine. Here are some tips to help you:
- Find an activity that you enjoy. The best exercise for you is the one that you like and can stick to. It doesn’t have to be something intense or complicated, and once you learn how to stay motivated to exercise, it just becomes a healthy habit. These activities can be anything that gets you moving and raises your heart rate, such as walking, jogging, biking, dancing, swimming, yoga, or gardening.
- Set realistic goals and track your progress. Having a clear goal and a way to measure it can motivate you to exercise more. If you’re just starting out, you don’t need to join a gym and can even get fit at home. For example, you can aim to walk 10,000 steps a day, do yoga, or resistance train with dumbbells. You can use a fitness tracker or an app to monitor your steps, distance, calories burned, heart rate, and other metrics.
- Schedule your workouts and make them a priority. Treat your exercise time as an important appointment that you can’t miss. Plan ahead when and where you will work out each week and put it on your calendar. Try to exercise at the same time every day to create a habit.
- Find a buddy or a coach. Having someone to exercise with or report to can make you more accountable and less likely to skip your workouts. You can ask a friend, a family member, or a co-worker to join you for a walk or a class. Or you can hire a personal fitness coach or sign up for an online fitness program that provides coaching and support.
Stay Motivated and Accountable with Future
One of the online fitness programs that I recommend is Future. Future.co is an app that matches you with one of the best personal trainers in the country who builds workouts just for you based on your goals, fitness level, and equipment availability. You get unlimited workouts delivered straight to your phone and constant feedback from your coach via text or video calls.
What I love about Future.co is that their coaches use a holistic approach to online personal fitness coaching with Future clients. They don’t just focus on the physical aspects of exercise but also on the mental and emotional ones. They help you overcome any barriers or challenges that might prevent you from exercising regularly such as lack of time, motivation, confidence, or support.
They also help you develop a positive mindset and attitude towards exercise by celebrating your achievements, encouraging you to have fun, and reminding you of the benefits of exercise for your mood and well-being.
I’ve been using Future for two years now and I’ve seen amazing results, not only in my body but also in my mood. I feel happier, calmer, more energetic, and more confident than ever before.
Future Black Friday/Cyber Monday Offer!
If you’re interested in trying Future for yourself, they have a special offer for my readers: For a limited time, your first month of Future is just $50! That’s a huge discount from their regular price of $150 per month.
I hope this post has inspired you to exercise more and improve your mood. Remember, exercise is not only good for your body but also for your mind and soul. So, get moving and get happy!
Kama unavyojua, mazoezi ni muhimu kwa afya yako ya mwili, lakini je, unajua kwamba inaweza pia kuongeza hali yako ya akili? Iwe unahisi mkazo, wasiwasi, au mshuko wa moyo, au unataka tu kuhisi furaha na kupumzika zaidi, mazoezi yanaweza kukusaidia kufikia hilo. Katika chapisho hili, nitaelezea jinsi mazoezi yanavyoathiri ubongo wako na hali ya moyo, na kushiriki vidokezo juu ya jinsi ya kufanya mazoezi sehemu ya kawaida ya maisha yako. Mazoezi ya mwili yana faida nyingi kwa ubongo na hisia zako, kama vile: - Kutolewa kwa kemikali za kujisikia vizuri. Wakati wa mazoezi ya mwili, ubongo hutokeza endorphins, serotonin, dopamine, na endocannabinoids. Hizi ni vitu vya asili vinavyoweza kukufanya uhisi furaha, utulivu, na furaha. Pia inaweza kupunguza maumivu na uvimbe katika mwili wako. - Kupunguza homoni za mkazo. Mazoezi ya mwili yanaweza kupunguza viwango vya cortisol na adrenaline katika mwili wako. Hizi ni homoni ambazo hutolewa unapokuwa chini ya mkazo au katika hatari. Zinaweza kukufanya uhisi kuwa na wasiwasi, wasiwasi, au kukasirika. Kwa kupunguza homoni hizo, mazoezi ya mwili yanaweza kukusaidia kukabiliana na mkazo na kujisikia mtulivu zaidi. - Kuboresha mtiririko wa damu na oksijeni. Mazoezi ya mwili yanaweza kuongeza mtiririko wa damu na oksijeni kwenye ubongo wako. Hilo laweza kuboresha utendaji wako wa utambuzi, kama vile kumbukumbu, uangalifu, na kujifunza. Pia inaweza kulinda ubongo wako kutokana na kuzeeka na magonjwa, kama vile ugonjwa wa Alzheimer's na dementia. - Kuchochea chembe mpya za ubongo. Mazoezi yaweza kuchochea ukuzi wa chembe mpya za ubongo na viunganishi katika hippocampus. Hii ni sehemu ya ubongo inayohusika na hisia, kumbukumbu, na kujifunza. Pia ni mojawapo ya maeneo yanayoathiriwa zaidi na mshuko wa moyo. Kwa kuongeza ukubwa na utendaji wa hippocampus, mazoezi ya mwili yanaweza kuboresha hali yako ya moyo na kuzuia au kurekebisha mshuko wa moyo. Jinsi ya kufanya mazoezi ya kawaida katika maisha yako Sasa kwa kuwa unajua jinsi mazoezi ya mwili yanaweza kuboresha hali yako ya moyo, huenda ukajiuliza jinsi ya kuanza au kudumisha mazoezi ya kawaida. Hapa kuna vidokezo kadhaa vinavyoweza kukusaidia: - Tafuta shughuli unayopenda. Mazoezi bora ni yale unayopenda na unaweza kuyafanya. Si lazima iwe kitu kigumu au ngumu, na mara tu unapojifunza jinsi ya kukaa na msukumo wa kufanya mazoezi, inakuwa tu tabia nzuri. Unaweza kufanya shughuli za mwili ambazo zinakufanya uendelee kusonga na kuongeza msukumo wa moyo kama vile kutembea, kukimbia, kuendesha baiskeli, kucheza dansi, kuogelea, kufanya yoga, au kufanya kazi za bustani. - Weka miradi halisi na ufuatilie maendeleo yako. Kuwa na lengo la wazi na njia ya kulipima kunaweza kukuhamasisha kufanya mazoezi zaidi. Kama wewe ni tu kuanza nje, huna haja ya kujiunga na mazoezi na unaweza hata kupata fit nyumbani. Kwa mfano, unaweza kutembea hatua 10,000 kwa siku, kufanya mazoezi ya yoga, au kufanya mazoezi ya nguvu kwa kutumia dumbbells. Unaweza kutumia kifaa cha kufuatilia mazoezi au programu ili kufuatilia hatua zako, umbali, kalori zilizochomwa, kiwango cha moyo, na takwimu nyinginezo. - Panga mazoezi yako na kuyafanya yawe ya kwanza. Tumia wakati wako wa kufanya mazoezi kama miadi muhimu ambayo huwezi kukosa. Panga mapema wakati na mahali utakapofanya mazoezi kila juma na uandike kwenye kalenda yako. Jaribu kufanya mazoezi wakati uleule kila siku ili uwe na zoea hilo. - Kupata rafiki au mkufunzi. Kuwa na mtu wa kufanya mazoezi na au kuripoti kwa inaweza kufanya wewe zaidi kuwajibika na chini ya uwezekano wa kuruka workouts yako. Unaweza kumwomba rafiki, mtu wa familia, au mfanyakazi mwenzako aende pamoja nawe kutembea au kwenda darasani. Unaweza kuajiri mkufunzi wa mazoezi ya mwili au kujiandikisha kwenye programu ya mazoezi ya mwili ya mtandaoni ambayo hutoa mafunzo na msaada. Kuwa na ujasiri na kuwa na uwezo wa kufanya mazoezi ya mwili - Programu ya mazoezi ya mwili ya mtandao ambayo unaweza kuitumia kwa muda mrefu ni Future. Future.co ni programu ya kibinafsi ambayo inakuunganisha na mmoja wa waalimu bora wa kibinafsi nchini ambao hujenga mazoezi kwa ajili yako tu kulingana na malengo yako, kiwango cha mazoezi, na upatikanaji wa vifaa. Unapata mafunzo yasiyo na kikomo moja kwa moja kwenye simu yako na maoni ya mara kwa mara kutoka kwa kocha wako kupitia simu za maandishi au video. Kwa mfano, Future.com ni tovuti ya mafunzo ya kibinafsi ambayo inatoa mafunzo ya kibinafsi ya fitness kwa wateja wa Future. Wao hukazia fikira si tu mambo ya kimwili ya mazoezi bali pia mambo ya kiakili na ya kihisia-moyo. Kuondoa vizuizi au changamoto ambazo zinaweza kukuzuia kufanya mazoezi mara kwa mara, kama vile ukosefu wa wakati, motisha, ujasiri, au msaada. Pia, wanakusaidia kukuza mtazamo mzuri na mtazamo wa mazoezi kwa kusherehekea mafanikio yako, kukuhimiza ufurahie, na kukukumbusha faida za mazoezi kwa hali yako na ustawi. Nimekuwa nikitumia Future kwa miaka miwili sasa na nimeona matokeo ya kushangaza, sio tu katika mwili wangu lakini pia katika hali yangu ya moyo. Ninajisikia mwenye furaha zaidi, mwenye utulivu zaidi, mwenye nguvu zaidi, na mwenye uhakika zaidi kuliko wakati mwingine wowote. Maendeleo ya Ijumaa Nyeusi / Jumatatu ya Mtandao Inatoa! Ikiwa una nia ya kujaribu Future kwa ajili yako mwenyewe, wana ofa maalum kwa wasomaji wangu: Kwa muda mdogo, mwezi wako wa kwanza wa Future ni $ 50 tu! Hiyo ni punguzo kubwa kutoka bei yao ya kawaida ya $ 150 kwa mwezi. Natumaini makala hii imekupa msukumo wa kufanya mazoezi zaidi na kuboresha hali yako ya moyo. Kumbuka, mazoezi si mazuri kwa mwili wako tu bali pia kwa akili na nafsi yako. Kwa hiyo, endelea na uwe na furaha!