Health Care For Your Mind With Exercise

​Casandra Gong

Many people have experienced a decline in mental health and well-being during the pandemic, with a recent survey suggesting a 30% increase in adults experiencing anxiety or depression compared with early 2019. This mental health decline may have potentially been compounded by gyms shutting down to adhere to public health mandates. There are many psychological advantages of exercise, but there is little widespread awareness of these mental health-related benefits. Countless studies have shown that people who are more physically active experience a “mood enhancing effect” from exercise.  

Specifically, it has been found that people with diabetes are more likely to develop depression, and vice versa; however, exercise can be a powerful intervention that can end this feedback loop. Adherence to a regular exercise program can treat both depression and type 2 diabetes (T2D); in a study done among adults with T2D and depression who engaged in a 12-week cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention program, blood sugar and depression levels significantly improved in those who adhered to the program.
 
Regular workouts can also help people feel less prone to anxiety during fight-or-flight reactions. Exercise shares similarities with exposure therapy, as the body regularly goes through similar physiological reactions as when they are anxious: sweating, increased heart rate and rapid breathing rate. Mental health professionals agree that using exercise to complement traditional therapies can enhance mental health outcomes for patients.
 
There are systemic and biochemical benefits to exercise in the short term as well. Exercise can increase serotonin, which boosts an individual’s mood and can normalize sleep by temporarily increasing the level of neuromodulators in the body, which increase feelings of tranquility. Long-term biochemical benefits of regular exercise include the growth of new blood vessels to nourish the brain, stimulation of new brain cell development, and an increase in the volume of the hippocampus, which improves working memory and focus. These neurobiological changes in people who exercise also include benefits for those with neurodegenerative disorders. For example, Parkinson’s disease affects balance, movement of joints and limbs, the ability to speak and swallow, and the speed of movement. Parkinson's patients who regularly participate in focused exercises like aerobics, flexibility training, weightlifting, and agility training slowed disease progression and had increased mobility for everyday activities, while also reducing stress and depression.
 
It can be hard to find motivation to start an exercise routine, but the countless mental health and neurobiological benefits that regular exercise can provide us provide additional motivation beyond more traditional and well-known physical health benefits. Even just 30 minutes of movement a day, 3-5 times a week, can have a positive and immediate impact on your happiness while reducing anxiety and depression.

About the Author:

Casandra Gong is a rising third-year undergraduate student at The University of Massachusetts, Amherst studying Microbiology with a minor in Sociology. She plans to pursue a career in public health and healthcare. In her free time, Casandra is an instrumentalist and coordinator for UMass Amherst Lion Dance (UMassALD), an East-Asian cultural lion dance performance group.