4 Ways that Exercise Can Boost Your Mental Health!

Being in an on-and-off lockdown has had a drastic effect on people’s mental health. The lack of routine and stimulation causes people to feel unmotivated, stressed, and anxious. So, how do we tackle those issues? The best way to improve your mental health during the lockdown is to make small and easy changes to your daily life – one step at a time. A great way to do that is by introducing more exercise to your routine!

By simply working out for 30-minutes every day, you will start to feel happier, relaxed and more focused. But what is it about exercise that makes us feel so good?

The ‘Feel-Good Hormone’!

To put it simply, exercise releases endorphins or the ‘feel-good hormone’. Endorphins are a natural painkiller. They reduce stress, boost pleasure and generally promote well-being – perfect for tackling those lockdown blues. It only takes 20-30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise to boost your body’s production of endorphins… that could be taking a brisk walk on the treadmill or even a short-cycle workout!

Some Much-Needed Structure…

Lockdown has thrown our daily routines completely off-course. This lack of structure means we have less to focus on and makes us feel like we should be more productive, which increases our stress and anxiety levels. Creating structured elements in our lives boosts productivity, focus and improves motivation – which helps with our work life too. Scheduling a daily workout into your routine can help to provide that much-needed structure to your day.

Feeling Accomplished!

Exercise has numerous physical benefits: improving endurance, losing weight, gaining muscle tone, the list goes on! These accomplishments can boost our confidence and self-esteem.  With regular exercise, we start to feel better about ourselves and become less self-critical. That confidence is so important in staying optimistic during this lockdown.

Improve Your Sleep…

During lockdown, we’ve generally been sleeping for longer but losing out on our quality of sleep. For the most part, this is due to our natural body-clocks being out of sync and the uncertainty of the future. Whilst we can’t predict the future, we can do something to help improve our sleep cycle! Even low-intensity exercise, for example, a 30-minute walk or casual cycle, can greatly help to regulate our circadian rhythm – which controls when we feel tired and awake. What’s better? You get instant results. Exercise helps the brain to wind down and relax, meaning you get a better night’s sleep from day one.

Even though the gyms may be closed, exercising at home has never been easier – especially with Fit4Home®. We have a range of equipment to suit your fitness goals and level; whether you’re a fitness fanatic or just starting out! Shop all of our equipment here.