National Mental Health Month
Get Moving to Improve Mood!
One of the questions I am asked most frequently is, “How have you been able to be such a consistent exerciser for so many years?” My answer is, “I came to exercise for my body, but I stayed for my mind!” What I discovered decades ago about the anti-depressant, anti-anxiety effects of regular exercise has now been documented by solid scientific research. Exercise benefits are documented in three general categories: physical; general emotional well-being and spirituality; mental and cognitive effects. The physical benefits of increased strength, stamina, muscle tone, improved flexibility, better sleep, digestion and metabolism; a reduction in lifestyle-related diseases, and enhanced energy have been acknowledged for several decades. More recent discoveries include stress relief, emotional calming, emotional release, improved mental clarity, a sense of control and self efficacy, improved self-esteem, and optimism. No wonder over 90% of psychotherapists recommend exercise to their clients! (Working It Out – Using Exercise in Psychotherapy by Kate F. Hays, 1999).
It is challenging to find a word which accurately captures the complex relationship between movement and mind. I prefer to use bodymindspirit as reminder of the “seamlessness of self” (Hays). This view is a departure from the legacy of the mind-body split (dualism) proposed by Descartes and evidenced in the biomedical model of health care. However, it is recent scientific research which has begun to clarify the inseparable connections of bodymindspirit.
A total of more than 80 studies dating back to the 1980’s through the present have found exercise to be a beneficial anti-depressant both in the short and long term across all age categories and for both genders. The types of exercises most studied were walking, jogging, and strength training. The greater the length of exercise and the more sessions, the greater the mood improvement. Exercise proved to be superior to anti-depressants in the long term, and even more effective when combined with psychotherapy. (Hays) There have not been as of yet definitive studies on the exercise “dosing” needed to achieve and maintain the anti-depressant effects. However, 45 min. 4 times a week seems to appear often in the literature as an “average necessary dose” with some people needing a lower or higher “dose”. According to the 1996 US Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health, “physical activity may protect against the development of depression”.
If you are currently taking anti-depressants, I highly recommend Dr. Robert Hedaya’s book The Anti-Depressant Survival Program, Crown Pub. 2000. His book offers step by step guidance for integrating nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, and supplementation to correct imbalances that can be caused by anti-depressants while reducing their side effects. One of many important points made by Dr. Hedaya is that, “Persistent stressful life situations can counteract the beneficial effects of anti-depressants and prevent total recovery from your depression or medical condition.” (P137)
This brings us to the anti-anxiety benefits of exercise. Research in the field of heart disease has documented that stress kills. The powerful physiological effects of stress hormones elevate heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, and can contribute to obesity, (see the work of Dr. Pamela Peeke, Fight Fat After Forty Penguin, 2000), sexual dysfunction, cognitive difficulties such as trouble concentrating, depression of the immune system, and extreme fatigue as well as intensified cravings for sweets. For a better understanding of the effects of stress and to learn about “the relaxation response” read the work of the man who coined that phrase, Herbert Benson, M.D. (The Relaxation Response, Morrow, 1975) Since stress activates the “fight or flight” hormones, exercise is the perfect antidote to stress. Under stress, the body is prepared physiologically to move either to run from danger, or to fight off the threat. Problematically, most people remain sedentary or “frozen”, trapping the energy designed for movement in the muscles, creating even more tension. This leads to what Pamela Peeke, M.D. describes as the path to “stew and chew”. Aerobic exercise simulates “flight”, while strength training simulates “fight”. In other words, exercise is the perfect physiological stress buster! One of my personal favorites is to do slow repetitions of strength training exercises combined with slow yoga breathing (inhale through the nose, exhale through the nose slowly and deeply). Whatever stored tension is trapped in the muscles will be gone after that! Ideally, warm-up first with 20 minutes of aerobic activity, and follow with yoga to quiet the mind. The stressful situation may still be there when you’ve finished, but you will be able to deal with it with a clearer, calmer mindbodyspirit. In the words of Lily Tomlin, “For fast-acting relief, try slowing down!”
I also recommend Toughness Training for Life by sports psychologist Jim Loehr, Ed.D. Penguin,1993. Dr. Loehr, who has worked with over 100 world class athletes like Dan Jansen, offers a system of thinking, feeling, doing, and living that acknowledges that our strengths and our vulnerabilities are evidenced in our bodies, minds, hearts and spirits – and that we can use them all in a balanced blend of strength and resiliency in all aspects of life.
I like to think of exercise as a metaphor for dealing with the challenges of life:
Endurance: the ability to “go the distance”, to persist, to maintain the effort for as long as it takes.
Strength: to overcome obstacles; strength is about overcoming resistance – sometimes even our own resistance; it is about setting appropriate limits, for example on the amount of weight lifted, the number of repetitions, and also applies to other areas, like the strength to say “no” and to set appropriate boundaries.
Flexibility: the ability to move not only our joints, muscles and connective tissue through a full range of motion, but the ability to move through patterns of behavior without getting stuck; moving past rigid thought patterns. (There is no movement without movement!)
Balance: either when we are still, or in motion (static or dynamic) – to be centered and grounded, avoiding excesses of too much or too little. (food, work, etc.)
Co-ordination: the ability to integrate movements with one another in time and space; to integrate all aspects of the self-body, mind, heart, spirit.
Breathing: inhaling, exhaling—taking in what is needed, releasing what is not; if you have been neglecting your exercise needs, remember that you cannot continuously exhale – you need to breathe in, to nurture your self. If you are over-exercising, remember that just as it is necessary to inhale, it is also necessary to let go.
Rest: crucial for muscle recovery, and for restoration and renewal of our life’s resources. In the words of poet T.S. Eliot, “At the Still Point—there the Dance Is.”
(metaphors copyright, 1994, Linda Ciotola, M.Ed., CHES)
Finally, consider exercise as movement toward well being. Let your body ground you, let your mind teach you, let your heart guide you, and let your spirit soar!