how physical health helps mental health

Physical health and mental well-being are inextricably intertwined. If you have a physical injury, lose mobility or are simply under the weather due to illness, then your mental health may suffer. This can be short-term, for the duration of the illness, or it can be longer lasting. 

Good physical health supports resilient mental health. Here’s why.

Why is physical health important for your mental health?

We now understand that physical health and mental health go hand-in-hand. Your brain is an organ of your body like any other. Just like other parts of your body, it can respond well to tailored physical activity. While being fit is no guarantee that you won’t develop depression, suffer low moods or other mental health conditions, it can give you added resilience.

Staying fit, getting outdoors, eating well and other factors that contribute to good physical health have also been shown to be beneficial to mental health. Physical activity can help prevent mental health problems from developing while improving the quality of life and aiding the recovery of anyone experiencing mental health problems.

Physical activity enhances our mood

Physical activity has been shown to raise our mood and make us happier. Even a short burst of activity, such as 10 minutes of walking, can make us more alert, raise our mood and give us more energy. By participating in regular physical activity, we can increase self-esteem, while reducing anxiety and stress levels.

Whether you’re a top athlete or someone with a busy life looking to be fitter, building regular physical activity into your routine can make you happier.

Tackling stress through good physical health

Good physical health and physical activity can help us to combat the effects of stress. If we are going through a difficult time, such as bereavement, moving house, changing jobs or a relationship breakup, our body’s defences create a stress response. This can make us feel a variety of deeply uncomfortable physical symptoms, which in turn make us behave differently.

Our emotions may become more intense. Stress can manifest itself through problems with our sleep and loss of appetite. It releases the hormones, adrenaline and noradrenaline which raise our blood pressure and increase our heart rate.

Physical exercise can help to reduce the symptoms of stress, lowering the flow of cortisol and other stress hormones. Research into highly active individuals has revealed that they have lower stress levels than less active people.

Staying healthy in later life

Physical activity and health in mid-life can help you live longer and enjoy a better quality of life in your later years. Improvements in healthcare have increased life expectancy with a growing population of people over 65 years.

As life expectancy has increased, so too has the number of people suffering from cognitive decline and dementia. Progressive loss of memory can impact concentration and attention, making it more difficult for people to enjoy the activities they had hoped to do during their retirement. Cognitive decline can lead to them becoming increasingly inactive, which in turn can create other mental health problems such as depression.

While dementia is a complicated condition with a range of hereditary and lifestyle factors, physical activity has been shown to lower the risk of developing dementia. For older adults, daily physical activity has been shown to reduce the risk of depression and dementia by up to 30%.  It can slow down the rate of decline in people who have dementia while also reducing the likelihood of a cognitive decline in those who do not have the condition.

By developing healthy physical activity habits during your middle years and maintaining these into retirement and beyond, you can help reduce the risk of significant cognitive decline and enjoy the things you love for longer.

How do you get started?

It’s clear that being physically active is about more than just improving your physical health. It can also help you feel better mentally, reduce the risk of depression, make you more focused and help you get more out of life.

If you’re going from a largely sedentary to a more active lifestyle it’s important not to rush. Set yourself achievable goals and targets and choose an activity that works for you. Many people like running because it’s simple and you can fit it around your lifestyle. Others prefer the social aspects of team sports, which in themselves can help boost your overall well-being.

How a coach can help

While you may not have any ambitions to become a top athlete, working with a coach can help you build a healthy lifestyle and get more from your chosen physical activity. They can work on your motivation, helping you set goals, overcome barriers and achieve new heights of physical fitness. Even if you haven’t exercised regularly for some time, a coach can be the missing ingredient that helps you make lasting changes to your lifestyle.

If you’re struggling to find the energy and motivation to undertake physical activity then why not consider working with a coach?

Doing so as the potential to change your life.