Exercise Your Stress Away!

Even if you’re not facing a lot of stress, you should still aim to exercise at least 5 times a week. The benefits of exercise are just too good to miss out on. Let’s look at how exercise benefits you – exercise your stress away.

1. Your cardiovascular strength increases
2. It improves your mood
3. Great for relieving tension and stress
4. Strengthens your bones
5. Prevents the risks of many diseases
6. Lowers your cholesterol levels and blood pressure
7. Improves blood circulation
8. Helps with weight loss

These benefits are just the tip of the iceberg. From a few of the points above, you’ll notice that exercise can directly reduce your stress levels.

When you engage in exercise, you’ll use up the adrenalin in your body which will make you feel less tense. Your body will also release endorphins and you’ll feel happier. Exercise gives you a natural high. That’s why some people are addicted to it.

Your sleep will improve. Since sleep has been shown to lead to reduced cortisol levels (stress hormone) in your body later in the day, you’ll feel less stressed out when you wake up.

A common reaction to stress is the ‘fight or flight’ response. If you’re very stressed out, your palms may feel sweaty and your heartbeat may accelerate. This is the body’s way of preparing you to either run or fight.

Human beings have evolved to react in this way. The problem now is that most people lead sedentary lifestyles and never actually burn off the nervous energy within them.

High-intensity exercise sessions will help to use up the nervous energy and make you feel relaxed. Some contact sports like boxing, kickboxing, lifting heavy weights, etc. will allow you to exert and vent your pent-up frustrations.

When you’re exhausted after a hard workout, you’ll not have the energy to be angry or frustrated. You’ll be basking in the afterglow of the workout. This is a fantastic way to beat stress. Not only to reduce stress, but you can also read How to Exercise to Lose Weight here. 

It’s important to remember that exercise doesn’t just mean running on the treadmill, doing sit-ups or lifting weights. Many people have a very narrow definition of exercise and it’s this misconception that prevents so many of them from being more active.

Any activity that raises your heart rate for a period of about 10 to 30 minutes can be considered exercise. You do not need to only choose an activity you hate just because everyone considers it as exercise.

There are hundreds of different types of activities to choose from. You could cycle, surf, swim, rock climb, hike, do CrossFit, kickboxing, karate, Krav Maga, etc. Pick an activity you enjoy. Read more about How to Feel Good With Exercise here.

Exercise should relieve stress and not cause you to have more stress. The exercise session is a time for you to get away from the worries of the world. When you’re moving, you won’t have time to think about what’s stressing you out.

This is one reason why you should choose higher intensity exercises to fully occupy your mind. While some people may find long walks calming, others may find themselves contemplating their problems even more.

If you’re one of these people, choose the faster workouts. You do not want to be thinking too much while training.

The workout session should be a brief respite from the troubles that weigh you down. Once your workout is over, you’ll feel much better and be ready to take on the world.