On this Mental Health Day, it's essential to reflect on the best practices to promote the psychological well-being that enables us to deal with daily emotional challenges. The society we live in is characterised by vertigo, hyperstimulation and a need for urgency, generating a state of alertness and hyperactivation that is not beneficial to mental health. On the other hand, growing scientific evidence has come to value the role of exercise (EX) and physical activity (PA) as a valuable tool in promoting mental health. As such, it will be interesting to see how motor activities can generate emotional resilience and reduce symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression.
In order to achieve these positive therapeutic effects, the intensity and quantity of the physical stimulus must be appropriate. Only the right dose will trigger the physiological, biochemical and psychological mechanisms involved in exercise, and with them healthy brain function and emotional balance. Some of these mechanisms triggered by motor activities can be seen in the direct and indirect regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HHA) axis, the orchestrator of the stress response; and also in the increased production of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, endorphins, all of which are known to influence mood and feelings of well-being.
The impact of EX and PA extends beyond the mechanical aspects of muscle contraction, which are regulated by biochemical processes, and also affects places far from the muscle, particularly the brain, more specifically the areas that regulate cognition and emotions. But how can exercise be useful for mental health? Specifically, with regard to psychological impact, exercise works in two main ways: through distraction theory and self-efficacy theory. In the case of the former, physical exercise appears as a healthy distraction, inhibiting the standard mental process, which is essentially dysfunctional. With this mental pause, the positive effects of a sense of control and personal fulfilment emerge, which had previously been overshadowed. In the case of the second theory, the feeling of efficacy and improved self-esteem, which promotes proper management of emotions, thus promoting physical and psychological well-being.
On this Mental Health Day, we're taking the opportunity to highlight the relevance of the topic, as well as the importance of practising conscious exercise in order to improve people's quality of life and their physical and mental health.
Eduardo André
Exercise Physiologist
Master in Exercise and Health
Technical Director Hi Well Wellness Centre
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