Kenneth Gardner
JOHN CAME home feeling depressed and irritable after he had spent all day unsuccessfully trying to mend sharp differences between two of his key department heads. After fighting traffic for two hours on the way home, he felt he needed to clear his mind. He slipped on his jogging shoes and went out for a 30-minute jog down the road. By the time he returned home he felt completely different. His mind felt relaxed, his mood was elevated and all his built-up tension was eased. He did some stretching then showered later. He cannot remember having a more restful and peaceful sleep.
Joan felt depressed. She had just received some disappointing news about her examination results. As a first-year university student she was extremely worried about her chances of surviving in her programme. She similarly arrived home after commuting for hours. She went up the road for a brisk 40-minute walk. By the time she returned home, her spirits were lifted, her depression was gone and she felt invigorated and empowered to overcome her challenges.
EXERCISE ANXIETY AWAY
There are numerous reports of how exercise, playing a sport or game or some form of physical recreational activity have helped to relieve mental anxiety, depression and other negative stressful experiences. This cause us to ponder the positive relationship between the physical activities and our mind. The area of the brain that enables us to exercise is extremely close to that part of the brain that deals with our thoughts and feelings. Thus, when we exercise, the physical activity stimulates the area of the brain that impacts our emotions as well.
Being chronically anxious, depressed or distressed is associated with deterioration of health. Our response to factors that demand some reaction or change in our behaviour on an on-going basis leads to increased lifestyle diseases. Negative stress and negative psychosocial events are positively related to deterioration in our wellness. Low levels of wellness are associated with our struggles to survive. Most individuals report that they feel good or feel better after vigorous exercise sessions. Situations or experiences that make us feel depressed, wear us down and weaken our defences against diseases.
Exercise stimulates the brain to produce endorphins, which function like the drug morphine. Morphine helps to relieve us of the sensation of pain and its associated discomforts. Endorphins similarly help us to endure pain and increase our sense of well being. It slows down your heart rate and lowers your blood pressure, which helps to moderate the negative effects of stress. When your body is subjected to unusual demands, endorphins are released by your brain to help you to cope. Thus, if you exercise regularly you are better able to cope more efficiently with regular stressful experiences.
Incidentally, all stress is not the same, there are some stressful experiences that are good, such as exercise, these kinds of stress are called eustress. Stress that is negative, bad or disruptive can be considered as distress. Our bodies experience eustress during physical exercise, recreational activities and playing sports and games that we enjoy. When we overdo or overload ourselves during these activities our body shuts down its production of endorphins and produce other types of stress hormones that are not beneficial in the reduction of our distress so we experience degrees of discomfort.
DO SOMETHING RECREATIONAL
Endorphins have addictive capabilities that are responsible for the euphoria that we experience from our participation in exercise and the attachment that we develop to exercise and recreational activities that we enjoy. Exercises, sports, games and recreational activities are included in the protocol that we use to overcome addiction to prescription and illicit drugs.
The next time you feel depressed or like you are losing control or that life is getting the better of you, take a little time out to do something recreational. This can help to clear your thoughts to deal more rationally with the challenges ahead.
Kenneth Gardner is an exercise physiologist at the G.C. Foster College of Physical Education; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.
