How to Deal With Depression and Stress With Exercise

You probably know the physical benefits associated with exercising: weight loss and minimized risk of weight related health disorder such as diabetes. However the benefits of exercise extend beyond the physical body, for the mind and body are intimately connected and mutually influential; neither works without impacting the other. When you are sad and angry it can affect your body. When you have low blood sugar it can affect your mood.

One mood that is both universally experienced and universally dreaded by humans is stress. Stress makes you crabby and unproductive. It causes you to fight with those you love and feel angry at yourself. It is no fun. Stress is quite simply a nightmare.

The good news is that you can combat stress by engaging in regular exercise. Exercise is a natural and healthy stimulant. As the endorphins course through your body, chemicals that boost your mood, such as serotonin, are released in large quantities naturally. Your body heats up and as your core body temperature increases it has the same effect on your brain and mood as a hot bath-you start to feel naturally relaxed and almost Zen.

The benefits of exercise are not just a quick mood fix either. If you engage in regular exercise, you will find that your overall stress levels decrease and that the overall quality of your moods increases.

Don't forget, however, that to maximize the stress-inhibiting benefits of exercise you need to be eating properly. Eating junk food and processed or refined sugars and grains will do nothing but detract from your mood and cancel out all the mood-enhancing benefits of exercise. Make sure you are building healthy eating habits that hone in on lean proteins such as salmon and legumes, green and colorful veggies, fruits, and healthy unrefined grains such as brown rice and quinoa. How does the platitude go...you are what you eat or something like that? Well it is true-you really are what you eat and if you eat mood crashing foods, no matter how much you exercise, you will probably still find that you are one crabby puppy.

If you are interested in lowering your stress levels and getting on the track to a healthier, happier you, then it is never too late to start. You can always drop old habits and build up new ones. If you feel that you need a bit of extra help with all of this then look into the habit-changing benefits of practices such as hypnotherapy. All of the tools are at your disposal. Now it is only up to you to make the necessary, healthy changes!