Ally Dowsing-Reynolds

I exercise mainly for mental health

I don’t know about you, but I have an up and down relationship with exercise. I know how good it is for me…not just my physical fitness, but my mental health. But it’s not always that easy to get the motivation to do it. I’m not a natural gym bunny.

The biggest change for me happened not that long before the last Lockdown. I managed to stop looking at exercise primarily as a way of losing weight and started caring much more about it’s effect on my mind. On having good mental health. And if I got a bit fitter at the same time? great…but that’s not the main aim.

For me, making what feels like a slight change of emphasis, made a huge difference to my motivation. I ended up buying a Peloton during the last lockdown (spin is pretty much the only exercises, other than walking) that I really enjoy. And pretty much most of the time, I’ve felt much more motivated and happy doing exercise. For the first time in my life.

But, what happens when we just don’t feel like it? Lockdown? Time of the month? No real reason….it’s just cold outside?

This article in Vogue and a great podcast from Dr Rangan Chattergee helps to frame a few things for me.

When exercise doesn’t feel like it’s helping… or you feel guilty for not doing it

Yes, exercise is important…but if you don’t feel it’s helping your mental state? Then don’t do it today.

If you’re very emotionally stressed and exercise isn’t helping, then a week off might do you the power of good; you sometimes find that you take time off and your body feels so much better after that circuit break.

Adrienne Herbert, personal trainer, podcast host and author

And if you ever feel guilty for not moving as much, this is a great listen – this long, but really interesting podcast really digs into how we evolved as humans in relation to exercise:

Yes, exercise is good for our mental health

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Physical activity increases time spent in deep sleep, the most physically restorative sleep phase.

Deep sleep helps to boost immune function, support cardiac health, and control stress and anxiety.

Natalie Pennicotte-Collier, a sleep expert who works with elite athletes

What happens when we stop exercising?

After about 5 days, we start to see negative effects from not doing exercise…

Various studies show that you see health compromises after about five days or so

Dr Kelly Bowden Davies – lecturer in exercise physiology from Manchester Metropolitan University

Working out creates proteins which can help protect your brain from stress-induced depression.
So when you stop working out, you can miss out on these natural anti-depressants.

Vogue, referring to recent research in the New England Journal of Medicine

After ten days, we see a reduction in learning and memory…

When researchers scanned the brains of fit older athletes, they found that blood flow to the athletes’ brains — particularly to the hippocampus, a structure involved in learning and memory — dropped significantly after a 10-day exercise hiatus

Vogue, looking at University of Maryland research

And after two weeks, we start to see bigger effects…

When 40 regular exercisers stopped working out for two weeks, they experienced increased levels of depression, tension and anger

Vogue, quoting a study in Psychosomatic Medicine.

So, how do we get going again?

When we’ve had a day or two off it’s not so bad….but a week and more and it can feels daunting to get going again. I struggled to get back into my Peloton after being on holiday. A ten day break was enough to dim my motivation again and I had to try hard to remember all the benefits for my mind.

Little and often. Don’t feel like you’ve got to do exactly what you were doing before. You’ll quickly get back there. Start small to build up your motivation and get going again.

20 minutes, three to four times a week” – is better than one hour, once a week.

Dr Bowden Davies

…and it might take less time than you think to get going again:

After two weeks of slobbing out, researchers found that it just took the participants another two weeks to get back to normal.

Dr Bowden Davies

And walking is just as good as a gym session to start moving again. Walking is great for mental health.

I hope some of these facts from experts and the podcast can give you the view that you shouldn’t be hard on yourself and that you can get going again if you stop.

Ally

Ally is co-owner at award-winning home decor brand and retailer, Dowsing & Reynolds. Her passions include design (and how it affects us), style and neuroscience.

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