Benefits of Mental Health & Fitness
By:At RockBox Fitness, we’re excited that improving mental health continues to be an important factor in people’s lives. This focus on self-awareness is particularly significant in light of the considerable increase in mental health issues in the post-pandemic era. When we recognize the steps to take toward a better well-being, it becomes easier to implement them into a routine that will benefit our personal and professional selves.
How Fitness Promotes Good Mental Health
Whether you struggle with mental health or not, the positive results make physical fitness a reliable tool to incorporate into your lifestyle. And getting active is shown to help prevent some mental illnesses before they set in, which means there’s nothing to lose and only benefits to gain.
Exercise Helps Depression and Anxiety
Naturally, being active regularly helps to tone muscles and clear complexions. But it brings so much more, benefits that go deeper – like boosting your mood and lending to a decrease in depression and anxiety. That’s because the endorphins we produce during exercise create natural cannabis-like brain chemicals that promote feelings of happiness. In fact, a recent Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health study shows that either running for 15 minutes or walking for an hour a day reduces the risk of major depression by 26%.
Plus, as you’re moving and focusing, you’re clearing space in your mind from the relentless worries and negative thoughts. You can use exercise as a form of natural treatment for anxiety, and it works best if you do your best not to zone out while you work out. Whether you concentrate on counting steps, feeling the breeze on your face, or breathwork, having a focus maximizes your results.
Exercise Improves Sleep
Nothing sets you up for a good day like some solid sleep the night before. And exercise can help! Though we don’t recommend that you work out too close to bedtime, getting active helps to regulate your body’s circadian rhythm, which is its built-in alarm system to let your body know when to feel tired versus alert.
By naturally increasing body temperature through exercise, you’ll find a calming effect on the mind to help ease into a restful slumber and wake feeling more refreshed.
Exercise Boosts Brainpower
Through a process called neurogenesis, cardiovascular workouts are proven to create new brain cells. Not only does this boost brain performance, but it also helps to prevent memory loss. Getting in regular workouts strengthens the hippocampus, which is the part of the brain that handles learning and memory. Essentially, this means if you’re feeling stuck on a big life decision or can’t come up with the creativity necessary to accomplish a task, a quick workout might make all the difference in elevating your mental energy.
The RockBox Fitness Difference
We’re here to offer more than a quick gym experience. With nutrition guidance, accountability coaching, and complete transformation programs, our coaches are ready to help you stay committed to improving your physical and mental health. We know it’s not always easy. That’s why we come together as a group to inspire and motivate one another. No one that joins our classes is joining as a number – everyone is welcome, appreciated, and accepted. Setting and crushing goals together keeps us going, and the support holds everyone accountable.
Sometimes, the hardest part of being active is actually getting there. Try one of our 50-minute classes for free! You’ll have a chance to find your rhythm with one of our high-energy kickboxing workouts and see the difference it makes.