This will be the last part of the series. I will provide you with some insights about exercise and mental health, feelings of impotence regarding weight changes, control-problems because of medication and illnesses and some conclusive thoughts in general. As usual, I’m going to provide some studies for further self-education.
You can find parts I, II, III and IV here.
Exercising and mental health
Wow. You made it. You have fought your way through four parts of nutrition science, numbers, statistics and more or less funny jokes. At least, I hope you did. If not, turn back and read the other parts; it’s kind of vital to do so, to understand this final piece as well. As promised in the last part, I’ll tell you now some things about mental health in combination with exercise. For me, personally, this is one of the most important aspects of all, if not THE most important. Not only, because I have to deal with my own share of mental issues, but because how literally life-changing (and maybe even saving) regular exercise can be.
We are living in interesting times. There are so many fascinating changes happening so fast around us, sometimes it’s hard to keep up. But even, if we manage to do so, the troubles of life can knock us down anyway. Many people are suffering from depression, anxiety, PTSD, borderline or other kinds of psychological health issues. The reasons are as extensive as the affected people, so for the sake of keeping it short, I’ll not dive deeper into the “why”. For now, it’s more important to show you one of the best ways, to treat those problems on your own and to prevent them, from becoming even more terrifying.
To make one thing clear beforehand: If you suffer from serious psychological issues, always consult a professional psychologist, get some proper medication, which can help you, in regaining some emotional stability and never rely on one kind of treatment alone. I’m writing about one way to help you with those kinds of problems, but neither is it the only one nor necessarily the best for your situation. This is merely a tool, which can help you (and most probably will), but it’s not the solution to all your problems.
Source
Brain chemistry
What happens in your brain, when you exercise?
Different studies suggest the idea, that working out enhances several neurotransmitters (NE, 5-HT, ACh, GABA) systems afferent to the hippocampus. This enhancement seems to have a positive, uplifting affect on the treated subjects (Ma, 2008) (1).
Through the course of exercise, different kinds of molecular and cellular cascades are getting activated, which are vital in supporting and maintaining brain plasticity. This means, especially the gene expression of related genes like BDNF (2) is induced, as well as the strengthening of the neuronal structure itself and its resistance to injury. It’s important to note again, that those effects are happening in the hippocampus – the area of the brain, which is strongly connected to learning and memory (Cotman et al., 2002) (3). So, if you want to get smarter – read books and work out.
Exercise as treatment
As mentioned above, there are different effects of exercise on your brain. But how do people actually feel about them?
Again, we can take a look at different studies to learn more. Penedo et al. (2005) (4) stated in a meta-study, that physical exercise can significantly improve the mood and reduce the symptoms of depression and anxiety. Even cases of major depression showed significant improvement in comparison to the participants just receiving a psychotropic treatment. Additionally, the risk of relapse in the exercise group was significantly lower than in the one with medical treatment. I can definitely relate to that out of personal experience. The one thing, which kept me emotionally stable over the last years, was regular exercise. For years, I was on different kinds of medication, but nothing really seemed to help to reduce the symptoms. Exercise did.
Please, don’t get me wrong here: Medication can be a great way to get control again, but sometimes there are even better ways. If you happen to be one of the cases, where medication is not as effective as it should be, I strongly recommend, to start working out.
In addition, there exists quite extensive research about brain aging and the increasing risk of developing dementia. One of the ways to reduce this risk can be exercise, especially for older people (Ahlskog et al.) (5).
Final thoughts
I am quite aware, that for some people, it might be really difficult to get a grip on their weight and actually control it.
The reasons can be rooted in mental challenges or environmental ones. If you have to use medication, which affects your appetite; work long hours to afford a living, suffer from illnesses or whatever. It doesn’t make so much difference, because the outcome is basically the same. I know, this can be really tough and frustrating. I was at this point myself and not only once.
But important is, the proper analysis of possible solutions. What is holding you back in starting to eat better food and to work out regularly? What are the things, responsible for your state of being?
And now ignore them.
Just for a moment.
Declare some of your time as “mine” and use it for your own benefit, your own self-development. Avoid the temptation of postponing life changes. It’s easy to delay things, but it’s important to start somewhere. I know, this sounds like some kind of motivational speech and I really hope, it does motivate you in the end. Exercising can help you in so many ways to improve your life and I’m convinced, you will not regret it.
With this series about weight, fitness, eating and health, I’ve tried to encourage you, to live a better, a healthier life. I’ve shown to you, the advantages of a healthy diet and regular workouts. I’ve used a lot of scientific research to strengthen my points and to ensure you, that my claims are based on valid facts. There are, of course, a lot more things, I could have written about as well. But I’m not trying to write a whole book about this topic, so I had to take some shortcuts. If something wasn’t precise enough, just ask and I’ll try my best to clarify.
Applying the things I’ve taught you to your own life, might be quite difficult at the beginning, but in the end, you will succeed. No matter, how hard it may seem or how far you might be away – always keep in mind, there is a way out. You are not doomed, you don’t have to live all of your life with the (unhealthy) weight you might have right now.
From now on you know: Your weight is not your destiny.
Feel always free to discuss my ideas and share your own thoughts about the things I’m writing about. Nobody is omniscient and if we all walk away a bit smarter than before, we’ll have achieved a lot.
Thanks for reading
Ego
References
(1) Ma, Qiang; Beneficial effects of moderate voluntary physical exercise and its biological mechanisms on brain health; 2008; Volume 24; Issue 4; 265–270
(2) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain-derived_neurotrophic_factor
(3) Cotman, Carl W.; Berchtold, Nicole C.; Exercise: a behavioral intervention to enhance brain health and plasticity; Trends in Neurosciences; Volume 25; Issue 6; 2002; 295-301
(4) Penedo, Frank J.; Dahn, Jason R.; Exercise and well-being: a review of mental and physical health benefits associated with physical activity; Current Opinion in Psychiatry; 2005; Volume 18; Issue 2; 189–193
(5) Ahlskog, J. Eric; Geda, Yonas E.; Graff-Radford, Neill R.; Petersen, Ronald C.; Physical Exercise as a Preventive or Disease-Modifying Treatment of Dementia and Brain Aging; Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise; 2003; 35(11); 1823-1827; doi: 10.1249/01.MSS.0000093620.27893.23