With Wednesday 20th March 2019 being International Day of Happiness, we believe that we should let more people know about the huge benefits that Exercise and leading a healthy life can have on your Mental Health and happiness; giving you more ways that you can aim to live a happy life.

Around 300 million people around the world suffer from depression, so it is important that health people do what they can to help people fight depression and lead a happier life. Due to this, more health and Fitness professionals are motivating more people to get fit and reap the mental health benefits of exercise.

If you’re looking to manage your mental health and lead a happier life, take a look at how exercise can help you do that.

Reducing Stress

With many people living very work-dominated lives, it can be hard for people to find the time to relieve stress, and with stress being a big factor when it comes to depression and mental health problems, relieving stress is something that people need more time to do.

Working out in the gym, going for a run or just doing some bodyweight workouts gives you the chance to blow off steam and relieve stress after a long day by giving your mind something else to focus on.

With many people looking beyond fitness sessions to take care of their health, people have more potential to focus on stress-relief, as more Personal Trainers are becoming qualified in Pilates and Yoga, which are areas of fitness that revolve around positivity, flexibility and improving mental health.

If you’re looking for ways that you can relieve stress, try some of the best stress-relieving workouts.

Socialising

Due to 46% of those in the U.S and over 9 million people in the UK feeling lonely, socialising is something that we need to get better at, and group exercise is a great way that we can do that whilst also getting fit.

As the fitness industry grows, fitness and exercise are available in many forms. As this happens, many people are choosing to focus on group exercise classes and sessions that are available down to the added social aspect of them.

Group exercise gives you the opportunity to keep fit with other fitness-focused people; allowing you to meet more people that have similar interests to you. With many fitness lovers turning their passion into a career, there are becoming more group exercise classes on offer; making it possible for more people to manage their physical and mental health in a fun and social way.

Exercise Releases Dopamine in Your Brain

When you exercise, the brain releases more Dopamine, which is the chemical in the brain that is associated with happiness and pleasure.

As we grow older, studies have proven that our Dopamine levels begin to drop, which is one of the reasons why exercise is so essential at an older age. Although Dopamine levels drop as we get older, younger people should still see the huge importance in maintaining Dopamine levels for better mental health.

Although analysing and managing Dopamine levels and related things is reserved for the experts, it is still good to know what effects fitness can have on your wellbeing, as this gives you confidence that your training is having a positive impact on your wellbeing.

Boosted Self-esteem

Along with exercise having the ability to boost the ‘happy chemical’ within the brain, it also has the ability to boost peoples’ self-esteem.

Working out and keeping fit helps you boost confidence as it allows you to focus on strength and appearance, which are two things that have a big impact on self-esteem. With social media being a big part of daily life for many, it can be hard to maintain healthy self-esteem, with influencers and brands making it hard to be content and happy, so making sure you stay active is essential, as it is one of the few ways to keep good self-esteem.

With low self-esteem being a problem for many people regardless of their age or gender, it is something that needs to be focused on, as it can even go on to impact vital areas of life such as work and relationships.

Overall, exercise holds huge potential for helping people lead a happier life. With maintaining a positive image of themselves being a big worry for many people in a social media dominated world, it is important that the public and fitness professionals create an image of fitness that is inclusive and appealing, as this is the only way that we can create a fitness industry that is supportive and inclusive for all.

If you want to get involved with fitness and help others look after their physical and mental health, take a look at our industry-recognised fitness courses or get in touch to find out how you can take your fitness skills further and become an industry recognised fitness professional. With the fitness industry continuously growing, the options to get involved and help others take care of their health are huge.

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