Stress Awareness Month: The Benefits of Exercise

April is National Stress Awareness month.

Everyone is affected by stress and has their own way of dealing with it. A common practice when dealing with stress relief for many people is exercising. That runner’s high you get when you are blowing off some steam on the treadmill, there is actual scientific benefits to exercising to cope with stress. Stress does serious damage to your brain, heart and nerves, it is vital for people to learn how to cope with the stress. Explore the three scientific benefits of utilizing exercise as a stress relief skill.

What is Cortisol?

Cortisol is a hormone your body produces when you are placed in stressful situations. Cortisol is best known for fueling the “fight or flight” instinct.

But how can this be good? 

Regular exercise teaches your body how to manage cortisol levels better and bring them down to normal faster. So when you are in a stressful situation, your body can manage this a lot easier because you’ve taught it how.  It is a counterintuitive chemical reaction brought on by exercise, but ultimately helps you fight stress.

Many people when running on a treadmill, get a “runners high”. In reality that “high” is your body releasing a chemical called Endorphins.  These endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain that reduce the perception of pain. Endorphins trigger a positive feeling in the body. They act as analgesics, which diminish the perception of pain. Endorphins produce “feel good” hormones’ or  what many people have felt as a “runners high”. These feelings can combat the negative feelings associated with stress leaving you to feel more positive.

Exercise activates your entire body and your brain, forcing all your systems to work together. From your nervous system, to muscular to cardiovascular, all these systems work together to operate more efficiently. For when a true stress situation arises, it does not damage your body as much as it would if you do not exercise.

Exercise is not only essential for your physical well-being but also your mental well-being as well.