Exercise therapy is a new approach used to stay mentally fit and control everyday stress. When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins. These endorphins reduce your perception of pain and also trigger a positive feeling in the body, similar to that of morphine. In other words, endorphin works in the same way as a class of drugs called opioids. Opioids relieve pain and can produce a feeling of euphoria.

The name endorphin comes from the words “endogenous,” which means “from the body,” and “morphine,” which is an opioid pain reliever.

However, unlike with morphine, exercise can be a healthy way to self-producing a positive, natural, free-of-money “drug” (endorphin) to boost the “good feeling and euphoria”.

Exercise therapy can improve some symptoms of depression, similarly to antidepressants. While anti-depressants usually take days or weeks to start helping with depression symptoms, endorphins could help relieve symptoms in minutes. Some medical professionals prescribe regular exercise as a treatment for mild to moderate depression and anxiety. Even you don’t have any mental symptoms exercising will help to keep your well-being and happiness at a high level.

Exercise benefits

Above all, exercise therapy is good for your health for many reasons:

Controlling weight
Reducing blood pressure
Help keep your bones, muscles, and joints healthy
Improves your muscle condition
Cuts down the chances of dying young
Reduces the risk of heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer
May ward off Alzheimer’s Disease

So exercise therapy makes sense if you want to stay fit and healthy. You will found that you feel good and better after exercise. This is good but it won’t last long. To get long-lasting feelings, you need to do regular exercise.

Exercise therapy and your mental state

Exercising has the effects of a general boost in mood and happiness. People who have symptoms of depression, fibromyalgia, or chronic headaches may wish to talk to a doctor about endorphin levels and ways they can increase them, in addition to their regular treatment options. Just small exercise levels can make an enormous impact on your mood by:

 Making you feel good about yourself
 You feel less tired
 Motivating you to do more
 Improving your ability to think more clearly
 Helping you think about something other than focusing on your overthinking
 Using up the adrenaline resources created by anxiety and stress
 Increasing motivation
 Giving you a sense of achievement
 Enjoyment
 Being with other people
 Stimulating the body to produce natural anti-depressants
 Keeping you generally more healthy
 Stimulating your appetite

How Much Exercise is Right for You?

You should try to do at least 30 minutes most days of the week. Increasing time to exercising will result in an increasing level of endorphin in your body, and a level of feeling good.

Does this have to be at the one time?

No. You could break it up when you start exercising. You could spread it across the day by doing15 minutes in the morning and 15 in the evening. As you become more energized in a while you can continue to one hour.

The activity of your brain before and after exercising

How hard must the exercise be?

You should be able to hold a conversation whilst exercising i.e. not be out of breath.

Do I need to be fit to start this?

It is best to build up slowly. So you might think of starting with daily short walks.

Do you have to be young to start exercising?

If you start at the right level, then age is of no concern.

You can do this in your house, outside, or in a gym. Make sure you choose something you like. You could do a range of things to give you a bit of variety.

Finally, don’t forget that getting started is the hardest part. Once you get to your pace, you will find yourself looking forward to exercising and become addicted to it.

Exercise Therapy (ET)

Exercise benefits