Stress is an inevitable part of life. Seven out of ten adults in the United States say they experience stress or anxiety daily, and most say it interferes at least moderately with their lives, according to the most recent ADAA survey on stress and anxiety disorders. When the American Psychological Association surveyed people in 2008, more people reported physical and emotional symptoms due to stress than they did in 2007, and nearly half reported that their stress has increased in the past year.
It’s impossible to eliminate stress, but you can learn to manage it, and most people usually do. According to a recent ADAA online poll, some 14 percent of people make use of regular exercise to cope with stress. Others reported talking to friends or family (18 percent); sleeping (17 percent); watching movies or TV (14 percent), as well as eating (14 percent) and listening to music (13 percent).
While all of these are well-known coping techniques, exercise may be the one most recommended by health care professionals. And among ADAA poll takers who exercise, a healthy percentage is already on the right track: Walking (29 percent), running (20 percent), and yoga (11 percent) are their preferred strategies.
Exercising Body and Mind
The physical benefits of exercise—improving physical condition and fighting disease—have long been established, and physicians always encourage staying physically active. Exercise is also considered vital for maintaining mental fitness, and it can reduce stress. Studies show that it is very effective at reducing fatigue, improving alertness and concentration, and at enhancing overall cognitive function. This can be especially helpful when stress has depleted your energy or ability to concentrate.
When stress affects the brain, with its many nerve connections, the rest of the body feels the impact as well.So it stands to reason that if your body feels better, so does your mind. Exercise and other physical activity produce endorphins—chemicals in the brain that act as natural painkillers—and also improve the ability to sleep, which in turn reduces stress. Meditation, acupuncture, massage therapy, even breathing deeply can cause your body to produce endorphins. And conventional wisdom holds that a workout of low to moderate intensity makes you feel energized and healthy.
Scientists have found that regular participation in aerobic exercise has been shown to decrease overall levels of tension, elevate and stabilize mood, improve sleep, and improve self-esteem. Even five minutes of aerobic exercise can stimulate anti-anxiety effects.
Relationship of Exercise to Anxiety Disorders
Stress and anxiety are a normal part of life, but anxiety disorders, which affect 40 million adults, are the most common psychiatric illnesses in the U.S.—and they are on the increase. The benefits of exercise may well extend beyond stress relief to improving anxiety and related disorders.
Psychologists studying how exercise relieves anxiety and depression suggest that a 10-minute walk may be just as good as a 45-minute workout. Some studies show that exercise can work quickly to elevate depressed mood in many people. Although the effects may be temporary, they demonstrate that a brisk walk or other simple activity can deliver several hours of relief, similar to taking an aspirin for a headache.
Science has also provided some evidence that physically active people have lower rates of anxiety and depression than sedentary people. To explain why, researchers have examined possible links between exercise and brain chemicals associated with stress, anxiety, and depression. Exercise may improve mental health by helping the brain cope better with stress. In one study, researchers found that those who got regular vigorous exercise were less 25 percent less likely to develop depression or an anxiety disorder over five years.
Scientists are not precisely sure how it works, but some think that exercise thwarts anxiety and depression by enhancing the body’s natural ability to respond to stress. Some research suggests that a large role may be played by norepinephrine, a hormone and neurotransmitter produced in the brain area that connects most of the brain regions involved in emotional and stress responses.
Exercise as Part of Therapy
According to some studies, regular exercise works as well as medication to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, and the effects last longer. One vigorous exercise session can help alleviate symptoms for hours, and a regular schedule may significantly reduce them over time.
That's why exercise is an integral part of every treatment program recommended by ADAA President and CEO Jerilyn Ross, MA, LICSW. "It's one of the first things I tell patients," she says. “People may feel powerless in terms of home life, finances, or politics, but they're in control when they exercise.”
Although for most people, exercise has a positive effect, some recent studies show that exercise may not have a positive effect on anxiety or depression for everyone or that a strong impact is not made on long-term mental health. Like all forms of therapy, the effect can vary: Some people may respond positively, others may find it doesn’t improve their mood much, and some may experience only a modest short-term benefit. Nonetheless, researchers say that the beneficial effects of exercise on physical health are not in dispute, and patients should be encouraged to stay physically active.
This much is agreed on as a good reason to get off the couch: Exercise seems to give the body a chance to practice dealing with stress. So the less sedentary we are, the more efficient our bodies become in responding to stress, anxiety, and depression.
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