Mental Health Awareness Week - Movement

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, but what’s so important about the theme?

Every year, Mental Health Awareness Week has a different theme which has been chosen to get us thinking about different aspects within the mental health space. Past themes touched on in the last few years include Body Image, Anxiety, Loneliness and Nature.

But this year’s topic for the week is Movement.

Movement sounds quite general, and it’s something most of us do daily. So why has it been brought up this year?

Let's go into a few aspects.

Why Don't We Do More?

We have all been told at some point in the last 10 years, either in school or in a telling-off from the GP, that we should get at least 30 minutes of movement per day.

Sounds like nothing, but we still struggle to get this into our daily routines.

We drive to work and then walk the 100 steps to our desk. Maybe we get up a few times for coffee and then walk to the canteen for lunch. Drive home and chill out on the sofa after a long day that has completely knackered us.

It’s a full day when on earth am I meant to fit 30 minutes of walking in a day?!

Here are some reasons that you (the Great British Public) give for not getting more movement into our days:

• 31% of us say the weather prevents them.
• 28% of us say we are too tired.
• 22% of us say we are too busy.
• 34% of us think physical activity is a chore.

Squeeze it into your day

You don’t have to join a sports team or spend ￡2000 on a new bike and a wardrobe full of Lycra to get movement into your day. The little changes make a big difference.

For example: getting off the tube a stop earlier and walking the last bit, cycling or walking into work one day a week, getting steps in at lunch rather than the lift, walking the kids to school, taking the dog for an extra walk a day, walking to the shop rather than ordering online.

Psychological Benefits

We know that physical activity will have physical impacts on our health, that’s obvious. But there are psychological impacts too.

Social

Joining a sports club or a team is an amazing way to meet new people while getting fit. Being part of a team can give you that sense of belonging that many of us struggle for nowadays.

Sports clubs also provide an environment in which you can grow. Your skills and fitness will improve with time, with people that you can connect to who will guide you and push you.

Mental Clarity

Exercise can be an almost meditative activity. You are in a moment where you are focused on something other than your daily worries. Sports can often provide an opportunity to completely clear your head while taking part in the activity, but activities like running can give you a moment to think about things without much distraction. And if you can’t run yet, a walk will do the trick!

All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking - Fredrich Nietzsche

Mindfulness

One thing that I have always found intriguing with cycling was the ability to “feel” my muscles working. Granted that might sound obvious, as you can tense your arm and feel your bicep getting to work. But when I started cycling I felt a stronger connection between my mind and my body. I could feel the strength in my legs, going to work with every spin of the cranks. I knew when my body was getting tired and I could feel my blood sugar levels reducing; I became more intuitive and mindful of my body working.

It was the same story with my surroundings. Cycling around Richmond Park in west London, I could hear the chain meshing with the cassette teeth, and the whirring of the rubber tyres on the tarmac.

That is mindfulness at play. Being aware of your surroundings and of your body in the moment.

Physical Benefits

Improved Sleep

It’s a hot topic at the moment, with fancy mattresses that have cooling and heating, and whoop bands that track your sleep quality and recovery state. People are becoming more conscious of getting good sleep, but we often find it difficult to switch off. An obvious side effect of getting more movement in your day, is getting tired at appropriate times of day (or night). Those days when you find yourself running around all day, falling asleep the moment your head hits the pillow.

Hormones

Getting moderate exercise has a lot of impact on our hormone levels. You may have heard people referring to the "Runner's High", which is a sense of euphoria and improved mood and outlook after completing a run. This is caused by an increase in Endorphins which are an opiate-like neurotransmitter that act as a painkiller, stress-reducer, and a reward response. It is said that Endorphins are released as a reward system to get us to go out hunting and foraging the next day.

Exercising also releases Serotonin, which is a chemical that carries signals all around our body and is linked to functions such as mood, wound healing, sexual health and sleep. There is a link between Depression and Serotonin levels with the most common form of anti-depressants being SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors), which attempt to block our body from absorbing the serotonin in our bodies to keep levels stable. Exercise has a positive effect on mental health by producing more serotonin naturally, therefore increasing the amounts we have in our body before they up absorbed.

Dopamine levels also increase during and after we exercise. Dopamine is more well-known than the previously mentioned hormones and is our reward system for achievements. Whether it's ticking off a task at work, finishing a book or running a ballpoint pen down to the last drop of ink, you'll get a small uptick in Dopamine to say "well done mate, you kept going and you did it!".

While exercise can naturally release this, we can also look at the progress that we will make through exercise. Maybe you have set a weight goal, a running pace, or a cycling distance; it could even just be a step count! But achieving those goals you set will give you that hormonal nod of congratulations.

Physiological Attribution

Emotions have a massive impact on our physiological state and the way we feel in our bodies. If you’ve ever been in a state of depression, you’ll be familiar with describing it as a low-energy, low-motivation place.

If you are anxious, you may feel twitchy, warm and alert; maybe even sick. And if you have just watched your Rugby team score a try, you would have felt that urge to jump and dance along with celebration music.

I want to point out, that changing your physiological state will impact your mood and your mental health. Next time you are feeling down, force a smile and hold it for 5 seconds and see how you feel. Or if you’re feeling anxious, slowing your breathing will start to calm you down and bring down your heart rate.

Takeaways

Don’t worry about what other people think!

It can be daunting getting into exercise at first; you might worry that you look silly jumping up and down, that you don't have the same kit as everyone, or that you don't fit into the shirt you used to work out in. But remember, that you are the only person thinking about it. Everyone else there is focusing on what they need to do. People may look at you and think "Good on them for getting into it!". Get your head down, and do what you aim to do. Enjoy it and go out and meet people!

Getting more physical activity into your day doesn’t have to mean going to the gym or getting into a sport. It could just mean getting a few more steps into your commute, walking to a different coffee shop on a Sunday morning, or planning an activity on a Sunday where you get out and do something rather than sitting indoors watching reruns of Friends (which is also ok!).

You don’t have to go into things head first, 100%; Easing into things is often the best policy. It's easy to hold yourself to a standard you may have held in the past or to compare yourself to others. You have to focus on yourself and where you are NOW. Any step forward is progress, no matter how small. And sometimes you have to take a break, so be kind to yourself.

The effects of exercise on your mental health may not be obvious straight away, but it's a multi-pronged attack. Often the reasons we give for not exercising ARE the benefits we would receive. We may feel too tired to go outside in the rain for a run, but exercising gives us more energy. We may not be in the mood to go out for a walk, but getting outside into the open can give us that mood boost later. We may not want to go out and exercise alone, but eventually, we will meet people to bond and connect with.

Hopefully, this article has given you a little bit of a boost to get up and get out there. Get involved in that sports club you have been sitting on the fence about joining, or maybe even just go for a walk at lunchtime rather than sitting at your desk. Reach out to your friends to see if they fancy joining you for an evening stroll, or maybe just go alone. All the little changes will add up to massive benefits.

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