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what is brain health and why is it important?

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Brain health is a critical piece of your overall health. It underlies your ability to communicate, make decisions, problem-solve and live a productive and useful life. Because the brain controls so much of daily function, it is arguably the single most valuable organ in the human body.

Your body feels great, you feel energised and boosted after a good workout. Yes, we all know that working out is great for physical health. But have you ever noticed that you feel happier too after exercising? If not, take notice the next time, or do any physical activity when stressed out, and you’ll feel the difference. This is because exercising isn’t just good for your physical health but your mental health, too. Many mental health experts recommend exercising to take care of one’s mental health. So, how does physical activity help improve mental health?

How Exercising Help With Mental Health

Physical activity helps improve mental health

Working out is a great mood enhancer. It can help both, those dealing with some mental health issues and those who are not.

Releases Endorphins: When you exercise, your body releases ‘feel-good’ chemicals called endorphins, which are great mood-enhancers. These are the chemicals behind that feeling of happiness you experience right after a good workout. Hence, next time, you feel anxious or stressed, just do some stretching exercises or any other physical activity that you like.

A Good Distraction: When dealing with issues of stress and anxiety, taking the mind off the cause for these can help. And physical activity is a good way to do that as you’ll focus on the activity, which will distract you from the cause for your trouble.

Physical Health: Physical and mental health aren’t two separate entities, but are intertwined. Good physical health can promote mental health and vice versa. Just think of it this way, when you’re depressed or stressed out, it reflects on your body. Similarly, when you suffer from any physical ailments, it has an impact on your mental health, too. Hence, with regular workouts, you can improve your physical health, which, in turn, will help you with your mental health too.

Get In Shape: For many people, being out of shape greatly impacts their confidence level, which in turn affects their mental health. Once you start working out, you lose weight, gain muscle mass, get toned, which can make you feel good and confident about yourself. This can also improve your mental health, as per a leading health and wellness website.

Better Sleep: You sleep better the day you work out well. This is something we all have experienced. Sleeping well is considered one of the crucial aspects of good mental health. Hence, here, too, exercising can help you a great deal.

These are some of the mental health benefits of exercising that we all can reap. However, physical activity can also help with certain mental health disorders, as per a leading health website. Not just stress and anxiety, when you exercise regularly, it can also help you with depression. It might also be beneficial for those who suffer from panic attacks, as they have a medium through which they can vent out what is troubling them.

How To Improve Mental Health

There are ways to improve mental health

As you saw physical activities can improve your mental health. Exercises such as Yoga, tai chi, etc, which are a mix of physical activity and deep breathing are generally recommended. Also, you can do cardiovascular exercises, which are great for physical health. Other than these, there are several other ways to improve mental health. Here are some such ways as suggested by the USA’s National Library Of Medicine:

Relaxation Techniques: When stressed out, have you realised that you breathe fast while your breaths get shallow. With relaxation techniques, you do the opposite. These are those that slow down your breathing as well as your heart rate, and releases tensions in your muscles, generally associated with stress. One of the most commonly recommended techniques is deep breathing. Guided imagery is another technique in which you focus on positive images in your mind.

Meditation: If there was a list of the most recommended techniques for good mental health, chances are meditation might feature at the top.

Try To Stay Positive: We know that this is easier said than done. Experiencing positive and negative emotions is a part of life, and as humans, we need to feel both. However, negative emotions can make you susceptible to stress and anxiety. Hence, it’s not that you don’t need to feel sadness, but having a positive outlook can help. When overwhelmed, try to be optimistic, or reach out to others. Sometimes, doing these can save you from getting hurt more.

Maintaining a healthy brain will help your mind stay clear and active, so that you can continue to work, rest and play. The importance of heart health has long been promoted, but brain health is just as crucial for our ability to think, act and live well.

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