Anxiety is a normal phenomenon that most people experience from time to time. It might occur because you're nervous about an upcoming exam, a job interview, health test result, a big presentation, or any other stressful situation. Besides the stress from daily activities, other factors-such as health issues-can produce anxiety.
Anxiety may seem like a mundane issue, but left unchecked and untreated, it may ruin many aspects of your lifetime. It could trigger mental health issues like depression, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Multiple Personality Disorder, and the likes. Also, it could contribute to health challenges like diabetes, stroke, and heart diseases.
Unlike using the physical benefits of exercise, most people are yet to discover the positive effects of exercise along with other activities in easing anxiety. Yes, that is correct: regular exercise and activities may help relieve your anxiety.
In this article, we'll explore which exercises that you can do to help ease anxiety. But before we talk about that, it's important to know how exercising aids in anxiety.
How Does Exercising Help Relieve Anxiety?
1. It Takes Your Mind Off Your Worries
One major sign of anxiety is incessant and excessive worrying over both mundane and large problems. This isn't good for the body because if the mind worries too much, it might have trouble coping, which could lead to a mental disorder such as depression. But while you exercise, you focus on something other than your problems. The physical activity diverts your attention from the source of worry and helps you feel more comfortable.
The ability to distract and keep the mind occupied with productive thoughts is one reason anxiety counselors advise patients to complete things that will free their minds from stress and worries, like exercising.
2. It Releases Essential Neurochemicals To Ease The Mind And Body
When you exercise the body, endorphins, or 'feel-good hormones,' are released in the brain. Regular exercises can help you reduce stress and anxiety by making you are feeling happy and put you in an overall good mood.
More so, your heart rate builds up while exercising, triggering brain chemistry. This brain chemistry activates neurochemicals like serotonin, endo-cannabinoids and gamma amino-butyric acid, which ease tension and aid calmness.
3. It Reduces Muscular Tension
Neurochemicals released during exercises also help relieve muscular tension. Mental and muscular tensions are associated with anxiety. By relieving your emotions of tension, exercise makes you feel good and lighter.
Moving your body helps in reducing the tension in your muscles, assisting you relax better. Stretches and yoga are effective ways through which you can relieve muscle tension to feel happy physically and mentally.
4. It Helps Develop Resilience
Physical activities-particularly exercising-can be challenging, but when you can keep it up without relenting, it'll do you good. The fact that you holds on and build your strength through exercising will gradually reflect in your mental capability.
In other words, as you're exercising, you're also working on your mental resilience to help you cope with negative or challenging situations. Having the ability to build mental resilience plays another important role: by proving to yourself that you could persist in challenging physical activities, you're also boosting your self-esteem-thereby further reducing anxiety.
Now that you know how exercising can ease nervousness, let's explore which exercises you can begin with today to help with this.
Daily Exercises For Anxiety
Aerobic exercises entail moving body muscles continuously for any fixed period. The whole body gets involved in these kinds of exercises. During aerobic exercises, your breathing heart rate becomes faster than usual. For that reason, it's also called cardio workouts. Given their dynamics, it isn't surprising that aerobic exercises can alleviate anxiety and tension.
1. Running
You've probably heard how your body can benefit from running. It burns calories, moderates your food appetite, and keeps your cardiovascular system healthy. But have you heard of the benefits of running on mental health? Running triggers the discharge of 'feel-good hormones,' that are: endo-cannabinoid, norepinephrine, and neurotransmitters serotonin.
These neurochemicals possess a meditative effect on the brain that compels the mind to block or fade out causes of concern. The fact that you're performing a physical activity itself is bound to let your mind wander away from your causes of worries and anxiety.
Additionally, running or jogging could make you sleep better at night. By sleeping better, your tension and stress could be relieved even further.
2. Walking
Walking might seem like a silly exercise to ease anxiety because it's something you do during most of your day. But walking purposely to help ease anxiety makes all the difference. Try walking briskly for at least 15 to 20 minutes every day.
A simple act of walking will trigger the discharge of endomorphins into your brain, immediately reducing your tension and anxiety that will help you feel better. In general, walking as well as running aid your overall wellness. It helps you feel good physically, spiritually and emotionally.
3. Swimming
People swim just for fun and athletic purposes. It's rare to hear someone say they're swimming for mental clarity. However the fact is that swimming can be effective in managing mental problems for example anxiety, depression, and psychosis. Whenever you swim, it triggers the discharge of endorphins to fight tension and help you relax and feel happy.
Like running and walking, swimming keeps your mind busy and steers it away from sources of anxiety. Of course, when you're in the water, the last thing you’d consider is that challenging project presentation scheduled for in a few days. It's worth knowing that some psychologists, counselors, and psychotherapists now prescribe swimming as part of treatments or therapies for his or her patients.
4. Cycling
Talk of combining fun with therapy-cycling is the king. Cycling is a very effective cardio workout that exercises provides you with a full-body workout. It allows you to definitely go outdoors and even socialize. That's a powerful combination for reducing anxiety.
Cycling for anxiety works likewise way swimming and walking do. It gets your heart and other parts of your body to work. By challenging your entire body, it would force your mind to concentrate on what you're doing, instead of feeling anxious. Cycling likewise helps your physical health and keeps you in top form.
Mental Relaxation Exercises
Your mind doesn't benefit only from strenuous exercise. Less intense exercises can help ease your anxiety, too. Here are minor exercises to test whenever you feel anxious. They're aimed at helping you feel more relaxed, thereby easing tension and relieving anxiety.
After many studies and observations, doctors now recommend products like weed and CBD for depression and anxiety. To know more about this statement you must check out https://kootenaybotanicals.com/ as they have some great offers and excellent variety but be sure to consult a doctor before taking anything but not everyone is into such products and would really like an alternate such as natural ways and physical exercise but your mind doesn't benefit only from strenuous exercise. Lower exercises can help ease your anxiety, too. Here are minor exercises to test whenever you feel anxious. They're aimed at helping you feel more relaxed, thereby easing tension and relieving anxiety.
5. Relax By Breathing
Are you someone who undermine the power of 'just relax and breath?' Well, you shouldn’t. Whenever you start feeling anxious, you may notice you start sweating and then become dizzy or lightheaded. Inhaling calmly can help you control this reaction.
To calm your nerves, first find a quiet place you know has a calming effect on you. Get a seat after which place one hand on your chest and the other on your stomach. Inhale and exhale slowly; breath in through your nose and breath out using your mouth.
Let your breathing rhythm flow using your hands and remain settled. Continue doing this process about five times, or before you find relief. This is a useful method to help you deal with anxious situations immediately.
6. Relax By Grounding
Anxiety can make the mind roll back and forth, thinking and overthinking. This can be a tasking and stressful activity for the mind. Thankfully, you can ease this off by taking in the mystery of nature. The first step is to go out to a cool and quiet place; the very best options are green fields, parks and gardens, or even just stepping outside the building where one can breathe in the fresh air.
Whether sitting or standing, enable your five senses experience the environment. Close your eyes and try to take in the fresh air. Feel the ground beneath your feet; enable your ears fade out artificial noises and only stay aware of nature elements. Think of all the people and things you love as and why you love them. Remain in your grounded position not less than 10 minutes, or until you feel at ease.
7. Relax Your Muscles
Never underestimate the strength of relaxed muscles in relieving anxiety. Whenever you feel anxious, your whole body will tense up. Within the same sense, eased muscles could alleviate your anxiety. To relax your muscles, find a quiet spot. Sit calmly and shut your eyes while exhaling and inhaling slowly.
Clench and squeeze your fists tightly for some seconds. Then open your fists one finger at any given time. You will feel your muscle tension slowly dissipate. Next, tense your feet for some seconds and squeeze them tightly. Before long, release them-one foot at a time.
Once you're done with that, rotate your neck gently and gradually. Also, squeeze your neck ever so gently with your hands for some seconds and then release. This will ease your muscle tension and you ought to feel better thereafter.
8. Relax With Yoga
In recent years, research has brought the positive impact of yoga on physical and mental health to prominence. According to several studies, yoga could be influential in managing anger, anxiety, depression, stress, as well as psychosis.
Most times, yoga is used like a complementary treatment for such health problems. There is something ethereal about yoga have a tendency to finds a way to connect the soul and mind whilst easing physical and mental tension.
9. Relax By Counting
If you think only kids are meant to count, '1,2, 3-,' reconsider. Counting can be an effective way of alleviating your anxiety, especially when you can't leave your current position. Whenever you feel bouts of anxiety, just close your eye and take a few deep breaths. Take your mind off all your worries and quietly count to twenty.
You can count to higher numbers until you find mental relief, or count in one again. This seemingly mundane exercise may benefit you greatly when you're stressed, anxious, or even angry.
10. Brace Back And Body Stretch
Normally, the stretch is considered being on par with yoga. But the brace back and body stretch goes one step further than yoga. It makes you work your muscles enough to increase your blood flow.
Start by standing firm with your feet positioned closely together. Then bend over forward, toward the floor. Try circulating your back while in this position for ten minutes.
The the next thing you should do is sit straight up on the chair then lift your head in a steady motion towards your right and left shoulder, alternating between the two. After repeating it for five minutes, you should bring your head to its rightful position.
Next, lay lying on your back on a mat and start riding an invisible cycle with both your hands and legs. Ease up your arms and legs while you do this to assist relieve the tension and anxiety.
Final Thoughts
Anxiety can be difficult to deal with, especially when it has been happening for some time. It can interfere with your daily routine, work, academics, and overall happiness.
As prevalent as anxiety is incorporated in the world today, it can still be managed and prevented. The exercises above will help you ease your anxiety. You can use them whenever you're experiencing bad moments or sense that you'll have an anxiety attack.
You should also incorporate these exercises to your daily lifestyle and eat wholesome foods to boost your overall wellness. If you're coping with constant anxiety attacks, it’s important to first see your anxiety counselor or psychotherapist before you seek complementary treatments. Only professionals can rightly diagnose your problem, its severity, and counsel you on the best treatment options.
