Exercise for Anxiety Management and Stress Relief

Add the benefits of time in nature and connection with the benefits of exercise.

Exercise is not only well known to provide anxiety relief but it is also undeniably excellent for physical and mental health across the board.

Only problem is, some people really baulk at the thought of exercise. That’s why I thought I’d write this little piece to hopefully make exercise not only more accessible but even enjoyable.

First, we can start by occasionally swapping the word exercise for the word movement. We all want to be able to move, right?

I empathise with those for whom movement is challenging. I’m currently nursing my second knee injury for the year. But there’s nothing like a positive mindset and baby steps taken with diligent persistence to get us where we want to go.

Before we have a look at some simple ways to incorporate more movement into our lives, let’s have a quick look at some of the reasons why movement, or exercise, is so beneficial when it comes to relieving anxiety and supporting overall health and wellbeing.

If you’ve heard all this before, why not jump down to explore some enjoyable exercise options.

Why Exercise is good for Mental Health

Without going into too much detail, let’s run through (pardon the pun) a few reasons why exercise is so good for our mental health.

First, when we get our bodies moving, we change what’s going on with our hormones and neurotransmitters. In a nutshell, exercise turns up the happy ones and turns down the sad and stressing ones. That’s why people get hooked on their exercise routines.

People talk about being pumped after their workout, whatever form it takes. Well, exercise literally pumps us up with those happy hormones. Sure, there are other ways to do that but few are as sustainable and beneficial as exercise.

Second, regular exercise can support better sleep quality. And we all know that a good night’s sleep makes everything better. All those jobs that the body gets on with while we’re sleeping actually get done properly, improving our overall health at a cellular level.

Plus, after a good night’s sleep we get up with more beans, ready to face the day, rather than feeling sluggish and like we’re wading through sludge just to get through the basics.

Poor sleep leaves us feeling fatigued, which can in turn create difficulty concentrating, which can lead to stress and worry, which impacts our mental health, which can lead to difficulties sleeping and around it goes.

Feeling tired like this can also create a reliance on quick fix pick-me-ups like caffeine and sugar. Delightful as these things appear, unfortunately they will drop us down again. Over-consumption of these kinds of things also has a negative impact on our gut health. Our mental health and our gut health are intimately related, which I will talk more about another time.

Another reason why exercise can provide anxiety relief is that when we’re exercising, we have a distraction from our worries or concerns. Exercise can provide an opportunity to switch off the monkey mind and take a break from its wild ramblings. Add to that, the feel-good hormones are likely to direct our thoughts in a more positive direction.

Exercise can also provide mood boosts with regard to a sense of control or self-empowerment, when you can make yourself do something challenging and outside your norm, or when you achieve a new personal best in some form of exercise.

When we observe ourselves progressing and improving at whatever we’re doing, that bolsters our sense of achievement and our self-image.

Improved self-image can also result from things like noticing a bit of muscle where there wasn’t any before, from feeling fitter than before, or fitting back into that favourite old pair of jeans.

Multiplying the Benefits of Exercise

I want to mention now a couple of ways to pair the benefits of exercise with other things that are known to provide stress relief and be excellent anxiety management tools.

The first is choosing to exercise in nature. The benefits of spending time in nature are many and are talked about elsewhere.

Exercising in nature can be as simple as taking a walk in your local park, or on the beach, if you’re fortunate enough to live near one.

Take it to the next level by going for a hike or a bush walk, upping the ante with regard to effort as well as nature immersion.

Swimming in a natural body of water, be it an ocean, lake or stream is another way to multiply your benefits.

Another way to multiply the benefits is to combine exercise with connection. Connection is an essential need for us humans and an absence of it can be quite detrimental to our physical and mental health.

Joining a sporting team or engaging in exercise with others can be a great way to make new connections or enhance old ones, at the same time as reaping the benefits of exercise.

It doesn’t have to be anything too strenuous or intense, either. Things like lawn bowls, Thai Chi or walking groups can provide accessible exercise and connection.

Compound benefits by exercising with others in nature!

Naturally increasing Movement in your Day-to-Day

Just a quick side note here on the subject of movement. It seems to me pretty obvious that there are a whole lot of things that we do and don’t do now in this ever-changing world that contribute to the anxiety epidemic, as well as a host of physical ailments.

The so-called conveniences of today mean we just plain don’t have to move as much as we used to. We don’t have to move our muscles in way that we previously did, if we even have to move them at all. I dare say there are plenty of thumbs getting a way better workout than ever before though!

Extra movement can easily be added to the day by opting out of convenience and choosing to use what you’ve been given.

We’ve likely all heard of the example of taking the stairs instead of the elevator but this theory can extend in all kinds of directions.

Here are a few examples: grating your own cheese rather than buying grated (it's more economical too), smushing your own sauerkraut (excellent for gut health as well as being more economical than buying it), walking around the farmers’ market to do your shopping rather than having the supermarket deliver (good for you and every human and our environment in so many ways!), pedalling with gusto on a pushbike rather than cruising on an e-bike, and so on, you get the drift.

The act of cleaning the house, when perceived as an opportunity for exercise as opposed to a dreary chore, can become beneficial movement. I read a study recently that involved two groups of cleaners. The group that was told that their work was exercise and approached it with that in mind became fitter and stronger and lost more weight than the control group who went about business as usual.

Gardening is another form of about the house movement that can be perceived as exercise. And again, gardening complements the physical activity with time in nature. The gifts of the garden are so abundant and I will definitely talk more about them another time.

Embracing Exercise for Anxiety Relief

I’m going to throw around a few ideas in a moment for enjoyable exercise options but first some things important to note:

Start where you are. If you go attempting things that are well beyond your current capacity, you are much more likely to be discouraged and to give the whole exercise thing a miss.

This being said, it’s also good to challenge yourself a little bit more beyond your comfort zone every day, remaining within a safe zone.

You also need to work within your capacity to avoid injury. If you have specific health issues, please make sure you consult your health-care professional before embarking on any kind of strenuous activity.

Do a bit of exercise every day. If you’ve been really sedentary, even starting with 15 minutes a day is going to improve your mental and physical well-being. Over time, you can build up to a minimum of half an hour a day.

Some Easy and Accessible Exercise Entry Level Options

The following activities can be done in your own time, at your own pace, without requiring anything other than what you already have.

And take it from me, queen of the tight budget for so many years, exercise does not have to cost a single cent more. You can exercise just as well in an old pair of tracky dacks as you can in some fancy and expensive sportswear.

Walking

Well, this is pretty self-explanatory. Walking is a perfect entry level exercise. It’s totally free and easy, for the able bodied, and can be done at your own pace. You can build up to greater speeds, or steeper inclines, or throw in some hand weights as capacity increases.

Add the benefits of connection by walking with a friend, family member or community walking group.

If a city block’s what you’ve got to walk around, then go for it. If you have opportunities to venture closer to nature for your walk, by all means do so.

Lounge Room Boogie

Putting on your favourite tunes and having a lounge room boogie can be another fun and easy way to get the body moving and the blood pumping. Again, you can go totally at your own pace, beginning with slow and gentle movement and building your way up from there. Naturally, this is also going to work in any other room of the house. ; )

Chi Kung or Thai Chi

These gentle and fluid forms are an excellent way to get the body and the energy, or chi, moving. You can find videos on YouTube to get you started or you could join a local group. Many towns and cities have morning Thai Chi sessions in the park. If you can join a group like this you’re increasing your chances for creating connections, as well as reaping the benefits of time in nature.

On-line Exercise Programs

There are only about a zillion free exercise videos on YouTube that you can follow in the privacy and comfort of your own home.

For some, making a financial investment provides more motivation to get on and do the exercise, so if that’s you, you might prefer a paid program to a free one. Rest assured, there are plenty of those too.

Chair yoga is quite the thing at the moment and provides accessible exercise for bodies of most capacities.

Swimming

Swimming is beautiful, gentle yet powerful exercise and can be a great entry point exercise for people who might find themselves a little heavy to move about on the ground. Swimming can also be good exercise for people who have or are recovering from injuries. Do check with your physio or other health care professional if that relates to you.

Upping the Ante

All these forms of exercise mentioned above are readily accessible and appropriate for building fitness and strength and exercise capacity.

Of course, other forms of exercise are abundant and varied, including working out at the gym to team sports to land based or aquatic sporting activities.

So, so, so many options exist for increasing physical activity in our lives. So many options for reaping the benefits for our physical and mental health and well-being. There’s bound to be at least one that suits you. Why not give it a go today?