Greetings!

I apologize for the recent lack of updates.  As some of you may know, I spent this past week in Phoenix, Arizona for a wedding.  Thankfully, the desert heat gave me the opportunity to do some much-needed outdoor exercising.

We all know that exercise promotes healthier body and better sense of well-being. It gives confidence to those who need a self image boost, while it also prevents the aggravation of physical illnesses. While nearly all of the research on exercise is focused on demonstrating positive effects on the physical body, there is a growing mass of research that seeks to prove that exercise is good for mental health as well.

A recent study conducted by Duke University has proven that exercise could help treat depression for approximately 60% of the participants. This result is similar with the total number of participants who are using medications for their treatment from depression.

However, you don’t have to be a sufferer of a mental illness before you benefit from exercise. You can boost your sense of well-being while walking on the treadmill or by combining yoga and meditation. In a way, exercise could be used as a potential medium for preventing the development of psychological and emotional conditions.

One theory suggests that physical workout or exercise stimulates a part of the brain that releases endorphins. Activities that are more likely to trigger the release of endorphins are swimming, cross-country skiing, running, bicycling, aerobics and sports like soccer, football and basketball.

Endorphins are comparable to opiates in the way that they resemble morphine. Endorphins could work in two ways: as a pain reliever (which is produced in response to the stresses brought about by physical work or stress) and as an enhancer of well-being. However, there is no definite data that could support this claim.

Exercise has also been found to trigger the release of hormones norepinephrine, dopamine and serotonin. All of these are known to help improve mood and are actually the main effect of Prozac, a known antidepressant.

An increase in these hormones could be best observed in a condition known as "runner’s high". This feeling occurs both during and after an acute exercise and is directly linked to the increased number of the aforementioned hormones. However, there are still no conclusive studies proving that improvements on mood could be facilitated for a longer period of time.

Nearly all of the feelings we associate with mental wellness come from our personal evaluation of the way our body feels. For example, if you perceive a stomach pain as a form of stress then you will feel stressed (and sometimes even depression) every time your stomach aches. Likewise, exercise could render feelings such as muscle relaxation and easier breathing which we associate with "feeling better". While this correlation is yet to have a better scientific grounding, we still could not deny the fact that muscle tension and increased blood flow go together with physical fitness.

No one knows exactly how exercise affects mental health, but it is common among patients to view exercise as a good medium to elevate their moods. According to a survey conducted by the charity Mind, nearly two-thirds of all people who said that they use exercise to relieve symptoms of stress and depression believe that exercise actually works for them. However, the scientific community has yet to understand how this happens. For now, it remains a truth that people benefit from exercise for mental health.