The Effects of Physical Activity on Mental Health

Introduction: The mental health epidemic. A common phrase mentioned in our world today. Many people suffer from depression, anxiety, and emotional issues. One way to ease these symptoms and prevent them from dramatically affecting one's life is adequate physical activity.Physical activity can be anything from working out at the gym, playing basketball with friends, or maybe even daily walks around the neighborhood. Research has proven that exercise has many health benefits. The benefits range from controlling one's weight to being fun and social. Thesis statement: Physical activity positively impacts mental health by easing symptoms of depression and anxiety, improving overall mood and outlook, and provides an opportunity to build healthy relationships.

Topic sentence: Physical activity impacts mental health positively by reducing feelings of depression and anxiety. Anxiety and depression affect many people worldwide. Evidence & citing: In the United States alone there are over 40 million adults or, 18.1% of the population every year that suffers from anxiety. It is also very treatable, but very few people receive treatment every year. Depression, on the other hand, affects over 16 million Americans per year. Depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues can be treated by therapy, medication, and other treatment. Physical activity can also help ease symptoms of depression and anxiety. Evidence & citing: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states, “Engaging in regular physical activity reduces the risk of developing depression in children and adults and can improve many of the symptoms experienced by people with depression”. Just simply engaging in regular physical activity can help relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Topic sentence: Physical activity also helps improve the overall mood of people. It helps people gain confidence and participate more in social situations. Meeting goals through exercise, small or big, boosts people's confidence in themselves. When people realize they are able to achieve small and big goals their confidence increases. Confidence can help people through problems they may go through. Whether problems are small or big, confidence can help people get through them. Participating in physical activity can also help people meet new people and be social. Meeting different people by going to the gym or participating in sports teams can help people gain healthy relationships with the people around them. Talking to people can always improve people's mood. Having conversations can help people talk through daily problems, get something off their chest, or just have a good laugh. Regular exercise can also reduce stress. When the body is under stress it usually involves tense muscles, headaches, muscle cramps, stomachaches, and more. Exercise helps break the negative cycle and releases endorphins in the brain that will relax the body. Regular physical activity helps improve people's overall mood, participate in social situations, and reduce stress. These all help to have an improved life.

Topic sentence: As most people know physical activity also improves overall health. Evidence & citing: Physical activity can help reduce chances of having chronic diseases. Many diseases can be prevented by physical activity such as, many types of cancer, type 2 diabetes, strokes, high blood pressure, arthritis, and more. Physical activity can also help to control or prevent weight gain. Even if people don’t have time to always go to the gym making other healthy choices can improve health a lot. Physical activity helps to prevent many things. It also is simple to do. Even small things like walking up the stairs or choosing to walk instead of driving a short distance can make a difference in people's lives. Only half of all adults get the physical activity necessary to reduce and prevent chronic diseases. Not participating in physical activities regularly can take a toll on a person’s health. Not being able to prevent those diseases can affect people for the rest of their lives.

Topic sentence: A common concern among people who exercise regularly is whether or not it is going to cause more stress, especially towards school. Of course, exercising regularly does take time away from what could be spent studying. It also sometimes depending on the sport can lead to more late nights spent doing homework or other work. Evidence & citing: However, exercise can actually improve mental cognition. “Compared to inactive people, people who do greater amounts of moderate- or vigorous-intensity physical activity may experience improvements in cognition, including performance on academic achievement tests, and performance on neuropsychological tests, such as those involving mental processing speed, memory, and executive function”. Unlike some popular opinion physical activity, especially in sports, can improve academic performance. Evidence & citing: Physical activity also helps to improve sleep. Regular exercise helps to decrease the amount of time it takes for people to fall asleep. It also helps increase sleep quality, amount of time actually sleeping, and more deep sleep. Improvement in sleep quality helps people to feel less tired throughout the day and able to be more productive during the day which will help people perform better at school or work.Being more awake and aware can help people make the correct choices in there daily lives. Physical activity does in fact increase cognition and improves sleep, which both help people to get through their days whether at school or work.

Making healthy choices is an important part of everyone's lives. Whether it is choosing a salad over a cheeseburger or taking the stairs versus the elevator. But how much exercise should people be doing every week? Evidence & citing: People should be participating in 150 minutes of aerobic activity each week. Aerobic exercise is another word for cardiovascular conditions. Aerobic exercise is when the heart rate and breathing are increased because of the amount of exercise. Some examples of aerobic exercise are walking, swimming, running, or riding a bike. Aerobic exercise is easy to do from home. Simple things like jump rope, walking, biking, and running are exercise that can be done at home. Some exercises can also be done at the gym. Some examples are swimming, stationary bike, elliptical machine, and more (Laskowski). Exercise can be easy or hard depending on how intense people choose to make it.

Conclusion paragraph: In conclusion, physical activity can improve your daily lives greatly. Symptoms of depression and anxiety can be reduced by doing simple exercises regularly. Improving overall mood is also a positive reason to do regular physical activity. A better mood makes everything in your day feel more doable. Physical activity also helps people to be more confident and gain healthy relationships with people around them. Participating in physical activity can also help people perform better academically or even at work. By improving cognition and sleep people can perform better throughout the day and be able to do their best. Making healthy choices can make a huge positive impact on people's lives. By exercising regularly you can ease symptoms of depression and anxiety, improve your overall mood, obtain better health, and build healthy relationships.

Works Cited

• “Depression and Anxiety: Exercise Eases Symptoms.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 27 Sept. 2017, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/depression-and-exercise/art-20046495.
• Edward R. Laskowski, M.D. “How Much Exercise Do You Really Need?” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 27 Apr. 2019, www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/expert-answers/exercise/faq-20057916.
• “Facts Statistics.” Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA, adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics.
• “Physical Activity Basics | Physical Activity | CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019, www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/index.htm.
• “The Mental Health Benefits of Exercise.” HelpGuide.org, 19 June 2019, www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-living/the-mental-health-benefits-of-exercise.htm.
• “Why It Matters | Physical Activity | CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019, www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/about-physical-activity/why-it-matters.html.
• “7 Great Reasons Why Exercise Matters.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 11 May 2019, www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20048389.