COPING WITH STRESS: EXERCISE (SERIES 1 OF 4)
Research has shown that physical exercise is the best tension reliever. It is a very important cure for stress. Nothing eases stress more than exercise. Proper exercise gives your body to function efficiently and mental alertness.
Exercise improves your cardiovascular functions by strengthening and enlarging the heart, causing greater elasticity of the blood vessels, increasing oxygen throughout your body, and lowering your blood levels of fats such as cholesterol and triglycerides. It means less chance of developing heart conditions, strokes, or high blood pressure.
Exercise provides your mind an outlet for negative emotions such as frustration, anger, and irritability, thereby promoting a more positive mood and outlook in life. Exercise improves mood by producing positive biochemical changes in the body and brain. Regular exercise reduces the amount of adrenal hormones your body releases in response to stress. Your body system releases greater amounts of endorphins, the powerful, pain-relieving, mood-elevating chemicals in the brain. Depression often lacks these neurochemicals. Endorphins are natural pain killers and help lift your mood. The runner's high is a result of the increased endorphins in the body. Exercise, therefore, will keep your body functioning properly and will keep you feeling both relaxed, refreshed and promote deep, restful sleep.
Choose an exercise that you are interested, something that brings you into contact with other people. The value of such exercise, three times a week for 20 minutes to two hours, can not be over emphasized.
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Problems always seem less important when you are walking, swimming, running, cycling, or are involved in any physical pursuit; apart from the mental benefits, physical exercise uses up excess adrenaline.
Exercise has many beneficial effects. One, most people, when doing their specific exercise, do not worry. They are actually resting the nerve cells in the brain that worry, giving those cells time to regenerate, so they can function normally. There are different ways of relaxing your mind. Dancing, listening to music, reading, working on a hobby craft, playing a musical instrument, meditation, self relaxation, and biofeedback also relieve stress. Any activity which concentrates your attention on a subject other than life's problems will help rest your mind. This allows the brain to refresh itself.
Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Exercise
There are two types of exercise that perform different functions.
Aerobic exercise is sustained activity involving the major muscle groups, such as swimming, running, or brisk walking. Your heart and respiratory rate increase, and more oxygen is circulated through the body. This kind of exercise strengthens your cardiovascular system and increases your total strength and stamina. The goal of aerobic exercise is for your pulse to reach a training rate that is appropriate for your age. You must stay at the rate for twenty minutes, and exercise three times a week, in order to get the benefits of aerobic exercise.
Anaerobic exercise maintained a low-impact work-out done in less energetic movements just to reach and maintain your training heart rate. It does not mean that anaerobic drills are less effective. It also improves your muscle strength and flexibility that makes a good outlet for negative feelings that you might have accumulated.
There are three kinds of anaerobic exercise:
Isotonics require that your muscles contract against a resistant object with movement, such as in weight lifting.
Isometrics requires that your muscles contract against resistance without movement. Isometric exercises increase strength without building bulk.
Calisthenics are stretching exercises, such as sit-ups, toe-touches, and knee-bends, help increase flexibility and joint mobility.
The kinds of exercises you choose to do depend on your physical ability as well as your preferences. Choose activity exercises that you enjoy that are accessible and feasible for you to do regularly. You may choose your exercise routine personally alone with your thoughts. Some people find that exercising with others gives them support and encouragement and it can even be fun!
Note: Before you begin an exercise program, you should have a physical examination. If you are over the age of forty, your doctor will probably want to do a stress electrocardiogram to determine how much activity your heart can handle. If you have not exercised regularly for some time, begin slowly with low-impact exercise and gradually increase your activity.
Reference:
Ronthoughts Journal – General Exercise
http://www.medicinenet.com/aerobic_exercise/
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress
http://learntolivehealthy.net/
http://www.holisticonline.com/stress/
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