How Exercise and the Right Mindset Can Transform Your Daily Life
By Amanda Da Silva, B.Hkin, B.Ed, and M.Ed
5-minute read
Camping out in front of your laptop can put a strain on your mental and physical health, leaving you sore and exhausted.
If you lead a mostly sedentary lifestyle, you may have developed a tendency to snack more often or overeat during mealtimes.
Eating a balanced diet while maintaining a regular exercise regimen will not only keep your body healthy but keep your mind sharp and focused as well. It’s time to ditch the sugary bowl of cereal and morning coffee doused in cream and sweetener!
Instead, try a more nutritious breakfast like oatmeal and fruit or eggs and grainy toast. This will give you the energy you need to tackle any challenges ahead without the sugar crash come mid-afternoon. Combined with the right amount of exercise, this can help you sleep better, improve your productivity, and boost your confidence.
How Exercise and the Right Mindset Can Transform Your Daily Life ⤵
Your Brain and Body When Stressed
“In a nutshell: Stress is stress - no matter whether it's from exercise or from lifestyle - and the more stress you're placing on yourself from your lifestyle, the less stress you'll be able to place on yourself from exercise.” ― Ben Greenfield, Beyond Training: Mastering Endurance, Health Life
Stress is a natural reaction to everyday life experiences. Everyone goes through it every once in a while, whether it’s due to work responsibilities, personal obligations, or serious/triggering major life events. Although this is a controversial topic, stress can be a good thing in short-term situations.
It’s what incites your ‘fight or flight’ response. Since it was designed to protect you in an emergency, when your stress levels increase, your hypothalamus (the control tower in your brain) sends the signal to release cortisol (the stress hormone) to prepare your body to react in a quick manner.
With that said, when these stress hormones keep firing non-stop, they can put a serious strain on your mental and physical health. This leads to feelings of irritability, exhaustion, anxiety, depression, headaches, insomnia. Over time, high levels of cortisol can lead to weight gain, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes.
It can even impede your immune system functions, reduce your energy levels, and cause drastic mood swings.
The Neuroscience of Physical Activity
While physical activity can increase your cortisol levels, this only happens for a short amount of time following your workout.
This is mainly because of the stress exercise puts on your body. The increase occurs so your body is adjusted to the intensity of the physical activity, allowing it to meet the challenge.
Moreover, your levels of cortisol decrease by a significant amount at night. The mental and physical benefits of exercise stem from a neurochemical basis. Exercise not only reduces your stress hormone levels but also stimulates the production and secretion of mood-elevating chemicals like endorphins. These are responsible for the ‘runner’s high’ and promote feelings of relaxation and optimism [1].
Because exercise transforms the way your brain creates and uses neurotransmitters, the changes it makes in your functional brain areas also influence pathways of serotonin and dopamine, making you feel more content. As a result, your ability to cope with stressful situations improves.
Moreover, physical activity has been found to ‘de-age’ certain parts of your brain and prevent neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, dementia, and Parkinson’s. The hippocampus (part of your brain responsible for long-term memory) also appears to be up to 6.5 years younger with daily physical activity [2].
Since exercise offers numerous benefits to brain health, including improved mood and memory, scientists advise people to incorporate 30 minutes of some form of physical activity into their day to keep them both cognitively and physically healthy.
A Fitness Mindset Matters
“You have to leave behind the exhausting pursuit of exercise for the sake of exercise and discover the beautiful balance between health and performance.” ― Ben Greenfield, Beyond Training: Mastering Endurance, Health & Life
Perhaps you already knew the many benefits of exercise. You read the articles, watched the documentaries, you even bought the equipment, yet you can’t seem to find the motivation to actually get up and do it. The truth is exercise will seem more of a chore than a fun activity at first. What matters the most is your mindset and how you go into it.
If you begin your workout thinking ‘I won’t be able to complete this session’, ‘this is too hard’, ‘I’d rather be working than doing this’, this will only fire up your stress levels even further. On the other hand, if you approach exercise with a more open mind, you will feel more accomplished at the end of your session. You will also get to benefit from the release of mood-regulating chemicals like dopamine and serotonin.
You don’t necessarily have to get a gym membership or join a class to get your daily dose of physical activity. There’s plenty you can do right outside your door as well as in the comfort of your own home. Having a set schedule for the day is essential for you to accomplish everything you’ve set out to do.
Even if you’ve never had one before, a daily routine is now more important than ever. Creating a thorough plan is the first step towards accomplishing anything. So, in addition to your usual tasks, be they researching, sending out emails, or making calls, your schedule should also include 30 to 45 minutes of exercise.
Whether it’s an at-home body workout, a quick sprint on the treadmill, or even taking your dog for a walk. The more diverse your exercise regimen is, the better. You just need to get your heart pumping and those happy-feel endorphins flowing. Best of all, a good workout and a healthy meal will leave you feeling energized and optimistic.
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Hi! I’m Amanda Da Silva.
I’m a mother of two boys, a wife, daughter, teacher, entrepreneur, former CEO, and life-long learner. I’m all about personal growth, community 💕, and being of service. (Find out more about me here.) In addition to being passionate about personal development, I’m an educator and coach with 20-years experience teaching and leading in the BC school system. I have a B.Hkin, B.Ed, and M.Ed, specializing in leadership and administration. Creating community and leading thriving teams are two of my favourite things to do. I also love helping people live empowered and growth-oriented lives.
I hope you’ll join me as we build our success together! 🙌
