May is the mental health awareness month, even though every month should be.

I waited to speak about it and saved this blog post till almost the end of the month, because I wanted to ensure I left you all with a message that you could go into the rest of the year with.

That message is that your health and fitness play a vital role in ensuring that your mental health is stable and sound.

So how does exercise affect our mental health?

When you exercise, your brain releases endorphines which are essentially feel good hormones, and these leave you on a “high,” which is why you will notice that when you do exercise, your mood seems better.

Exercise also helps with your self confidence and self esteem, aside from the obvious reason which is that you’re likely to be in very dope form, you also get that boost from nailing your Workout, which in turn makes you feel confident enough to take up any challenge at all.

Another benefit? Exercise will greatly reduce your anxiety/stress levels. When you are feeling stressed and  work out, your head gets clearer and all that exercise just makes you able to think clearer.

Also, since exercise has also been known to help sleep, little wonder the relaxation from sleep helps you relax better.

With an exercise like yoga, that forces participants to practice meditation, deep breathing and deep focus, mental health issues like anxiety and stress can be totally taken care of, or put under control.

Poor health and disease is one of the leading causes of depression, stress and anxiety. Since regular exercise will take care of most diseases, then it means exercise is in turn, reducing depression, anxiety and stress.

At the end of the day, our mind and body are inseparable, so as you do your best for your body, you are also doing your best for your mind.

So please remember to take fitness not just as a physical exercise, but a mental one and one very necessary for your mental health.