Many people find that physical activity helps them maintain positive mental health, either on its own, or in combination with other treatments.

How can physical activity help my mental health?

There are many studies which have shown that doing physical activity can improve mental health. For example, it can help with:

• better sleep – by making you feel more tired at the end of the day
• happier moods – physical activity releases feel-good hormones that make you feel better in yourself and give you more energy
• managing stress, anxiety or intrusive and racing thoughts – doing something physical releases cortisol which helps us manage stress. Being physically active also gives your brain something to focus on and can be a positive coping strategy for difficult times
• better self-esteem – being more active can make you feel better about yourself as you improve and meet your goals
• reducing the risk of depression – studies have shown that doing regular physical activity can reduce the likelihood of experiencing a period of depression
• connecting with people – doing group or team activities can help you meet new and like-minded people, and make new friends.

You don’t need to devote hours out of your busy day to train at the gym, sweat buckets, or run mile after monotonous mile to reap all the physical and mental health benefits of exercise. Just 30-minutes of moderate exercise five times a week is enough. And even that can be broken down into two 15-minute or even three 10-minute exercise sessions if that’s easier.