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Rubie Riddle, staff photographer
Rubie is a sophomore at Carlsbad High school, and this is her first year in journalism. She loves to play volleyball and hang out with her friends. She enjoys traveling, art, and photography.
Exercise reduces anxiety levels
Exercise has been proven effective for people who suffer with anxiety.
March 12, 2018
People around the world suffer from anxiety and stress, which in fact is the number one diagnosed mental illness. However, this problem is not a lost cause, as people can resort to physical activity as a way to reduce their symptoms instead of just relying on their prescribed medicines. Although anxiety is nearly impossible to eliminate, the science behind athletics reducing stress proves positive in many cases.
Exerting physical activity secretes hormones from your brain and nervous system called endorphins, which act as natural painkillers and also improve the ability to sleep, which in turn reduces stress. Drugs used as antidepressants act in correspondence with the effects of exercise in which they both emphasize the brain’s capacity to absorb serotonin. Furthermore, while suffering from depression, you are also adding death cells in the hippocampus, which is known to be the center of emotion. The factor of physical activity prevents these and strengthens cell and nerve growth.
Even minimal aerobics per day can boost your mood and produce the endorphins necessary to reduce your anxiety level. Some minor activities include biking, a leisure walk or stretching. When your mind is consumed with stress and you feel overwhelmed, it is proven that the rest of your body feels the tension as well. This direct correlation between our physical and mental states proves that if your physical health improves, your mental state will also improve.
Incorporating fitness into your daily routine is important for all, but especially crucial for people under the age of 21. Symptoms of anxiety and depression majorly appear during childhood and teenage years. Currently, approximately 18 percent of adults in the U.S. suffer from an anxiety disorder, along with eight percent of our youth. Thus, stressing the emphasis on activity at an early age to help reduce the possibility of anxiety is an exceptionally effective solution.
Benefits of exercise other than anxiety reduction include enhanced awareness, less lethargy, peaked concentration and overall heightened physical status. As the benefits of physical activity are long-lasting and essential to our lives, exercise must be treated as a primary method of bettering our mentalities and creating a society with extremely minimal anxiety levels in the future.