How Movement Can Impact Mental Health
We need to rethink movement! When movement is recommended for improving one’s mental health, the first assumptions are: gym time, 1-hour exercise, or some form of intensive activity. Let’s add some more depth to the “movement” concept so that it can be uniquely applied to your daily routine.
Having daily movement allows our brain to enact the neurotransmitters that release serotonin and endorphins. The release of these chemicals decreases our stress level, which in turn improves our mood. (1) Brain Derived Neurotropic Factor is a protein in our brain that protects brain cells and promotes new cells leading to mental clarity. Our brain chemicals do not inherently know the difference between a walk, doing laundry, or playing with our pets. The same mental clarity from going on a walk outside can still be given from window shopping, playing a virtual reality game, or rearranging your space, to name a few. Movement is not a one size fits all activity, but can be catered to your lifestyle, and what you need for the day.
Movement can also be experienced incrementally in your day. About twenty minutes of moderate-intensity exercise a day can improve some mental health symptoms. (2) (3) (Disclaimer: The previous statement is not to advocate for discontinuing medication, but more so to show the powerful effects of adding movement in your routine. Exercise can be an added treatment to your medication management goals with your doctor. Talk with your doctor before making any changes to your medication plans.) We often look at coping skills as all-or-nothing, we need to do it or we don’t. Within Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) there is a skill called working through the scaling technique. This means, when you have a goal, doing 20-minute exercises daily for example, you can work up to it in increments. Let’s say that the daily exercise would be a 10 on a 0-10 scale, you could still engage in accessing movement in the 1-9 range of the scale. Essentially, the idea would be you are working your way up to the ‘10’ and still experiencing benefits on the way there. The twenty minutes does not necessarily need to be experienced consecutively at first. For people that work or go to school, this could look like standing for a minute, taking a lap around your building, or doing some quick stretches. If you are someone who has days where it can be difficult to find the motivation to get exercise, this mindset change on exercise and movement can be a great kick start for you to start engaging in the helpful effects of movement and self-care. Eventually, it may become easier to include a 20-minute exercise in your daily routine to improve your mental health. (4)
Exercise does not have to be something you dread, but really should be something you look forward to and enjoy. Likely, you are already experiencing some form of movement throughout your day. My hope is you all have happy movement, replenish your nutrients, and stay hydrated. Let’s all have a happy moving Summer!
