Most people go to the gym to achieve physical fitness goals such as weight loss, muscle tone or increased endurance. But regularly working out at the gym can provide excellent emotional benefits, too. According to Harvard Medical School, regular fitness activity can improve your mood while reducing stress and anxiety, and helping you fight symptoms of depression.
How Exercise Can Benefit You
If you've had a particularly stressful day, a half-hour walk at the gym track or on the treadmill can provide the emotional lift and stress reduction you need, according to the Mayo Clinic. But those who experience occasional bad moods or a downturn in their emotional state aren't the only ones who can benefit from regular trips to the gym. The Mayo Clinic finds that regular exercise could make a big difference for some people by helping to ease symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Mental and Physiological Effects That Benefit You Emotionally
As you begin your workout, your brain's neurotransmitters -- one of its chemical messengers -- connect memory with muscle to get you moving, according to the Franklin Institute. The feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment you experience during your workout stimulate the pleasure center of your brain and lift your mood. At the same time, the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline are reduced as endorphins are released, finds Harvard Medical Center. This combination of activity helps decrease stress levels, while increasing feelings of happiness, calmness and pleasure.
Consistent workouts at the gym will eventually help you achieve your fitness goals. When you look in the mirror and see a thinner or more muscular body staring back at you, you'll gain improvements in self-esteem and self-confidence. Additionally, time spent exercising with other people in an aerobics class provides you with a social environment where you can reap the emotional benefits gained through the camaraderie you develop with other classmates.
To reap emotional benefits from going to the gym regularly, you should exercise at least 30 minutes most days of the week, according to Kansas State University. If you find it difficult to find a half-hour block of free time, you can reap the same benefits by exercising in 10-minute spurts. Vary your exercise and engage in workouts that are fun; the Mayo Clinic finds that those who enjoy working out tend to stick with it longer.
- Harvard Medical School: Benefits of Exercise -- Reduces Stress, Anxiety...
- Mayo Clinic: Exercise: 7 Benefits of Regular Physical Activity
- Mayo Clinic: Depression and Anxiety: Exercise Eases Symptoms
- The Franklin Institute: The Human Brain -- Where Mind Meets Body
- Kansas State University: Health Benefits of Regular Exercise
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