Learn about Exercise & Stress Management 

Exercise & Stress Management 

Who feels stress? Everyone. Mental and emotional stress can be difficult to manage if you do not recognize and employ strategies to effectively and proactively deal with stress. Have you ever taken a long walk or punched a heavy bag for a few rounds in response to a stressful event in your life? If so, you are managing stress. There are many ways to manage stress. Of course, some methods are better than others. Stress management by constructive means adds to your quality of life and actually provides a sense of both accomplishment and satisfaction.

In fact, stress is essentially emotions and physical manifestations expressed as a result of being unsatisfied with the desired outcome. It is how you either positively or negatively manage the stress that can make a difference in how well you feel and express yourself. Your sense of well-being is felt a result of your behavior and coping mechanisms throughout life. What coping mechanisms do you employ to manage stress? How is this method working for you?

How does exercise affect stress management? 

Let’s start by discovering where stress begins. Stress begins in your brain. Your brain interprets stress by signals sent through an amazing nerve super-highway. This incredible network of nerves transmits chemical signals that are received by other nerve cells that signal responses to stimuli as conditioned by both your environment and biological or genetic factors. The way your brain manages energy needs is an example of a biological process. The way your brain interprets a threat or fear is in part a conditioned and biological process. However, the way your brain interprets pleasure may be very different. For example, dopamine is a neurotransmitter hormone, a part of several dopamine systems, one neurotransmitter associated with movement, attention and learning, and the brain’s pleasure and reward system[1].

Scientists’ research on exercise and any impact on the brain conclude cognitive function is improved. Cognitive function appears to be another benefit to health as a result of regular exercise. Researchers believe that when you exercise levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)[2], a member of the neurotrophin family, a group of polypeptide growth factors that are structurally similar, stimulate neurogenesis, increase resistance to injury to your brain, improve mental performance, and improve your ability to learn[3]. Essentially, when you choose to regularly perform exercises your brain is influenced to change and adapt to stimuli, in this case performing exercises, as a result of the experience. This is a very good thing.

So, the benefit of choosing to exercise is that the brain actually improves its ability to think, reason, remember, and improve your ability to learn. So how does this related to stress management? As you learn, in a practical sense, how to channel stress as a result of the way your brain interprets stress and, therefore, based on the environmental contribution or conditioning, you continue to exercise, the process continues to improve your abilities — both physically and mentally. If you are in good physical shape and continue to stimulate your brain, your body, brain, thoughts, actions, and coping mechanisms can continue to improve. Essentially, you are conditioning your body and brain to work together to improve your health and manage stress effectively as a result of willfully or consciously making good decisions. The link between your improved brain cognitive function and improved physical fitness level is very strong. Your brain feels good — and so does your body.

What other factors influence stress management? 

Other factors, too, influence your ability to manage stress. In addition to the benefits of exercise related to brain function and stress management mentioned above, when you exercise your body processes fuels more efficiently. Meaning you burn calories for energy to exercise. This means you utilize carbohydrates and fat to burn body fat. In one of the education sections of our website, we dive deeply into the process of metabolism and how the body metabolizes fuels. To learn more about this, use the search bar to enter a question or phrase related to what you would like to learn more about. As your body burns fuel for energy it also uses oxygen as a result of respiration. Regular exercise within proper intensity burns extra fuels, helps you to become stronger, more flexible, and better able to accomplish activities of daily living with greater ease. This leads to better physical performance, improved stress management, improved sleep, and the cycle repeats itself as long as you continue to exercise regularly. So, exercise helps you to manage stress because you choose to condition your body and brain to respond positively to exercise, you burn extra calories, and you sleep better. It’s that simple — now, go exercise!

Physical Activity & Stress Management

Of People Polled in a formal American Psychological Association Survey on Stress and Anxiety Disorders: [4]

People who make use of regular exercise to cope with stress

Of people who do exercise, walking, running, and yoga is beneficial

People do not make use of regular exercise to cope with stress