Have you ever had a stressful day and then went to the gym or on a run and afterwards you felt better? There’s science behind this feeling that shows exercising has positive effects on your brain and not just your overall health.
Today I felt the same way, not so well and extremely stressed. I went to the gym with my roommates and felt better afterwards, leading me to look up how working out actually makes you feel great. According to MK McGovern, exercise makes you release certain neurotransmitters through your brain that are proven to take away pain. The article goes on to say a lot of the specifics about the neurotransmitters and endorphins being released, but I was more interested in this article because the author lays out three main points about how great exercising is. First they say that the brain lets off endorphins, which are what makes you feel so good after physical activity, and they make a good point that it doesn’t necessarily have to be going to the gym- it can be something simple as a game of tennis or softball with your friends.
Also, the good thing about getting into the daily routine of working out is that you will eventually get into the routine of feeling good. The author says that daily exercise will help you remain patient and see things more clearly, also increasing your self-confidence and helping you sleep at night.
I went onto Fitness Magazine and found that in this article they actually did a 6-week study based on aerobic conditioning. In the study, they compared the brain cells between the members that participated in this study and people that remained inactive. Through this study, they found that the people’s brains who participated in the exercise were more stable and were able to handle higher-stress situations better. From this study, scientists are saying that cardio workouts may possibly be making our brains more unyielding to stress. 
2 thoughts on “exercise does more than you think”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
I absolutely believe this! Every time I am in a slump or not feeling as happy as I usually am, running always makes me feel better. I’m not sure if I feel better because I feel like I look better or it really does release endorphins! My aunt runs 10 miles everyday and she always says how running after a certain point or time period, she gets a natural high and she could run forever. Even when I feel sick runs tend to make me feel better, so this post is definitely true. Here are 5 reasons why running makes you feel good! http://beta.active.com/running/Articles/5-Reasons-Running-Makes-You-Happier
This is a very interesting topic and so true, I know that personally I always feel a lot better after working out. It increases my energy, focus, and confidence all at once. I found this article, http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/depression-and-exercise/MH00043, that discusses how exercising can also increases mood and decrease depression. Even though becoming motivated is rough, it can be worth it once in the routine, especially if one has depression or anxiety. It reduces the immune system chemicals, increases brain chemicals, and increases body temperature all at once. It really is much more of a motivator to get in a routine based on reading this.