You Will Get Through This Night by Daniel Howell

Author:Daniel Howell [Howell, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780063053885
Google: o8D8DwAAQBAJ
Amazon: 0063053888
Publisher: HarperCollins UK
Published: 2021-05-17T23:00:00+00:00

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Movement

Our bodies are meant to move. It makes sense that our brains react to what we think our bodies need – so to change how we feel, sometimes we have to get up and go.

Imagine your brain, sitting up there, just waiting for some kind of signal to shoot some hormone into your body, or emotion into your consciousness, so you can rise to a challenge. Our brains are ready to handle everything from a marathon to hunting down a mammoth, to sprinting away from that sabre-toothed tiger (yes, it’s still there) – but for some of us the biggest daily movement challenge is getting off the sofa to get a snack from the fridge. The good news is, if we want to help our mental health with our movement, we don’t need to perform crazy feats of human endurance. Just a little, when you need it, can make a huge difference.

Let’s talk about the e-word (at least it’s not another d-word). No not ‘electroencephalographically’, that’s the longest one. Exercise. The act of suffering, to apparently ‘gain’ something. For people like me who run, ironically, in fear from this, do not worry – for mental health it’s much better to just think: ‘movement’. One study showed that just an hour of walking, throughout the whole of your day at any point, can significantly reduce the risk of depression. You don’t need to be an Olympic athlete, it’s really just the difference between nothing at all and doing literally anything. Movement can be as effective as antidepressant medication in treating mild to moderate depression and dissipating anxiety. By releasing endorphins that numb our pain, we literally get high off our own supply. These feel-good chemicals can help relieve tension and stress, but even more than the supposed chemical ‘solution’ – just choosing to do any kind of physical activity is a distraction.

It’s been shown that exercise can boost your productivity and creativity for over two hours afterwards, so it can be good to get you up for tackling that difficult mental challenge. Even on a small level, just going for a walk when in a depressive mood changes our environment, giving us something to focus on to distract our anxiety; it tires us out to relieve stress, and is one of the best ways to snap out of your current mental state to feel fresh! Who wouldn’t want all these things? Me, apparently, every time I emotionally debate whether I really want to put on pants and go outside.

If you are someone who already gets a good amount of movement in your life, whether that’s from daily travelling, walking a dog, or you are indeed one of those ‘gym people’ – the good news is you are already looking after your mind. If you enter a period of your life when, for whatever reason, you grind to a halt and don’t get out of bed, you will probably notice a big difference to how you feel, and hopefully appreciate the importance of movement.

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