“"In a healthy body - a healthy mind!" - the connection between physical exercise and mental health

Photo: Shutterstock

“"MENS sana in corpore sano" is an old Latin proverb found in a poem by the Roman author Juvenal (Satire X, verse 356). The proverb in its original form says that only a healthy spirit and a healthy body should be sought (prayed) from God. Later, people realized that these two things often go together and that we can improve or preserve our physical and mental health through physical exercise.

When we talk about the benefits of exercise for human health, we can highlight two directions: one is the improvement of the general health status, and the other is the prevention of diseases. From the earliest age, the task of physical exercise is to have a positive effect on the growth and development of the organism and the functional abilities of the organic systems. Furthermore, encourage proper body posture, develop hygiene and eating habits, but certainly improve interpersonal relationships. During physical exercise, there is a great opportunity for the development of positive social and moral qualities such as: teamwork, solidarity, justice, determination, courage, composure, persistence, perseverance, discipline, responsibility, honesty, modesty, optimism, honesty, cultural behavior, patriotism, etc.

The modern way of life often brings symptoms of anxiety and stress to which most people are not immune. The main factor in short-term mood swings is physical exercise or recreation; through enjoyment and satisfaction in the activities we perform (in society) we try to reach the key elements for psychological well-being, and the activities themselves take our minds away from problems at least for a while. When we talk about benefits for the individual, we must mention the cause-and-effect relationship that physical exercise has on psychophysical health. By increasing strength, endurance (improving fitness) or reducing body weight (or other physical defects such as bad posture, irregular legs...) an individual gets a better opinion of himself, which increases the perception of personal possibilities and abilities, and thus leads to an increase in self-confidence and additional motivation to continue physical exercise, which will enable him to achieve higher goals. Numerous studies conducted on depressed people (schoolchildren, students, workers) have proven that physical exercise has almost the same effect on health as psychotherapy methods. In the fight against stress, exercise helps to expel negative energy from the body. Exercise reduces the level of the "stress hormone" - cortisol, and increases the level of endorphins - the hormone responsible for the feeling of happiness and natural energy. Exercise distracts attention from the source of stress, and researchers confirm that regular exercise reduces sensitivity to stress, but also makes it easier to deal with existing stress.

How come some people have more self-esteem and others less?

Numerous studies have shown that regular exercise and sports are negatively associated with stress, anxiety and depression, and positively with self-esteem. We can argue that there is a significant connection between engaging in physical activities and increased self-esteem, because people who engage in a certain type of exercise have the opportunity, through their activity, to increase or build their self-esteem, while people who are not inclined to physical activity do not have the opportunity to influence their self-esteem in this way. In general, it can be said that the level of self-esteem of athletes/exercisers depends on various factors such as: involvement, success, satisfaction with appearance, motivation, financial gain, etc.

Conclusion

Looking at everything that exercise tries to achieve, we can conclude that it develops the functional, morphological, motor, conative and cognitive characteristics of the organism by acting on the biological, health, educational, educational, economic, recreational and creative fields of human activities. We can also safely say that physical exercise increases the quality of life of an individual. These presented conclusions agree with the data of the World Health Organization, whose recommendation is daily physical activity lasting at least half an hour. Therefore, exercising daily or exercising at least three times a week for one hour is the best way to prevent treatment and improve your physical or mental health!

Source: Fitness trainer