Health: Exercise Boosts Mental Health

Exercise Boosts Mental Health

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Exercise Your Self-Confidence

Plagued with self-doubt? Go for a swim, a jog, a hike or a bike ride. A recent study at Cardiff University in the U.K. found that student nurses who regularly engage in moderate or vigorous physical activity and who have greater total amounts of physical activity have higher levels of self-efficacy -- a belief in the ability to succeed in a particular situation. Whatever form of exercise you choose, be sure to do it regularly and at a moderate to vigorous intensity.

Get Fit for Stress

Exercise is often recommended as a powerful technique for managing stress, and it’s no wonder why: It distracts you from your problems, lets you sweat out your frustrations and boosts your senses of physical and emotional strength and resilience. “Exercise whips your body and mind into better shape to handle stressors,” Smits explains. “Exercise in itself is a stressor -- it requires effort, and it forces the body to adapt to the demands placed on it. So your body and your mind are toughened up by exercise.” Working out can also reduce your physical and mental reactivity to stress when it does happen, he adds.

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