TITLE

How Exercise Boosts the Brain and Improves Mental Health

DESCRIPTION

Wow!  What a thorough article that provides so much important detail regarding how beneficial exercise can be for improving mental health. 
“It’s hardly news that exercise is good for your physical health, and has long been extolled for mental health as well. But researchers are now making progress in understanding how, exactly, exercise may work its mental magic…. Exercise, they are learning, has profound effects on brain structure itself, and especially in regions most affected by depression and schizophrenia. It also provides other, more subtle benefits such as focus, a sense of accomplishment and sometimes social stimulation, all of which are therapeutic in their own right. And while more is generally better, even modest levels of physical activity, such as a daily walk, can pay big dividends for mental health.”  This article provides links to a number of excellent important studies that empirically validate how exercise helps problems of mental health that includes anxiety and depression.

This article can help provide resources and links for students interested in the topic related to mental health, disorders, positive psychology, and brain and nervous system and body physiology.

SOURCE

Knowable Magazine, January 21, 2022, by Bob Holmes

LINK TO RESOURCE

https://knowablemagazine.org/article/mind/2022/exercise-boosts-brain-mental-health

(Tiny URL)  https://tinyurl.com/3ppvryeh

CLASS DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

•What are the benefits of exercise on Mental Health?

•Can you cite an empirical study that demonstrates the positive effects of exercise on such disorders as anxiety and depression?

•How does exercise affect the body, brain, and metabolism in terms of mental health?