When I come home from my early morning swim, my mind and body are buzzing with endorphins, which makes me happy, talkative, and excited. Almost to the dismay of my just awakening family, who cannot keep up with my early morning energy high.
Exercise makes you feel good. There is a sense of accomplishment. There are good chemical reactions in our bodies. When you exercise, your body releases natural cannabis-like brain chemicals that enhance your sense of well-being. These chemicals are called endogenous cannabinoids. Endorphins are among the brain chemicals known as neurotransmitters. They transmit electrical signals within the nervous system and interact with opiate receptors in the brain. The result is a reduction in the perception of pain.
Exercise reduces a person’s chances of developing depression, according to this study. While exercising your body has the ability to focus on something other than your worries. Exercise can also improve depressive symptoms in people diagnosed with depression. But it doesn’t help everyone.
Some people don’t or can’t exercise. For some, depressive symptoms are too severe to motivate them to take the initiative. For others, physical limitations make exercise challenging. But research shows that 40-50 percent of people with depression have a “largely” positively response to exercise. The symptom relief that many are experiencing leads to only 18 percent of people to “drop out” of exercise as a treatment. The dropout rate for talk therapy is 19 percent and medication is 26 and 28 percent.
So what can people do to begin to incorporate exercise into their life?
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