Why exercise is important for your mental health during lockdown
One positive impact of being in lockdown is that most of us now have more time for exercise – and we need it more than ever.
Amid the uncertainty, anxiety and stress of this global pandemic, exercise is a fantastic coping mechanism that can help keep our body’s resilient and keep us mentally strong.
Despite the fact that sport has been cancelled, gyms are closed and group exercise is off the table, people are stepping up and finding more ways to keep active. In fact, a recent study found that one in three are exercising more since lockdown began, with running, cycling and home HIIT workouts being the preferred ways to keep fit.
All of this extra exercise is great because it can have a profoundly positive effect on our metal health. Daily exercise can help with:
Better Sleep – by making you feel more tired at the end of the day
Happier Moods – physical activity releases feel-good hormones (the famous endorphins) that make you feel better in yourself and give you more energy.
Managing Stress, Anxiety or Intrusive and Racing Thoughts – doing something physical releases cortisol which helps us manage stress. Being physically active also gives your brain something to focus on and can be a positive coping strategy for difficult times. Better Self-Esteem – being more active can make you feel better about yourself as you improve and meet your goals. Reducing The Risk Of Depression – studies have shown that doing regular physical activity can reduce the likelihood of experiencing a period of depression.
There are lots of ways to keep active during lockdown, with many gyms, personal trainers and local events now taking their services online. Here’s my top 3…
EAST COAST FITNESS ONLINE LOCKDOWN MEMBERSHIP
At East Coast Fitness we are continuing to deliver our full group-exercise timetable. Instead of training in person at Seaham Marina, we are streaming all of our workouts live, in our private Facebook group. There are workouts to suit everyone from our specialised lowimpact, low-intensity classes for beginners to our HIIT sessions for the more experienced fitness enthusiast. If you’d like more info go to www.eastcoastfitness.com BLOOMING BAMBOO YOGA Zoe James, at Blooming Bamboo, has also adapted her services to offer 5 Yoga classes a week for just £5! With a variety of yin, hatha & ashtanga practices, you’ll have access to 5 full length yoga videos each week, (some pre-recorded as well as live sessions via Zoom) – each video will be available to view online for 7 days. Yoga is another form of exercise that really helps improve your mental health, by increasing your body awareness, relieving stress and reducing muscle tension, strain, and inflammation. It also sharpens your attention and concentration, and calms and centres the nervous system. For more info go to www. bloomingbamboo.co.uk
SUNDERLAND CITY VIRTUAL RUNS
While the physical Sunderland City Runs event has been postponed until 26-27th September, the organisers have launched a Virtual event which is great if you’ve already been training and fundraising! The virtual event will allow you to put your training to the test on the original event dates!
The virtual event is a solo, virtual run, at a location of your choosing. If you’ve already started fundraising the organisers have agreed to donating half of your virtual event entry fee, after tax, to their 2020 charity partner St Benedict’s Hospice.
Registration for the event opened on Friday 24th April and will close on Friday 8th May at 10pm. You can submit your time from Saturday 9th May until midnight Monday 11th May. For more info go to www. sunderlandcity10k.com