Five Ways to Wellbeing Series: Get Active

In the next in this series of blog posts, we look at the benefits of being active for our mental wellbeing.

The basic facts

Being active is not only great for your physical health and fitness. Evidence also shows it can also improve your mental wellbeing by raising your self-esteem, helping you to set goals and causing chemical changes in the brain (endorphins) that positively change your mood. Whatever your age, physical activity is shown to lower rates of depression and anxiety and is essential for slowing age-related cognitive decline. But the good news is it doesn’t need to be particularly intense for you to feel good – gentle activities, such as walking, can have the benefit of encouraging social interactions as well as providing some level of exercise. So it ticks more than one of your 5-a-day!

Start simple

What I mean by this is it doesn’t need to be too ambitious – as already said, it doesn’t have to be intense to do you some good. Some simple ways you can get physically active include:

• Go for a walk at lunchtime
• Take the stairs rather than the lift
• Walk into work – perhaps with a colleague – so you can ‘connect’ as well
• Get off the bus one stop earlier than usual and walk the final part of your journey to work

If you’re trying to find a regular way to keep physically active then try to find something that suits your lifestyle, that can fit into your routine, and you will enjoy. Because if it’s too difficult to achieve and you don’t enjoy it then it’s not going to be much good for your mental health.

My own experience of getting active

When I first embarked on rebuilding my ‘bright life’ back in 2012 I had been inactive for quite some time. If you want to read more about that time in my life then check out my blog post here. In fact, the most active I was at that point was dashing to catch a train when I was inevitably running late. With my work commitments varying on a weekly basis, it had always put any regular participation in team sports out of the question. But I knew I needed to take action to improve my physical health, and a gym membership had never worked for me – I found them both intimidating and uninspiring if that’s a possible combination! So I needed to find something that could work for me and my mental state at the time.

Swimming was something I could do on my own, and it gave me that alone time to switch off, zone out and focus on just one thing. And the pool was usually shared with pensioners who smiled sweetly at me, or focussed triathletes who had goggles on and heads down. I quickly felt at ease and could see how beneficial it was to both my physical and mental wellbeing, giving me strength and a goal. An added bonus was I could do as much or as little as I felt able to and if I wanted to cry, no one could tell! Each time I went I set myself a target for how many lengths I could do, and as I got stronger physically, so did I gain confidence too.

This was the start of me rekindling other childhood sports and activities. With my confidence and physical strength increasing, the former child gymnast within me then found circus and acrobatics – a trapeze class in a nearby town was the chance to learn a new skill, meet new people, and also get fit. The roller discos of my teens were the inspiration to buy some roller boots and then what do you do? Try roller derby of course! For several months I filled the void of Sunday mornings with derby practice and rediscovered my competitive side too. Learning a new skill whilst also getting fit, and meeting new people – fun, fitness and friendship all in one. I had found the combination that worked for me.

When I moved to Sheffield I was able to continue with circus and made a circle of friends through it, and I had more routine with work to try competitive sports or regular classes; through a circus friend, I found a social badminton club I was able to dip in and out of. I also started trampoline classes which were in blocks of weeks so I could progressively build my skills. Then when we got our fur baby my commitments changed, and I had to adapt – regular dog walks became my routine exercise and puppy classes replaced trampolining. Life changed again, and I adapted accordingly.

Just do it.. a bit

When our routine changes, it can often be exercising that takes a back seat whilst other priorities such as family and work take priority. And when our health takes a knock and exercise falls out of our routine it can often be hard to get back to it. I also know that when you are struggling, whether it be mentally, physically, or financially, then exercise can be a real challenge. But doing just a little each day can make a difference in the long run, and it doesn’t have to cost much time or any money. Rather than reinvent the wheel, there are some great links on the NHS website that may help:

Find what works for you

Regular exercise makes us feel good. But I’ll be honest, I can find exercise a real challenge sometimes. I’ve come to learn that if it’s just for me, and I can’t see the immediate benefit or the goal I’m working towards, then I will easily find something else to do instead. But I know that if I can see the social benefit of it, or I’ve made a commitment to someone who I don’t want to let down, or I can see I’ll be learning something new, or achieving a target, then I’m there. So as you try to add some physical activity into your routine, think about why you have chosen it, and if it doesn’t work for you, think about why. If a friend joined you, would you enjoy it more? If you have to book and pay upfront are you more likely to go? If you set a target with a reward for achieving it would you more likely stick to it? Or if you reduced that target or spread it throughout the day or week would it make a difference? If you planned it for a different day or time would it work better?

If you have any suggestions for how you get and stay active share them in the comments below. If you have any barriers to being active how have you overcome them?

Click here to read the next post in this series: TAKE NOTICE