Exercise to Reduce Stress Levels

There is an old saying that the best thing for stress is a little strain. What this really means is that exercise (strain) is a good way of managing stress. Exercise is itself a form of stress, and over exercising, such as creating a state of physical exhaustion or chronic overtraining, can be severely debilitating and increase the risk of injury and disease significantly. In particular over exercising can increase inflammation and oxidative stress. However, as with all stresses, it is possible to adapt to exercise stress if enough recovery time is allowed. This increases the general resistance to stress and actually decreases the impact that other day to day stresses can have. Studies have investigated the effects of daily long term exercise and found that it can significantly reduce stress hormone levels compared to individuals who do not exercise. Therefore including regular and progressively harder exercise into a daily routine is a great way to lower general stress levels and may therefore significantly improve health and mood. 

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Bandara, M., Rathnayake, A. I. S. and Somasiri, K. G. 2017. The effect of long term physical exercises on plasma cortisol levels. International Journal of Medicine. 5(2): 239-242

About Robert Barrington

Robert Barrington is a writer, nutritionist, lecturer and philosopher.
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