Take the First Step toward Better Mental and Physical Health

Have you heard? The act of walking is catching yourself each time after falling (forward). Let’s take this one step forward; go for a walk. If you can’t go out for a walk, get out of your chair in front of the TV and walk around your place during commercials.

Again, one further step, walk 10,000 steps each day. More- jog all or part of the walk. Get the idea?

Here are things experts say:

Gretchen Reynolds¹, “Stuck at your work desk? Standing up and walking around for five minutes every hour during the workday could lift your mood, combat lethargy without reducing focus and attention, and even dull hunger pangs, according to an instructive new study”.

“People who sit for more than eight or nine hours daily, which for many of us describes a typical workday, also are at heightened risk for diabetes, depression and obesity compared with people who move more often”.

“Dr. Alexander² and his colleagues hope to perform experiments in the future that could tell us more about how running and other physical activities actually alter thinking patterns and whether, as we age, we might be able literally to run away from mental decline”.

Mayo Clinic Staff³, “Exercise helps prevent and improve a number of health problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes and arthritis. Research on anxiety, depression and exercise shows that the psychological and physical benefits of exercise can also help reduce anxiety and improve mood”.

“Some research shows that physical activity such as regular walking — not just formal exercise programs — may help improve mood. Physical activity and exercise are not the same thing, but both are beneficial to your health”.

Fellow mental health practitioners such as the Counseling on Demand team frequently recommend this to clients. We call it, “Double down by combining exercise with regular therapy”.⁴

We are online at CounselingonDemand.com

We are only a click away.

1. Gretchen Reynolds, Work. Walk 5 Minutes. Work. nytimes.com/2016/12/28/well/move/work-walk-5-minutes-work.html
2. Gretchen Reynolds,Running as the Thinking Person’s Sport, Quoting Dr. Alexander, nytimes.com/2016/12/14/well/move/running-as-the-thinking-persons-sport.html?
3. Mayo Clinic Staff, mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/in-depth/depression-and-exercise/art-20046495
4. Matthew Hunt, Easing Symptoms of Depression & Anxiety through Exercise,  http://www.counselingondemand.com/anxiety/easing-symptoms-depression-anxiety-exercise/