Exercise can give a great boost to your mental health. Exercising releases endorphins, which are natural mood boosters, and positively impact your brain chemistry – but it doesn’t quite always work out as planned. Here’s an example: we get great satisfaction from working out on the treadmill at the gym, but if the guy next to us is singing to the music in his earbuds or carrying on a loud phone conversation, we leave the gym both sweaty and annoyed. And it turns out we’re not alone. A new study out of the University of Georgia suggests context matters to whether exercise boosts your mood … or brings it down. Who you’re with, why you’re exercising and even the weather can impact the mental results of your exercise.
Researchers in the study used the example of playing soccer: "If a soccer player runs down the field and kicks the game-winning ball, their mental health is fantastic. In contrast, if you do the exact same exercise but miss the goal and people are blaming you, you likely feel very differently. Anecdotes such as these show how context matters even when people are performing a similar exercise dose,” said Patrick O'Connor, co-author of the study.
We’re used to evaluating exercise based upon time committed, distance covered, calories burned but in fact you may be getting different mental health benefits depending upon how you exercise. Exercising for fun, with friends, or in enjoyable settings brings greater mental health benefits than simply moving for chores or obligations.
Our advice: as you make your exercise plan, don’t just focus on time and distance, or weights moved. Also consider who you are exercising with, where you are exercising and whether it is an environment that you will enjoy. And please, please don’t sing out loud on the treadmill.
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