Feeling Stressed? Exercise Can Help
New research shows exercise may help us bounce back from stressful events
I doubt I need to get into the many reasons many of us are feeling extra stressed these days. Stress is dire when it’s longterm. The effects can be damaging not only to our state of mind but also to our physical health.
It’s not always possible to avoid stress in our daily lives. But when stress becomes chronic, it leads to a host of health problems. These can include heart disease, diabetes, anxiety, and depression.
The key is less about avoiding stress and more about how you react to it. The more resilient you are, the more quickly you can recover from daily challenges and keep yourself healthy.
The good news is, there are ways you can become resilient to stressful events. And exercise appears to be one of them.
Your body on stress
The flight-or-fight response to stress evolved as a coping mechanism to save our lives. In the past, when confronted with a predator, we had to react quickly to avoid threats.
When flight-or-flight is triggered, the body goes into high alert, giving you a sudden burst of energy to deal with the dangerous situation. But if this mechanism is constantly triggered, it begins to lead to health problems.
Constant stress can create a buildup of cortisol in the blood. And too much cortisol can contribute to issues such as weight gain, anxiety, high blood pressure, sleep problems, and headaches.
New research
Recently, researchers have been examining the link between stress and galanin and its effects on creating resiliency. In a study published in August in The Journal of Neuroscience, Dr. Weinshenker and his colleagues studied the effects of exercise on lab mice. In particular, they were looking at the levels of galanin in the mice.
Galanin is a neuropeptide that is associated with stress. Research has found people with low levels of galanin have higher risks of suffering from depression and anxiety disorders.
Exercise increases galanin levels. In this study, the researchers gave some of the mice access to running wheels. The other group remained sedentary in their cages.
After three weeks, the group of runners had higher galanin in their systems. When presented with stressful situations, these mice were more resilient. They bounced back quickly, while their sedentary counterparts cowered in their cages.
Previous studies have shown that galanin levels increased resiliency in rats. Because these studies had only been done on rats, Dr. Weinshenker and his colleagues wanted to see if these findings could be replicated in another species.
Although the research has not been done on humans, finding the same effects in another animal helps to improve the theory that it may be present in humans as well.
What are the implications?
The world is a stressful place, and we are not going to be able to avoid all stress. But what we can do is change how we react to it. By exercising regularly and elevating our galanin levels, we may be able to avoid a constant fight-or-flight response to stress. We may be able to head off the adverse effects stress does to our body.
Which means we will be better able to handle whatever life has to throw at us. And lately, no matter who you are, life has been throwing a lot. We need all of the help we can get. So get out there and run, walk, hike, bike, whatever it is you like to do. Your body and your mind will thank you for it.
