Physical exercise and stress: how are they related?

What activity do you do to feel better about yourself that is also healthy? If you answered physical exercise, you are in luck. People who do not exercise tend to give little importance to its benefits.

Physical exercise and stress have an inversely proportional relationship. Broadly speaking, physical exercise is an effective and healthy method to combat stress. By doing physical exercise frequently, we can feel less stressed.

And the body that does not move is a dead body. An apathetic child without energy is considered to be a sickly child, who is not healthy. Lack of exercise results in worse health. Furthermore, the lack of physical exercise makes one unable to cope with extreme situations and leads to a slow metabolism, low energy, a tendency to overeat and abuse medications.

The problems of stress

Excessive stress results in worse health. When we remain in states of stress for prolonged periods of time, negative reactions occur in our body due to the secretion of some hormones, such as cortisol.

Stress also reduces our energy levels. We get tired more easily. This leads to absenteeism from work and laxity in carrying out tasks and activities. The personal cost of this is immeasurable. Stress has been linked to a large number of disorders. Stress can lead us to suffer from coronary, gastrointestinal, psychological, respiratory, immunological disorders, etc.

For example, The consequences of chronic stress on the cardiovascular system occur at various levels. The thin inner lining of blood vessels can become torn and punctured.

If stress becomes chronic it can create disorders such as arterial hypertension, coronary heart disease, tachycardia, episodic cardiac arrhythmias, aneurysms, embolisms... And this only at a cardiovascular level.

This is why we need to implement strategies to deal with stress. Well then, Physical exercise is an excellent strategy to combat the negative effects of stress.

Practicing aerobic physical exercise improves our health

Exercise is a more or less vigorous activity that requires large amounts of oxygen. For exercise to benefit your cardiovascular system (heart and blood vessels), you must perform sustained aerobic exercise for at least 20 minutes.

Aerobic exercise is relatively vigorous exercise that does not overwhelm the heart’s ability to deliver adequate blood and oxygen to your muscles. Aerobic means air.

The harder the exercise, the more the heart rate goes up. If you make your muscles work too hard, your heart won’t be able to supply enough oxygen.. At this point you will have an oxygen deficit and will not be able to maintain your activity level.

Physical exercise as a method of active relaxation

There are two types of relaxation: active relaxation and passive relaxation.. Passive relaxation is practiced through exercises such as diaphragmatic breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, etc.

For its part, active relaxation can be done in many ways. We can perform active relaxation by running, jogging, walking, cycling, swimming, dancing, etc.. That is, we can perform active relaxation through physical exercise.

Active relaxation is best when it does not involve vigorous competition. In this case it could become a source of distress. There is a big difference between running calmly and running against competitors in a hundred-meter race.

Physical exercise and stress

As we said, physical exercise and stress are closely related. If we practice physical exercise of moderate intensity frequently we can keep our stress levels at bay.

Regular exercise will help us both physically and mentally. We will burn calories and that will also encourage the effects of aging to be reduced. According to medical research literature, the kinds of improvements we can experience by doing physical exercise are as follows:

Sleep improvement

With a moderate amount of physical exercise We will reduce the levels of adrenaline and norepinephrine, which will help us fall asleep sooner. In addition, this will be more restorative.

Low levels of cortisol have also been associated with better sleep quality. When we perform moderate physical exercise we reduce the levels of this hormone.

Lower risk of heart attacks

People who burn less than 2,000 calories a week, by not exercising, are 64% more likely to suffer a heart attack than people who burn more than 2000. Let’s not forget that stress is a cardiovascular risk factor.

If we do moderate physical exercise frequently, we will burn more calories. Therefore, we will reduce the probability of suffering a heart attack.

Better physical shape gives us a greater capacity to consume oxygen during exercise. This translates into a lower resting heart rate, lower lactic acid production and a maximum increase in performance capacity.

The more exercise we do, the more we will reduce triglycerides. We will also improve the ratio of high-density lipoproteins to low-density lipoproteins in the blood. Low-density lipoproteins carry cholesterol to the tissues, where atherosclerotic plaques can form.

Greater ability to confront stress creators

Research suggests that increased oxygen flow to the brain increases glucose availability. Glucose improves brain function. If we improve our brain we will feel less stressed. Brain catecholamine levels are reduced as a result of exercise and stabilize mood swings. This is useful to reduce feelings of anguish and sadness.

As we see, physical exercise and stress are closely related. Better physical fitness helps you cope with stress. Exercise makes us physically and mentally stronger, creating a feeling of greater ability to control what stresses us.

You might be interested…