We all know the expression, “A healthy mind in a healthy body”, yet most of us struggle to take care of our bodies. We all know about the physical benefits of regular exercise, but far less is known about its effects on mental health.

Being active is healthy. Moreover, movement makes us happy: it increases your energy levels, mood, en combats stress. If you pick an activity in which you excell, it increases your chance of success. Experiencing success boosts your self-esteem. It decreases rumination. It increases resistance and endurance. It relaxes you and improves your sleep quality. It also yields benefits for your social life: You meet up with friends or make new friends that share the same interests. Furthermore, intensive exercise is the only way to get rid of the excess cortisol reserves in your body after lenghty stressful periods or chronic stress. It reduces stress, depressive and anxiety symptoms and rebuilds your self-esteem.

Did you know that you do not have to be an athlete to be fit and healthy? 30 minutes of moderate physical activity or 15 minutes of high-intensity exercises on a daily basis, suffices to reap health benefits. Moderate implies your heart rate quickens, yet you can comfortable maintain a conversation. Being active has nothing to do with exercising like crazy. Doing sports is healthy, and it is great if you find a sport that you like. But let’s face it, most of us lack the motivation and time to engage in it properly. There are however several opportunities of increasing your activity levels without spending several hours in the gym or joining a sports club, which we’ll explore below.

Tips for an active life

JUST DO IT. Go for it. In order to remain fit it is recommended to be moderately active for 30 minuten every day or make 10 000 steps (www.10000stappen.be ). Activities that are moderate include: taking the stairs instead of the elevator, getting off at an earlier stop when using public transport, parking the car further out, walking to the station or postoffice, cycling to the grocery shop, active householdchores (sweeping, vacuum cleaning, scrubbing the floors, hunting spiderwebs, kneeding bread dough by hand, …), playing with the kids or dog, gardening, walking, cycling to work (or only the last part in a congested city). Leading a more active life is often easier than you think. All the little bits add up to make a difference!

15 minutes a day: Research shows that 15 minutes of high intensity exercise every day suffice to improve general fitness, muscle tone, and reap health benefits. 15 minutes within a 24 hour period is perfectly attainable. It’s a habit. You can even do it while you cook or in between other activities. Instead of jumping in the couch as soon as you get home from work, re-energize yourself by doing exercises for 15 minutes. Try out the combination exercises below, that strenghten your core muscles and overall resilience. Obtain maximum output with minimum input. The exercises only take 15 minutes, yet the better you get at them, the less time you need. Try to keep your exercise time at 15 minutes by repeating the same exercises twice or adding in exercises you enjoy. There is plenty of inspiration on the internet.

  • 1 minute plank
  • 15 squats
  • 10 walkout push-ups: Stand up straight, spread your legs slightly. Bend forward, whilst keeping your legs as straight as possible, touch your toes and walk forward on your hands until you reach a pus-up position. Do two push-ups, then walk back with your hands until you reach your toes. Stand tall. Repeat 10 times.
  • 10 commando push-ups (push back push up). Stand up straight, spread your legs slightly. Bend forward, whilst keeping your legs as straight as possible, touch your toes and walk forward on your hands until you reach a pus-up position. From the push-up position, push back onto your haunches and forward again to push-up position. Do a push-up, veer back to your haunches, etc.
  • 30 x leg flutters. Lie on you back with your neck slightly lifted. Lift your legs just above the ground. Move the legs up and down for 30 times without touching the ground.

Plan it! Make the 15 minutes exercise part of your daily schedule. Look for the most suitable moment and stick to it. Put an alarm until the new routine has been established and you don’t even have to think about it anymore.

Change your mindset. Push yourself. Move with purpose and intent. If you move, try and step up the pace. Tense and flex your muscles. Make every second count. If you have to clean or scrub things, put your heart in it. Use it as a work-out. For those who practised a sport at some stage in their lives, they already know it teaches you invaluable life skills such as persistance, endurance, team work, getting to know your physical limits. Physical hardiness translates into mental toughness and creates self-esteem which helps a great deal in life.

Reframe negative thoughts. Any type of behavioral change is hard and requires us to be mild towards ourselves. refrain from harsh critical thoughts that you are a looser, a fatty, a sloth. Be positive instead. Think about how every little bit helps you further. Visualise how the physical activity burns away your excess cortisol (stress hormone). Compliment yourself for doing a little bit, even if you didn’t feel like it. Or for sticking it out. Think about rewarding yourself (with healthy rewards) for your efforts .

Consider all mini-decisions and check if you can replace them with a more active alternative. Instead of quickly jumping in the car to fetch some meat from the butcher’s why not take the bicycle? For those living in the suburbs, consider cycling up and down in the weekend to complete you weekly shopping list. or walking while you carry your shopping bags. Race to the top of the stairs with your kids, engage in playful activities with your dog.

Every little bit counts. Integrate more aphysical activity in your daily life. Complete household chores on a lively tune and have a little dance in between. It sure lifts your mood and breaks the dreariness. Do you have to make a lot of phonecalls every day, why not whilst pacing around the house/ office. Trick yourself into moving more by putting the remote control on a far away table, the printer in a different room, the office coffee machine on the ground floor. You can even fit in a few exercises while you watch television (sit-ups, stretches, push-ups, lift small weights). Wash your own car and polish it until it shines. Walk your dog regularly. Walk past all the shops before you actually buy that sweater you wanted.

Do what you love, love what you do. Choose things that you like. For instance, select your favorite songs and dance till you drop. 5 songs of 3 minutes already provide you with half of the required daily motion time.

Incentives. Ask you employer or health insurance which incentives they offer for staying fit. A lot of businesses offer bonuses for cycling to work, organise lunch walks, gym subscription and are prepared in investing in facilities to support the physical activity of their employees (safe spot to park bicycles, showers on premises, …)

As for mental health, the message is pretty straight forward. Any bit of physical activity helps to improve mood and well-being. It is no coincidence that increasing physical activity is recommended for mental health promotion as well as prevention and  treatment of mental illnesses. So, why not give it a try?