Anxiety symptoms and immune function
Humans are creatures that live by communicating with others.
Because of this, if a person is too anxious, they cannot communicate well with others and may suffer inconvenience in life in general, but in recent years, it has been reported that aerobic exercise, strength training and other forms of resistance training can relieve anxiety symptoms.
But why could this kind of fitness activity have a positive effect on mental symptoms?
The paper I discuss today is a review article about the mechanisms linking fitness to relief from anxiety disorder symptoms.
In our bodies, the HPA axis acts to combat stress.
The HPA axis refers to the system of reactions that run from the hypothalamus through the pituitary gland to the adrenal. When a person is under stress, various hormones are excreted via the HPA axis, causing the heart rate to increase, blood pressure to increase, and levels of excitement to increase, and preparing a state where the person can flee or fight.
However, if the person remains in this state for too long, it promotes inflammation in the brain and causes a range of mental symptoms, such as anxiety.
Why does exercising decrease anxiety?
Exercise is a type of stress, in the form of burdens on the muscles and fatigue, so why can exercise relieve anxiety?
From the results of various animal tests that have been conducted in the past, it is hypothesized that the contraction of the skeletal muscles though exercise is accompanied by the excretion of interleukin-6, a protein that regulates immunity, and the suppression of inflammation in the brain, and that regularly exercising can stabilize and increase anti-inflammatory functions, thereby relieving the symptoms.
I thought that moving your body is important for your mind as well.
Coming late to the party, I decided to give Billy’s Boot Camp a try, and since I did, my mental abilities have been incredibly sharpened.
