A more cost-effective strategy to improve health and quality of life in this era of obesity and the "metabolic syndrome" is through lifestyle changes. Changes in lifestyle might be especially significant for those who suffer from severe mental illness. Many of these people have a significant risk of developing chronic illnesses like diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular disease, which are all linked to sedentary behavior and prescription side effects.
Exercise is a crucial part of lifestyle adjustment. Both patients and mental health providers do not fully understand or value the value of exercise. Exercise may be a frequently overlooked strategy in mental health therapy, according to the evidence.
It has been demonstrated that aerobic exercise, such as jogging, swimming, cycling, walking, gardening, and dancing, reduces anxiety and sadness. These mood benefits are thought to be brought on by an increase in blood flow to the brain brought on by exercise, as well as by an impact on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and, consequently, on the body's response to stress.
The communication between the HPA axis and a number of brain areas, such as the limbic system, which regulates motivation and mood, the amygdala, which produces fear in response to stress, and the hippocampus, which is crucial for memory formation as well as mood and motivation, is likely what mediates this physiological influence.
Exercise boosts mental health by lowering anxiety, depression, and depressive symptoms, as well as by raising self-esteem and increasing cognitive abilities. Additionally, it has been discovered that exercise helps with symptoms including social disengagement and low self-esteem. Exercise is crucial for schizophrenia patients because they are already at risk for obesity and because antipsychotic medication, particularly atypical antipsychotics, carries an added risk of weight gain.
Following a three-month physical conditioning regimen, schizophrenia patients reported improved weight management, enhanced fitness levels, exercise tolerance, lowered blood pressure, increased perceived energy, and increased upper body and hand grip strength levels. For these health advantages, just thirty minutes of moderately intense activity, like brisk walking three days a week, is required. Furthermore, these 30 minutes don't have to be consecutive; three 10-minute walks are seen to be just as beneficial as 30-minute one.
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