Mental health is typically a subject that is avoided. Especially if you are part of the Baby Boomer generation, your mental health, or anyone else’s for that matter, was never something that should be discussed.
Whether it’s a discussion about depression, anxiety, or even a loved one with dementia or Alzheimer’s – you didn’t talk about it.
You were taught that these things were “private”, so they weren’t to be discussed – ever for mental health.
As a Baby Boomer, you may have grown up with a stigma around mental hygiene. You may avoid it to the extent that you don’t even realize that you have areas you may struggle with, and you don’t even realize it. It’s time to talk about it and to understand what you can do to benefit your mental health.
According to WorkHealthLife.com, “Current statistics show that 25 percent of people over 55 experience some form of mental health issue but many go undiagnosed or untreated (especially men).”
1 out of 4 Baby Boomers experiences one of many forms of mental health. How many of those, and maybe this includes you, are going untreated or even undiagnosed?
There is good news. Acknowledging or being diagnosed with a mental illness is not something to be ashamed of. There is great power in knowing and understanding your mind and your body.
When you know what you may be struggling with, you also can begin to understand how you can treat it. What you have the power to do, on your own, can impact your mental and physical health in a multitude of ways.
Exercise has always been one of the greatest ways to treat many physical and mental hygiene-related issues.
What Areas of Mental Health Issues Typically Affect Baby Boomers?
There are many areas of mental health illness that could have an impact on you at any given time. However, there are specific mental health illnesses that directly affect Baby Boomers more so than any others. According to WorkHealthLife.com, the following is a list of the top areas of mental health that affect those 55 and older:
* Depression.
* Anxiety Disorders.
* Dementia.
* Substance Abuse or Misuse.
How Can Exercise Impact Your Mental Hygiene?
There are multiple benefits of exercise in regard to your mental health. From reducing your stress levels to improving your self-esteem, the benefits of regularly exercising expand far beyond weight loss. According to HealthDirect.com, “exercise stimulates chemicals that improve your mood and the parts of the brain responsible for memory and learning.”
Exercise can impact your mental health by:
* Reducing Stress Levels
* Improving Sleep Patterns
* Improving Self-Esteem
* Reducing the Feeling of Loneliness
* Improving memory
* Much, much more!
For a more in-depth look at how exercise can affect your mental health, click here.
The Details: How much and what types of exercise will give you the best results regarding your mental health?
How much exercise is needed to benefit your mental health?
There are a number of opinions out there about how much exercise you need for your physical and mental health. The typical recommendation from the CDC shows that adults should, do at least 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) to 300 minutes (5 hours) a week of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes (1 hour and 15 minutes) to 150 minutes (2 hours and 30 minutes) a week of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity, or an equivalent combination of moderate- and vigorous-intensity aerobic activity. Preferably, aerobic activity should be spread throughout the week.
However, according to Psychology Today, to affect your mental balance and treat mental health illness, you need to be much more specific about how much exercise you are getting and the types. Psychology Today states:
“Psychiatrist Madhukar Trivedi has shown that three or more sessions per week of aerobic exercise or resistance training, for 45 to 60 minutes per session, can help treat even chronic depression. Effects tend to be noticed after about four weeks (which incidentally is how long neurogenesis takes), and training should be continued for 10-12 weeks for the greatest anti-depressant effect.”
Gingell, S. (2018, March 22). How your mental health reaps the benefits of exercise. Psychology Today. Retrieved November 8, 2021, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-works-and-why/201803/how-your-mental-health-reaps-the-benefits-exercise.
How Can Mind Muscle Memory Help You?
Our M3 Coaches are here to help you implement the right types of exercise that you will be able to implement into your lifestyle so you can see long-lasting results. There is no quick fix, especially when it comes to mental health.
The important thing, however, is that you start now. Even if you don’t feel like you struggle with mental hygiene illness, the benefits of utilizing exercise to prevent the onset of dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other mental illnesses as you age should be reason enough to start sooner rather than later.
At Mind Muscle Memory (M3), we focus on treating the whole person. Whether you come to see us get assistance losing weight, improving your diet, or for general health we make mental health a priority. If you are interested in learning more about how exercise can impact your mental balance and how you can get started seeing results quickly, contact one of our coaches today.