Exercise Your Stress Away

Let’s admit it: we are all familiar with it from one source or another. Some get it from a demanding job and others from home. STRESS! It is a part of life and at times seems to consume us, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Once you learn how to control IT instead of it controlling YOU then life is .. well.. just better.

I found that the “E” word ( yes … exercise ) helps us to release stress and some extra pounds as a bonus. Exercise has benefits all across the board but for now we’ll discuss stress.

According to Matthew Stunts-Kolehmainen Ph.D, exercise promotes production of neurohormones that are associated with improved cognitive function and elevate mood and can actually REVERSE damage to the brain caused by stressful events. Not only does exercise lower levels of anxiety, depression and stress, but you get the extra benefit of an over all well being. Just 30 minutes a day of cardio or a brisk walk will stimulate your brain and release chemicals that may just leave you feeling better.

So to me, this is a win-win plan. You release stress from your day, you can reverse damage from stress, feel better and maybe drop a couple pounds in the process. So why not give it 2 weeks and see what all the talk is about. You’ve got nothing to lose but stress and weight but everything to gain.

Deborah Tyler is part of the GovLoop Featured Blogger program, where we feature blog posts by government voices from all across the country (and world!). To see more Featured Blogger posts, click here.