I cant tell you how many times I’ve heard Penn referred to as a “pressure cooker,” or “shark tank.” A large portion of the student population exercises as part of their daily routine, as is evidenced by first floor cardio room of Pottruck–uncomfortably packed with Nike sports bras (seriously, who took your shirt?) and Lulu leggings. I’m sure some do it to be healthy, some do it to look good, and some do it to blow off steam. For those of you that don’t exercise regularly, I have compiled a list of personally compelling mental health reasons to start exercising in the great outdoors of Philadelphia. And for those of you that already do exercise regularly, maybe a few reasons to move it outside.
1. Getting off Penn’s campus allows you to enjoy new scenery, and truly have some alone time – I personally never feel like I am getting in some good alone time when I am sweating my butt off on the treadmill, ex hookup to my left, Physics TA to my right. By exercising outside, you give yourself a chance to unwind, think about your Penn life from the outside, and not worry about seeing or being seen. And if that isn’t a large enough motivator for you, a 2005 study out of the University of Essex has connected outdoor exercise to higher levels of self-esteem and life-satisfaction (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16416750).
2. Alleviate anxiety and stress – moderate to intense aerobic exercise has been shown to not only decrease the effects of short term stressors on our anxiety levels, but has proven to be an effective long term management strategy for anxiety disorders (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21495519).
3. Elevate happiness levels all day long – as we all know, exercise releases endorphins that create feelings of wellbeing and euphoria. This effect is seen in both the occasionally depressed, and in the chronically, clinically depressed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC474733/). It has been shown that as little as 20 minutes of moderate exercise every day can have all-day mood boosting effects, thought even to rival the action of some antidepressants.
4. Increase your creativity and productivity – aerobic exercise (as little as a short walk) was shown in a number of studies (this being one of them: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1332529/) to directly stimulate creativity, independently of mood! It has also been shown innumerable times that mental breaks from streaks of productivity, especially exercise, increase focus and productivity in a workplace and in studying (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21785369).
5. Increase relaxation – a good dose of aerobic exercise normalizes levels of different hormones in your body, as humans were designed to participate in regular physical exercise. It has been shown that daily aerobic exercise in the PM is more effective than over the counter sleeping aids at helping even insomniacs catch some shut eye (http://greatist.com/happiness/can-exercise-help-me-sleep-better?utm_source=huffingtonpost.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pubexchange_article).
6. Sharpen memory and improve cognitive abilities – exercise has been shown in lab rats to increase the number of neural connections made in the hours immediately after exercise, and increase overall cognitive function. Intense cardio has been shown to increase the activity of the hippocampus, and directly improve memory creation and recall (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21282661).
Image credits: tribesports.com, galleryhip.com