Feel Better...Fast

By Paul Salmon, Ph.D.

Don't you notice that exercise makes you feel better?  For most people, regular exercise is a positive experience, one that picks you up and leaves you feeling energized, sometimes for hours afterward. The effects are as predictable as those of drugs, but without negative side effects. Everyone who exercises has had the occasional experience of feeling unmotivated and fatigued at the beginning of a session, which can be a real obstacle to long-term adherence. When you persevere and work through this initial bump in the motivation road, things generally change for the better. Among the various changes people report during exercise are increased energy, greater alertness, improved concentration and relaxed and seemingly effortless 'flow' states. Emotions and mood typically shift in a positive direction. Isn't it amazing how such a transformation can take place in such a short period of time?

Physiologically, exercise is a potent stimulant that ramps your system into high gear. During a typical aerobic exercise session, your heart rate increases and remains elevated significantly above resting level, which averages between 60-70 beats per minute. Along with an increase in stroke volume (the amount of blood pumped per contraction), this substantially increases the amount of blood being pumped through the body per time unit, or cardiac output. Systolic blood pressure (arterial pressure during contraction of the heart muscle) also increases to well above resting level. Exercising muscles are the primary beneficiaries of this increased workload as blood is redistributed away from digestive and other maintenance processes that predominate during rest.

As all this is happening, your breathing rate increases and you begin to sweat. You are now in a state of heightened activation, courtesy of the sympathetic nervous system, which also regulates the well-known "fight or flight" reaction. This is an energy expenditure system that gears you up for physical exertion via a series of rapid hormonal and neurochemical changes that stimulate and fuel increased metabolic activity.

This state of heightened physiological activity underlies many of the psychological effects of exercise mentioned earlier: heightened alertness, concentration, positive emotions and perhaps even 'flow' experiences. Collectively, these contribute to an overall sense of well being that, for many people, is a powerful motivator for being physically active. It's interesting to note that the physiological state associated with exercise is very similar in nature to that of anxiety anxious apprehension. However, the internal cues (increased heart rate, etc.) are interpreted differently, and the resultant overall experience is one of being keyed up in a healthy, maybe even exhilarating way. In other words, what may be labeled as "psychological distress" in one context can be experienced quite differently and quite a bit more positively in another.

But there is more to it than this. Exercise involves mastering skills: Think of the balance, coordination and muscle strength needed to operate an elliptical trainer, run a mile or hit a baseball. Skill mastery, rewarding in its own right, boosts self-esteem and emotional tone. So you feel better, having done something that requires skill and effort. And with your mind occupied with the healthy activity at hand, you're less likely to focus on the various stressors that are a more-or-less constant part of life. And not only that; if you've been working out with a friend, you've had the benefit of social contact and mutual encouragement that many people enjoy.

So in summary, exercise is a simple, accessible, inexpensive and low-tech way to help you feel better quickly. Make it a part of your daily health prescription, and you'll soon notice how effectively it can help keep you on an even keel.

Paul Salmon, Ph.D., M.S., is an associate professor of clinical psychology at the University of Louisville and an ACSM-Certified Health Fitness Instructor. Paul is a member of the Kentuckiana HealthFitness Advisory Board . You can contact him via email at psalmon@louisville.edu.