Exercise is good for you! How many times have you heard this? Do we really know to what extent exercise can influence our bodies? What about the positive impact on our overall health, physically and mentally? Exercise is so much more than just staying fit or losing weight.

Stress and/or anxiety effects roughly 40 million adults globally and is a term that we have gotten to know all too well during the pandemic. It has been proven that exercise can help manage stress, anxiety, and improve our body's ability to fight disease. Stress or anxiety can also cause sleep deprivation, due to “anxious thoughts" keeping the brain alert, leading to further stress! Exercise has shown to decrease overall stress levels, which will stabilize mood and help the natural transition to sleeping, ultimately improving sleep. Only 5 minutes of exercise is said to kick-start the anti-anxiety effects. Psychologist in the field of treating depression and anxiety suggests that a 10min walk may have the same psychological benefits as a 45min workout! Other research has also shown that physically active people have overall lower anxiety rates then sedentary people and a 25% lower risk of developing depression or anxiety disorders in the next five years. But how does this work?

On a neurochemical level: Exercise reduces the body's “stress hormones" (adrenalin, cortisol) and stimulates endorphins, which are the body's pain killers and mood elevators. Endorphins are the hormones that make you feel “I can take on the world!" after an exercise session.

On a behavioural level: This speaks to the emotional benefits of exercise – as you get fitter and your waistline smaller, you will feel more confident, which will improve your self-esteem and overall mood.

It is advised that we should exercise almost every day – it does not mean that you need to hit the gym or attempt to run a marathon. Roughly 30-40minutes per day of moderate exercise or 15-20 minutes of vigorous exercise is advised. Defining moderate or vigorous exercise depends on the individual and their activity level. A nice way to gauge is by following this guideline – if you can talk while doing the exercise, it is considered moderate and if you are unable to talk/carry a conversation, it is considered vigorous exercise. If you can fill your lungs with enough air that you can sing out loud, then you are in light intensity exercise, up your pace for more benefits.

We can see the added benefits of exercise and how it can positively impact our lives -specifically in a student population that needs to cope with exam stress, less sleep and obviously the anxiety that goes with it! Therefore, sticking to an exercise routine during these times are very important! Here are some tips on how to incorporate exercise into your busy exam schedule:

-       Do not set yourself up for disappointment – start slow and set personal goals, no matter how small. This will also give you a sense of achievement once you have reached them.

-       Do it with friends – it can be really motivating to do it with friends, and they also keep you accountable.

-       Set a time – set a time that best fits your schedule and stick to it. The mornings work well, as we tend to lose energy as the day progresses and this means it will not affect your normal daily schedule.

-       Variety – if you get bored easily, try to change up your training routine. Nowadays there are so many options, we are really spoiled for choice.

-       Use your break – use your study-break to take a short walk or to do some exercise in your room. This will not only get the blood pumping after sitting in one position for hours, but it is an easy way to make sure that you are incorporating exercise into your daily routine.

-       Make the exercise work for you – exercise improves your concentration and memory especially for the 1 hour immediately post exercise, so schedule your most difficult or most boring subject for straight after your training.

-       Consider high intensity training – during exams time is everything, if you exercise at a higher intensity, you can shorten your training time and still get the benefits, just remember to warm up and cool down properly, so if you usually walk for 30min consider 5min warm up walk then jog for 2 lamp posts, walk for 1 etc and cut your total duration to 15min. If you usually jog do something similar with sprints or running hills. Or adapt according to your preferred exercise. Whatever you do, do not cut out your exercise completely.

At Campus Health Services, we believe that “Exercise is Medicine" and prescribe it to all our patients. If you are unsure about the right exercise routine for you or have general questions, feel free to contact CHS for an appointment with one of our qualified Sports Medicine Practitioners or Physiotherapists. We also recognize that some might have diagnosed stress or anxiety related disorders and this article in no way disregards that or previous advice given by medical professionals. Checkout our Exercise for health page for more ideas. http://www.sun.ac.za/english/CampusHealth/exercise-for-health For any further questions, please feel free to contact CHS.

References:

https://artofsmart.com.au/tips-for-keeping-fit-during-exams/

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/exercising-to-relax

https://adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/managing-anxiety/exercise-stress-and-anxiety

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