I’ve had many conflicts with my father, but one thing I’ve always agreed with him on is that there is no mental health without physical exercise. Especially for those with emotional instability like me, I find that exercise is a necessity. It’s definitely not easy to do it with an autoimmune disease since sometimes after I get home from work – I feel lethargic, or I feel arm pain, or I feel isolated and a need to go on Facebook and see that people are alive. Well this is where logical thinking comes in – in the end choosing to exercise has the best payoff even though it’s not immediate. Lying down on the sofa and turning on Netflix has an immediate pay off, but if this is what I will do daily after work, after a while I will be worse off.
Currently I am trying to exercise two to three times a day. I do about 10-12 minutes before leaving for work in the morning, I include stretching, planks, downward dog, inversion poses, etc. Recently there have been some articles about positive impact of even very short intervals of exercise. I would like to believe that these statements are true as I am not able to force myself to wake up another twenty minutes earlier and engage in a 30 minute work out before work or breakfast. I do believe that some exercise is better than no exercise. I work in a boring office, so my hours are pretty standard. During lunch I walk around listening to a podcast and currently I signed up at a yoga studio located in the office building downstairs, which offers lunch classes. In the evening I try to do another 20-30 minutes of exercise. Is this exercise plan difficult? Yes, but once you do it several days in a row, I feel that there is some kind of adjustment and you get used to the schedule. Also I find it easier when I know that my exercise interval is only 12 or 20 minutes, I am not trying to push myself into an hour jog. In fact I don’t jog at all. I mentioned this before – one psychiatrist with whom I had a consultation stated that the best way to combat inflammation is exercise and that I should only do the type of exercise that I like, otherwise I will not stick with the routine for long. Therefore no jogging for me, I am doing planks and yoga poses.
“The latest research shows that a single 10-minute bout of very light (30% of VO2 Max) physical activity can increase the connectivity between brain regions linked to memory formation and storage.
This potentially groundbreaking study on the cognitive benefits of short periods of mild exertion activity (such as gentle yoga, tai chi, slow dancing, or playing bocce) was conducted by researchers at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and the University of Tsukuba in Japan.“
Ten minutes of mild exercise may improve brain connectivity and enhance memory
From the abstract of the actual paper: ” A single 10-min bout of very light-intensity exercise (30%V˙O2peak) results in rapid enhancement in pattern separation and an increase in functional connectivity between hippocampal DG/CA3 and cortical regions (i.e., parahippocampal, angular, and fusiform gyri). Importantly, the magnitude of the enhanced functional connectivity predicted the extent of memory improvement at an individual subject level. These results suggest that brief, very light exercise rapidly enhances hippocampal memory function, possibly by increasing DG/CA3−neocortical functional connectivity.“
Rapid stimulation of human dentate gyrus function with acute mild exercise
I now have some evidence to support my belief that my 10 minute work-outs are useful. Sometimes at work I do yoga poses in the staircase, or run up ten flights of stairs. There are many ways to exercise for free, it’s not necessary to purchase a monthly gym membership or pay $20 for a yoga class.
Some studies also indicate that exercise positively modifies gut bacteria. This change in turn can reduce inflammation and depression.
“Recent studies suggest that exercise can enhance the number of beneficial microbial species, enrich the microflora diversity, and improve the development of commensal bacteria.
Collectively, the available data strongly support that, in addition to other well-known internal and external factors, exercise appears to be an environmental factor that can determine changes in the qualitative and quantitative gut microbial composition with possible benefits for the host. In fact, stable and enriched microflora diversity is indispensable to the homeostasis and normal gut physiology contributing also to suitable signaling along the brain-gut axis and to the healthy status of the individual. Exercise is able to enrich the microflora diversity; to improve the Bacteroidetes-Firmicutes ratio which could potentially contribute to reducing weight, obesity-associated pathologies, and gastrointestinal disorders; to stimulate the proliferation of bacteria which can modulate mucosal immunity and improve barrier functions, resulting in reduction in the incidence of obesity and metabolic diseases; and to stimulate bacteria capable of producing substances that protect against gastrointestinal disorders and colon cancer (such as, SCFAs). “
Exercise Modifies the Gut Microbiota with Positive Health Effects
From ScienceDaily – “Two studies — one in mice and the other in human subjects — offer the first definitive evidence that exercise alone can change the composition of microbes in the gut. The studies were designed to isolate exercise-induced changes from other factors — such as diet or antibiotic use — that might alter the intestinal microbiota.”
Exercise changes gut microbial composition independent of diet, team reports
I think it’s very crucial to our mental health to exercise daily in any way – on a yoga mat at house, running up the stairs at work, going out for a jog, dancing, playing ping-pong, jogging with your dog, anything really that replaces sitting.
Notes of a Neuropsychiatry Amateur 