There is no black magic or an ancient secret that you don’t already know. I am going to share an anecdotal-based approach. The two hacks I am going to share are:
1- Running
In my experience, there is nothing that gives you that blissful calm like running followed by meditation. It is the ultimate mental wellness hack.
You start running to improve your cardiovascular health, loosen that extra belly, build muscle, and sometimes make up for that extra dessert. Running has a strong connection with your brain health; as you start to run, your heart pumps harder and pushes blood at a much faster rate. As you may know, as your heart continues to push blood, your body starts to release endorphins. These hormones work as a natural high.
Running high is the same thing but on a much bigger scale. Running or any other kind of strenuous exercise helps to release endorphins. Here are the 5 wonders running can do to your mental health.
- Manage stress levels
- Fight Alzheimer
- Boost brainpower
- Increase productivity
- Create productivity
Next time, remember these 5 mental health benefits if you feel lazy or thinking of skipping the running session.
2- Hiking
Hiking is really close to my heart than running. I want to be candid; I have never been that active in my life. I have been hiking for more than a decade but did not know the hiking benefits of mental health rather than physical health. I do hikes to enjoy nature and to spend time outdoors.
As I said, I have been doing hikes for more than a decade, now I educate people around me, friends and family, sharing my thoughts with Medium family to go out and have fun on the trails. I feel there is a more need to do hikes amid pandemics when almost everyone is stressed and working from home without any social life. Here are the top 5 hiking benefits for mental health.
- Help us to unplug the technology and connect with nature
- Help body to improve sleep
- Improve our memory
- Help us align our internal clock (circadian rhythm)
- Boost our creativity
When you become part of your natural surroundings, it allows your mind to make new connections — in the same way, that everything is connected in nature.
— Trimble
In short, running and hiking are the keys to excellent mental health. To get exceptional mental health — go get a grip on running and hiking to keep your life balanced.
Thank you for reading!
