January 25, is Bell’s Let’s Talk Day, a day to raise money and awareness of mental health issues and initiatives.

Approximately seven million Canadians or 20% of us live with poor mental health, mental illness or addiction. Mental health affects us
all and mental illness can affect individuals of all ages, cultural backgrounds, educational and income levels. Exercise has proven benefits and protective effects for mental and physical health. The great news is, you don’t need a lot of exercise to see the advantages. Just by reaching the recommendations of 150 minutes a week for physical activity can positively affect your mental health. Even a short walk during a 10 minute coffee break can improve your mood and get the creative juices flowing again.

The advantages of physical activity on your mental health include:

  1. Increases happiness and well-being
    • Exercise can increase the “feel-good” hormones in your body, which lead to improvements in your mood.
  2. An improved quality of life
  3. Reduces stress
    • Especially in busy times or when exams hit, there’s no better way to reduce stress than by getting your sweat on.
  4. Gains in self-confidence and self-efficacy
    • Setting and achieving new goals in physical activity settings can be really important to challenge our bodies and minds. It’s exciting when you can feel like you are growing physically or mentally stronger.
  5. Increases in brain health
    • Physical activity sharpens your mind and memory and may help slow or prevent cognitive decline.
  6. Getting a better night’s sleep
    • Exercise will help with relaxation at night, allowing for a deeper more restful sleep.
  7. Increases productivity during the day
  8. Improve concentration and mental focus

Exercise is affordable and non-prescriptive way to increase mental health. If you are staff, check out the MacEwan Employees information for ways to get active at MacEwan University Sport and Wellness. Students have access to the Sport and Wellness through their student fees including student pricing for registered classes, opportunities for fun and sport with Recreation and low pricing for personal training.

by Erin Wright

Erin Wright is Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and Master of Health Promotion graduate and is certified with the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiologists as a Certified Exercise Physiologist. She specializes in motivating others to get active and pursue a healthy lifestyle. She’s worked with high performance athletes and any individual looking to reach their goals in health.