Exercise is starting to become the new replacement for antidepressants. Let’s have a look at why it is so effective in shaking the blues.

When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins. These endorphins interact with the receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain. These endorphins also trigger a positive feeling in the body, what a lot of people call a ‘natural high’, creating a positive and energising outlook on life.

So let’s look at a few ways to write fitness into your life to reduce the effects of anxiety and depression. Really we should aim for a minimum of 20 minutes of exercise daily, that has our heart rate pumping, and muscles moving, which  includes running, lifting weights, power walking, cycling, dancing,  or gardening.

Whatever your choice of activity, movement is essential not only for our bodies but our minds.

By Lukas Chodat for the Illawarra Mercury.