Is regular exercise good for mental health?

A recent study has found that regular exercise may prove to be beneficial to people's health. A few guidelines stated that people should do 150 minutes of physical activity per week. But since the study is based on self-reporting it is difficult to say how accurate it is. Dr Dean Burnett, neuroscientist and honorary research associate, from the school of psychology at Cardiff University has said that it is difficult to figure out the link between exercise and mental health but this study "strongly suggests that there is a definite association between the two".



"However, the nature of the study means it's difficult to say more than that with any real certainty," he said. Prof Stephen Lawrie, head of psychiatry at the University of Edinburgh also said that social and "mindful" exercise can prove to be good for people's health provided it is not overdone. "I suspect we all know people who seem 'addicted' to exercise and if this starts to impact on other aspects of life - like foregoing social activities because one has to be up at the crack of dawn to run several miles - it might actually be bad for people," he added.



So, while some regular exercise might be good for your health, it is also important to know your limits. Stay tuned for more updates.