Like Einstein said (and as I keep telling students who say they're anxious and that they don't exercise), keep moving...
Can Moving the Body Heal the Mind?
In her new book, Jennifer Heisz blends personal experience and the latest science about how exercise can improve your mental well-being.
When Jennifer Heisz was in graduate school, she borrowed a friend's aged, rusty road bike — and wound up redirecting her career. At the time, she was studying cognitive neuroscience but, dissatisfied with the direction of her work and her personal life, began experiencing what she now recognizes as "pretty severe anxiety," she told me recently. Her friend suggested biking as a reprieve. Not previously athletic, she took to the riding with enthusiasm, finding it "soothed my mind," she said.
That discovery convinced her to change the focus of her research. Now the director of the NeuroFit Lab at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, she studies the interplay of physical and emotional health and how exercise helps stave off or treat depression, anxiety, stress and other mental health conditions.
"The effects of motion on the mind are just so pervasive and fascinating," said Dr. Heisz.
That idea animates her new book, "Move the Body, Heal the Mind," which details the latest science about exercise and mental health, as well as her own journey from inactivity and serial emotional slumps to triathlon training and increasing serenity... The Well
Can Moving the Body Heal the Mind?
In her new book, Jennifer Heisz blends personal experience and the latest science about how exercise can improve your mental well-being.
When Jennifer Heisz was in graduate school, she borrowed a friend's aged, rusty road bike — and wound up redirecting her career. At the time, she was studying cognitive neuroscience but, dissatisfied with the direction of her work and her personal life, began experiencing what she now recognizes as "pretty severe anxiety," she told me recently. Her friend suggested biking as a reprieve. Not previously athletic, she took to the riding with enthusiasm, finding it "soothed my mind," she said.
That discovery convinced her to change the focus of her research. Now the director of the NeuroFit Lab at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, she studies the interplay of physical and emotional health and how exercise helps stave off or treat depression, anxiety, stress and other mental health conditions.
"The effects of motion on the mind are just so pervasive and fascinating," said Dr. Heisz.
That idea animates her new book, "Move the Body, Heal the Mind," which details the latest science about exercise and mental health, as well as her own journey from inactivity and serial emotional slumps to triathlon training and increasing serenity... The Well
Wow, this is an interesting read! I definitely think that mental health and physical health work very closely together. I have seen where if one is low, the other is as well (and vise versa). The body is a cool place!!
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