Exercise to Improve Cognitive Function and Mental Health
In a recent topic in my Sport Psychology class, they brought up the different theories to build a better relationship between exercise and improving cognitive function and mental health. Below are the definitions of terms to explain my position and how I have applied real-life situations with real athletes to blend these theories to make an impact in the smallest worthwhile way possible. Having the background of working in the trenches with all kinds of athletes amplify’s my knowledge and ability to apply science and real-life situations to my studies today. Enjoy
Defining Terms:
Psychological in Nature:
Cognitive Behavioral Hypothesis - Exercises or training session that encourages and generates positive thoughts and feelings that serve to counteract negative mood states such as depression, anxiety, and confusion.
Distraction Hypothesis - Exercises or training sessions that help distract individuals from negative mood states such as worries and frustration.
Social Interaction Hypothesis - The social interaction associated with exercising with friends and colleagues is pleasurable and affects improving mental health.
Physiological in Nature:
Dual-Mode Hypothesis - Is based upon that exercise above the lactate threshold (LT) may be perceived as unpleasant. In contrast, exercises below the LT may be perceived as pleasant; those who view exercise as unpleasant and train above the LT levels tend to negatively affect mental health, taking away the positive impacts of exercise.
Cardiovascular Fitness Hypothesis - Improved cardiovascular fitness is associated with improved mood states.
Amine Hypothesis - Increased secretion of chemicals that serve as neurotransmitters is related to improved mental health.
Endorphin Hypothesis - Associated with brain production of chemicals that have a “morphine-like” effort on the individual lowering pain and increasing a nature euphoria - runner high.
-
Exercise is an activity individuals have acted on for thousands of years. Humans used to run a marathon a day for a year straight as their final studies towards becoming a monk. These endeavors of endurance shaped, altered, and fortified a mindset of an all-encompassing self-awareness, leading to self-efficacy and actualization. In today’s culture, getting a person to walk for ten minutes or into a gym is similar to tugging on a dog's leash, panting heavily with his tongue hanging out under a shaded tree avoiding the summer heat. The impact exercise brings to humans today comes steamrolling with possible positive impacts: less anxiety, increased tolerance to stress, and shift overall mood states to help create a fulfilling life. But, let’s not forget how unhealthy exercise can be for some individuals who have to step away from such potent activities to improve their mental health due to the unhealthy relationship created at no fault but their own.
All of these theories: dual-mode, cognitive behavior, social interactions, distraction, cardiovascular fitness, amine, and endorphin hypothesis, have their place in someone’s life who is trying to make a positive change to their mental space. Using them all at the same time is not the answer, and neither is picking just one and overusing it until the person is blue in the face.
The first hypothesis that I find impactful and less likely to create other problems would be the amine theory. This theory suggests that understanding how our brain chemicals drive neurotransmission impacts our mood state. To build a level of knowing how the brain works give’s individuals options in choosing specific exercises or workouts to help relieve stress, balancing out serotonin and dopamine, and finding harmony in one’s mental state. For example, take a US Marshal who works on the special operations task force and is returning from a surveillance mission that lasted for 12 hours, requiring a specific amount of cognitive function the entire time. This hyper-aware state drives the nervous system offbeat and out of sync. By building an armory of weapons to combat these times of anxiety, lack of confidence, fear, and sadness around the individual so they, in turn, can determine the style of training, intensity, and volume they want to put forth to relieve these feelings and emotions is highly beneficial.
As the foundation hardens, we can now layer other theories such as social interaction or dual-mode hypothesis. The two allow the individual to be within a social setting and support group and find a pleasurable activity. This helps them avoid unpleasant feelings or emotions due to the lack of energy drained from their occupational demands. Then, this also leads me to the distraction theory, which is used to help mask stress, fear, and anxiety of their day for a short time.
Take that same US Marshal whose noise levels inside their brain housing group are now lower. The use of cognitive-behavioral strategies for exercise becomes another breaching charge to enhance positive emotions and feelings due to the self-confidence and efficacy the Marshal develops. This is due to the healthy and positive interaction of the training session the US Marshal created, which falls into the lap of improved cardiovascular fitness over time, which is shown in research to have significant effects on mood states as one’s heart health improves.
Taking these theories and using them separately would be disheartening and a disservice to any individual. For the approaches to make a lasting impression and be a positive one, they all need to feed off of each other and be layered adequately. This is ultimately determined by the individual's perception of the world around them, how they handle day-to-day stress, and their overall ability to cope with hardships.
-
The individual I wrote about came from a case study for SOFLETE on a guided discovery program called Conscious Warrior System. To learn more about the program, please head over to the Soflete Performance Podcast and check out the lunch and learn series were Matt and I cover the entire system.
