Exercise and Mental Heath
Physical fitness is a critical aspect of life in the military. An expectation, a way of life instilled in service members from day one.
As a Navy veteran, exercise has always been important to my family and I. My husband, an active duty Sailor, rarely goes a day without getting to the gym. I work from home and instead of sitting at the computer all day, I have a treadmill desk that I use to make sure that my body doesn’t remain stagnant. Our two young daughters participate in dance and gymnastics and we take daily evening walks to “get our fitness out” as my 5-year-old likes to call exercise. Movement is part of our family’s core values; another value instilled in us by our service in the military.
One fascinating part of being affiliated with Heart and Armor, is learning about when science converges with things that we, as military personnel, know intuitively.
Exercise is good. It is essential.
Exercise is a place to let off steam, to find calm in the chaos around us. Find some peace of mind or give your mind a break from all the noise. A place that we can build community with like-minded individuals.
It turns out, there is growing science behind using exercise, particularly group exercise, as a form of medicine for all mental health challenges, especially for those who suffer from PTSD. The best part about it? There are no negative side effects.
Now, that doesn’t mean you forget about therapy or medication or meditation or whatever it is that helps alleviate your specific symptoms. I am an eternal advocate for therapy and for medication because both have truly changed my life. It isn’t a cure all, but it does mean that every single person, can benefit from being involved in community exercise.
It’s not just good for your body, it’s really good for your mind. It’s not just that it feels good in the short term, you know, that almost euphoric feeling you get at the end of a really great workout. It has been proven, through science, that exercise can make long term, positive impacts on your brain.
And as we know, a lot of us veterans suffer from PTSD. For our brothers and sisters who may be suffering - finding fellow veterans and doing regular rigorous exercise in a way that works for you can be deeply healing, both psychologically and biologically.
So, because May is Mental Health Month, I want to encourage you to get out there and move your body.
In an effort to bring awareness to the incredibly important connection between mind and body, I want to introduce you to an annual event hosted here in Denver, Colorado called the Death Row Marathon Row benefitting Heart and Armor. Teams and individuals sign up to participate in a marathon length row (42,195 meters) on a Concept 2 rower. It is an incredible feat of endurance, both psychological and physical and these incredible people are participating in this challenge to raise awareness of the issues facing our veterans today.
If you want to donate to the event, please click here:
Death Row Marathon Row or check them out on Instagram @deathrowmarathonrow
If you want to learn about the science behind it, here is a link to the abstract of the study.
Thank you!
KM