Mental Health from a Christian Perspective: The Role of Exercise

Next to sleep, guess what makes the greatest behavioral contribution to mental health for those of us who suffer with mental illness? If you guessed exercise, you would be correct. There are so many reasons why exercise is essential for mental health. Follow me as I enumerate them.

First of all, there is a strong correlation between exercise and the ability to sleep, and sleep well. I find that I struggle more with insomnia when I fail to get the exercise I need. If you aren't getting good exercise on a daily basis, you may be missing out on a key factor in falling asleep and staying asleep.

Secondly, physical health and mental health are strongly correlated. I find that the better my overall physical health, the easier I find it to manage my bipolar disorder. It's easier to be "up" mentally-emotionally when my body feels "up" physically.

And here's another thing to think about. You and I have two sets of doctors--those attending to our physical maladies, and those attending to our mental illnesses. I've written before about having a "double whammy," both in terms of doctors visits (on both sides) and in terms of medications (on both sides). So here's the thought. The better I take care of my physical health, the less doctors' visits and the less medications for my physical ailments, and the more I can concentrate on my mental health.

So what kind of exercise am I talking about? I'm not talking about body-building or training for an iron man race. Here's what I do. Three days a week I work on cardio. This can take many forms--running, biking, swimming, ellipticals at the gym, etc. For me, my go-to cardio is swimming. I do a half mile each of those days. On alternate days, I try to walk a mile and a half. Much of the time this is out in sunshine, a double bonus as far as mental health is concerned. And when the weather doesn't cooperate, I walk the treadmills in the gym. In the worst case scenario (e.g., we can get snowed-in or otherwise "weathered-in"), I can mount my bike on an indoor magnetic bike trainer in the garage. I can either do cardio with it or do what I call a "bike walk" for 30 minutes. So get serious about exercise. Yes it takes determination. I hate the thought of exercise, but I feel great after I've done it.

There's biblical precedent for determined exercise. The apostle Paul spoke about disciplining his body so he would be able to better preach the gospel. (1 Corinthians 9:27) Elsewhere, he commended physical exercise saying, "...bodily training is of some value..." comparing it to the greater value of godliness. (1 Timothy 4:8) I try combining both aspects in my "bodily training." For example, with each length in the pool, I recite a Bible verse I've memorized. That's admittedly a lot of Bible verses, one per lap. The half mile in our pool is 36 lengths. But give it a try, and start small. Even a few verses will get you started. Increase the number of verses with time. Also, when I walk the neighborhood, I often pray, using the ACTS format (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication). Try it! I think you'll like it. God will, too!

So there you have it. Exercise is vital to physical health, which is essential for mental health. And you get an extra star if you mix in spiritual health along the way.

Blessings!

The Christian Bipole