Scientists have figured out how much you need to exercise to be happy and calm

It has long been known that regular physical activity reduces anxiety Effects of Exercise and Physical Activity on Anxiety, helps to increase satisfaction from life and raise self-esteem Physical activity and self-esteem: testing direct and indirect relationships associated with psychological and physical mechanisms.

But until recently, it was not clear how much exercise to be sure to get benefits for the psyche. Scientists from Oxford and Yale devoted a large-scale study to this issue, Association between physical exercise and mental health in 1 2 million individuals in the USA between 2011 and 2015: a cross-sectional study, published in August 2018.

How Much to Exercise to Maintain Mental Health

The study analyzed the activity and well-being of 1.2 million Americans of all ages, comparing the amount of physical activity and days with poor mental health.

As defined by the World Health Organization, mental health Mental health is a state of well-being in which a person realizes their abilities, can withstand the stress of life, work productively and contribute to their community. When we talk about mental health, we mean this condition, and not the absence of mental illness.

As a result of the analysis, it was found that physically active people, on average, had 43% fewer days with poor mental state than more passive participants. Team sports (22% fewer mental problems), cycling (21%), aerobic exercise, and gymnastics (20%) had the best effects on mental health. Housework (10%) and walking (17%) provided a much smaller effect, but even with such activity there were fewer mental problems.

In terms of duration and frequency of exercise, people who exercise 45 minutes 3-5 times a week showed the best results.

The graph on the right shows the relationship between hours of physical activity and incidence of poor mental health over a month. As you can see, people who exercised from 30 to 60 minutes had the least problems - about 45 minutes.

The best indicators in terms of the ratio of the number of workouts per month and the mental state (on the graph on the left) - from 12 to 23 hours. That is 3-6 workouts per week.

The greatest effect is provided by training for 30-60 minutes 3-6 times a week.

Interestingly, after 23 hours of training, mental health indicators began to deteriorate.

Why you shouldn't practice too often

As you can see in the graph, people who exercise more than 23 times a month have a decline in mental health scores. Those who arranged 28–30 workouts experienced as much mental discomfort as those who practically did not exercise.

The same relationship is observed in the duration of training. Those who exercise for more than 90 minutes at a time experience more mental discomfort than people whose workouts are shorter.

However, here you need to take into account the type of activity. For example, cycling, outdoor activities and household chores do not obey the "longer is worse" rule. In the case of a bicycle and chores after 60 minutes, there is no decline, but for outdoor recreation, the relationship is inverse: the longer the time of activity, the better mental health.

It can be assumed that prolonged and frequent sports training provides stress for the body and negatively affects the nervous system. However, few can boast of such a rich sports regimen, except for competitive athletes.

Three, five, and even six hours of workouts a week will only benefit the body and mind.