Get Off The Prozac. Get On The Treadmill and Reduce Anxiety

So you already know that exercise is good for memory, mood, and energy – but did you know it can also help reduce anxiety?

The theory behind this is that when you’re exercising, your body increases its heart rate and breathing pattern in a way that is similar to that of anxiety – therefore, through constant exercise, we learn to become more comfortable with the feeling of our body being aroused, and we don’t automatically assume that the arousal is harmful (like it is with anxiety).

So what’s the takeaway? Exercise frequently in order to teach your body that all those physiological responses aren’t always bad! You’ve heard of brain hacks, well this is a body hack!

Enjoy this video to learn more about how exercise rewires your brain!  Everyone knows exercise is good for your health, but new studies show it does more than flatten those abs– it physically alters your brain to better handle stress! Anthony shows us this hidden, and hugely beneficial impact of working out.

Exercise reorganizes the brain to be more resilient to stress – “Physical activity reorganizes the brain so that its response to stress is reduced and anxiety is less likely to interfere with normal brain function, according to a research team based at Princeton University.”

Scientists Map the Wiring of the Biological Clock – “The World Health Organization lists shift work as a potential carcinogen, says Erik Herzog, PhD, Professor of Biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis. And that’s just one example among many of the troubles we cause ourselves when we override the biological clocks in our brains and pay attention instead to the mechanical clocks on our wrists.”

The Role of GABA in Anxiety Disorders. – “Anxiety stems from and perpetuates dysregulation of neurobiological systems, but the exact mechanisms of anxiety disorders are still only partially understood.”

Circadian Rhythms of Dopamine, Glutamate and GABA in the Striatum and Nucleus Accumbens of the Awake Rat: Modulation by Light. – “Using microdialysis, we investigated the circadian rhythms of the extracellular concentrations of dopamine, glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the striatum and nucleus accumbens of the awake rat.”