Written by: Teresa Cedeno, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Running a business is hard work, there’s a constant need for communication, problems popping up left and right, and innovation that needs to be made to stand out from your competition. Owners and executives have lots of responsibility overseeing all these components leading to stress, restless sleep, weight gain, and/or weakened immune systems, so it’s important for business owners to prioritize their own health so they have the necessary energy and clarity to run their business and avoid burnout. Aside from a healthy diet, exercise is the best thing you can do to help improve your mental and physical health, while making you a better entrepreneur and person.
1. Stress Relief
Exercise can help ease a lot of emotional and physical tension by releasing a host of hormones that make you sleep better and stay healthy. One of the hormones your body will release after working out is endorphins which interact with receptors in your brain reducing your perception of pain. ¹ Endorphine has an effect on your body similar to morphine and this reduction of pain leads to a feeling of ease. Even better is that unlike morphine, our body’s endorphins don’t come with addictive or negative side effects. Exercise also reduces levels of cortisol which our body recognizes as the stress hormone. Lowered stress and less pain help you focus on the tasks at hand.
2. Creativity
The same feel-good hormones released during exercise will also help clear your mind and boost creativity. Oftentimes when you're feeling writer’s block or a lack of creativity the best thing you can do to snap out of it is to focus on something else. Working out not only gets you in a different head space but it increases blood flow to your body including your brain which will revitalize a stumped mind. The extra oxygen and nutrients promote an increase in brain cell production and neuron connection which is ideal for coming up with new strategies, business ideas, or creative solutions. A study by Oppezzo and Schwartz demonstrated exercise at work in a study that gave participants 4 minutes to come up with different uses for an object like a button. ² When participants were walking on a treadmill they came up with 50% more creative and useful ideas than when they were tasked to come up with creative uses for objects while seated. ³ Therefore don’t skip out on workouts just because you have a deadline or are stressed out about an issue at work. Instead, use the workout as a tool for creativity and problem solving to make you more successful.
3. Improved confidence
Aside from helping you with the synthesis of new ideas, exercise also helps you learn to be confident in those ideas and in your own practices. Working out challenges you to exert yourself and lift heavier or run farther than last week. Seeing yourself becoming stronger and more capable will improve how you perceive yourself and how you speak to yourself. Falling in love with how you look and fit in your clothes will also give you a confidence boost as looking your best helps you feel your best. Lastly, working out makes you practice a growth mindset where you realize you are not limited by your genetics or status but rather you can improve the skills and abilities you have and increase the knowledge you hold. Practicing a growth mindset is vital in business to combat the ups and downs of a business and you’ll need this resilience to maintain growth in your company.
4. Increase happiness
Earlier I mentioned your body will release endorphins during and after exercise lessening your perceived pain, but that’s not all. Exercise also releases hormones that make you feel euphoric and happy. While in the beginning working out can seem like a big effort and unenjoyable you’ll soon be building endurance and your workout will become a part of your routine until you actually enjoy and look forward to it. You’ll find yourself feeling positive and energized for the rest of the day after physical activity.
5. Sleep better & have more energy during the day
The obvious reasoning here is that exercise tires you out so you’ll be more inclined to fall asleep quicker and stay asleep throughout the night. A better night’s sleep means you have more energy the following day, but there are other ways exercise can help your recovery health. Exercising outdoors for example exposes you to daylight which promotes a healthy circadian rhythm. ⁴ Working out can also prevent you from laying in bed stressed and anxious about the to-do lists of the days or problems because you simply won’t have the energy. The amount of slow waves produced by your brain increases when you workout that day. More slow waves cause you to experience a deeper sleep.
6. Be sick less
Nothing like getting a cold to take you off your A-game. The last benefit I want to highlight about working out is how it can keep your immune system strong and capable of defeating harmful bacteria and viruses that enter your body. Exercise causes increased blood flow and within that blood you have a ton of white blood cells that rush throughout your body detecting bacteria or viruses. White blood cells fight off and kill anything nasty before it has time to multiply and make you sick. ⁵ The increase in exhaling can also help flush bacteria out of your lungs and airways. Lastly, exercise helps reduce cortisol and inflammation which suppress your immune system and increases your risk of catching a bug. ⁶
Conclusion
In order to get the most benefit out of exercise, aim to get 150 minutes of light to moderate exercise a week which breaks down to 20 minutes of exercise a day or 50 minutes of exercise 3 days a week. If you want to learn more about how the body works, how to incorporate new healthy habits, and how to reach fitness goals with longevity in mind check out the Fitness Manifest Podcast, streaming on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify and www.fitnessmanifest.com/podcast.
Teresa Cedeno, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Teresa Cedeno, is a trailblazer in health and fitness specializing in physical and behavioral change, mental wellness, and corrective exercise. She is a certified personal trainer with additional certifications in nutrition, corrective exercise, speed and agility training, women’s specific coaching, and group training. As the owner of Fitness Manifest, a fitness coaching and education brand she focuses on client empowerment through dynamic workouts, sustainable nutrition, and mental health motivation. She is also the host of the Fitness Manifest Podcast, which teaches listeners how to structure new habits, accept change as part of life, and align their mental and physical health goals.
References:
Oppezzo, M., & Schwartz, D. L. (2014). Give your ideas some legs: The positive effect of walking on creative thinking. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 40(4), 1142–1152. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036577
Bruce, D. F. (n.d.). Exercise and depression: Endorphins, reducing stress, and more. WebMD. Retrieved July 13, 2022, from https://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/exercise-depression
Cleveland Clinic. (2020, November 10). How exercise affects your sleep. Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved July 13, 2022, from https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-exercise-affects-your-sleep/
Cleveland Clinic. (2020, November 10). How exercise affects your sleep. Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved July 13, 2022, from https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-exercise-affects-your-sleep/
U.S. National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). Exercise and immunity: Medlineplus medical encyclopedia. MedlinePlus. Retrieved July 13, 2022, from https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007165.htm
U.S. National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). Exercise and immunity: Medlineplus medical encyclopedia. MedlinePlus. Retrieved July 13, 2022, from https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007165.htm
