The mediation model was significant when physical activity and PMH were assessed at the BL, while burden was measured at the FU and it was also significant when all variables were assessed at the FU. Furthermore, PMH mediated the link between physical activity and burden. In both countries, physical activity was positively associated with PMH, and both variables were negatively related to burden by COVID-19. Cross-sectional and longitudinal (China: N = 474, baseline, BL: 2015, follow-up, FU: 2020 Germany: N = 359, BL: 2019, FU: 2020) data on physical activity (e.g., jogging) (BL/FU), positive mental health (PMH) (BL/FU), and burden by COVID-19 (FU) were collected via online surveys. The present cross-national study investigated potential factors that can reduce the burden by COVID-19 in China and Germany. Moreover, these 30 minutes need not to be continuous three 10-minute walks are believed to be as equally useful as one 30-minute walk.Many people experience high burden by the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its consequences for health and everyday life.
5 Thirty minutes of exercise of moderate intensity, such as brisk walking for 3 days a week, is sufficient for these health benefits. Patients suffering from schizophrenia who participated in a 3-month physical conditioning program showed improvements in weight control and reported increased fitness levels, exercise tolerance, reduced blood pressure levels, increased perceived energy levels, and increased upper body and hand grip strength levels.
3 Exercise is especially important in patients with schizophrenia since these patients are already vulnerable to obesity and also because of the additional risk of weight gain associated with antipsychotic treatment, especially with the atypical antipsychotics. 2 Exercise has also been found to alleviate symptoms such as low self-esteem and social withdrawal. 1 Interestingly, adherence to physical activity interventions in psychiatric patients appears to be comparable to that in the general population.Įxercise improves mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and negative mood and by improving self-esteem and cognitive function. 4 While structured group programs can be effective for individuals with serious mental illness, lifestyle changes that focus on the accumulation and increase of moderate-intensity activity throughout the day may be the most appropriate for most patients. Other hypotheses that have been proposed to explain the beneficial effects of physical activity on mental health include distraction, self-efficacy, and social interaction. 3 This physiologic influence is probably mediated by the communication of the HPA axis with several regions of the brain, including the limbic system, which controls motivation and mood the amygdala, which generates fear in response to stress and the hippocampus, which plays an important part in memory formation as well as in mood and motivation. 3 These improvements in mood are proposed to be caused by exercise-induced increase in blood circulation to the brain and by an influence on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and, thus, on the physiologic reactivity to stress. 2Īerobic exercises, including jogging, swimming, cycling, walking, gardening, and dancing, have been proved to reduce anxiety and depression. Evidence has suggested that exercise may be an often-neglected intervention in mental health care. The importance of exercise is not adequately understood or appreciated by patients and mental health professionals alike. 1 An essential component of lifestyle modification is exercise. Many of these individuals are at a high risk of chronic diseases associated with sedentary behavior and medication side effects, including diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular disease.
Lifestyle modifications can assume especially great importance in individuals with serious mental illness. Sir: In this era of exponential growth of the “metabolic syndrome” and obesity, lifestyle modifications could be a cost-effective way to improve health and quality of life.
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