Life is full of twists and turns. Good times, bad times, happy times and sad times. How can we best handle our response during times of flux? Call up your best friend – exercise. Make a date on a regular basis. Do a variety of things to keep it fresh. And don’t forget about her when the going gets tough.
There is research suggesting that exercise plays a pivotal role with our resilience in times of stress. Exercise appears to increase galanin, a neuropeptide involved in protecting neurons during stressful times. Specifically, galanin contributes to stress resilience by, “…preserving synaptic plasticity.”
This wondrous activity takes place in the pre-frontal cortex – that part of the brain where emotion regulation and stress resilience takes place. In a previous post, I talked about exercise and brain function; now it appears as though researchers are discovering the mechanism responsible for increased resilience through exercise. That tricky galanin. We found you!
You don’t have to be a science geek to realize the benefits of physical activity. It doesn’t have to be complicated, either. All you have to do is move. Start slow and work from the inside out.
Go with the flow with your new tool – physical activity.