Exercise Helps

Exercise and "forest bathing" are two activities that have been proven to help with depression and anxiety. I can confirm this from my own practises. We are finally having some good weather so I carried my bike up the basement stairs, added air to the tires and headed out.

That's not me but it expresses how cycling makes me feel :) Anything I can do to get outside of my head is a blessing. This is one of those things...you have to be "present" when riding a bike - it could get a little dangerous otherwise! Instead of feeling down and dwelling on things I'm planning my route and assessing my physical condition ie. "can I make it a few more blocks or should I start heading towards home"....do I have enough water left to stay hydrated...and so on.

I want to increase the amount of exercise I get...cycling to the forest where I do my own "forest bathing" is a good way to increase daily activity. Planning is always easier that actually DOING the activity however, so I add "cycling" to my daily "to do list" in order to remember. Putting exercise clothes on the floor beside my bed also works a charm as does setting the alarm on my phone. I can make a zillion excuses for sitting on my butt but cycling brings a joyful feeling into my day that I can't get otherwise so that in itself is motivating.

My first ride of the season was a wee bit challenge as the bike path was still under water here and there.

Swimming would have been involved with reaching the bench but the view is quite nice! 

I'm told this is a sun dog! 

There...I've talked myself into getting into my exercise clothing :)

Morning Dread

Do you suffer from "morning dread"? It's that feeling when you first wake up of worry and darkness that jolts you wide awake and doesn't allow you to linger in bed enjoying that pleasant langorous feeling between dreaminess and full alertness.

Yeah, me too.

I'm not like this person who can't hardly drag themselves out of bed. I have to get up and get busy. I get more anxious if I stay in bed - there's no enjoyment in it.

And if I don't know what I'm going to do when I get up then I feel even more anxious. So I'm trying to think, the night before, what I'm going to do when I get up in the morning. Beyond the usual routine, that is.

Right now my morning routine looks like this: (and I can drag it out for several hours)

• I wake up around 7am without an alarm
• I respond to the "morning dread" by getting up; I'm confused for a short period of time by what order I should do things and therefore by what I should wear...exercise gear? jeans? pjs?
• I feel like I should start out the day with meditation and stretches, maybe some yoga but I frequently don't bother, but I also feel I shouldn't stay in pjs either and jeans aren't comfortable for exercise...like I say it takes a few minutes to decide. If it's a "hike" day then I know what to put on...hiking pants etc...maybe everyday should be a "hike" or a "walk" day. Maybe that's how I should start my day...but I'm inherently lazy. This is a struggle.
• Once dressed, washed my face etc I come downstairs and make sure the cats have food and that their litter is clean. I sometimes forget about the litter til later.
• I get my breakfast ready, make a cup of tea or coffee. Perhaps play a little with the cats.
• Then at 8am I get the newspaper out of my mailbox and sit at the dining room table to eat, drink and read the paper. 
• Then I check my email using my laptop and look up stuff - like today I'm looking up "how to meditate" because yesterday at group meditation the leader talked about Buddhists and how their daily meditation practice allows them to feel happy and calm and peaceful even if a bomb goes off near them. I'm not going to become a monk but I would like to know how they meditate. My once weekly group meditation is not going to get me to a place where I experience deep peace. And besides, research can really fill a lot of hours in a day! Here it is 10:18am and I'm still at the dining room table but I can justify that because I'm retired and I'm learning about something.
• Then I have to figure out what I'll do for the rest of the day: for example today I'm doing "floors" - vacuuming and cleaning AND it's kitty hygiene day too - clip their nails and comb their fur as it's spring and they are shedding more hair. I will check my accounts and update my budget plus I will talk to my daughter once she gets up (she worked late last night). Later I will likely go for coffee with a "daytime friend" and will do any errands that need doing. As it's not a hike day but the weather is crappy I will ride my stationary bike for 15km instead of going for a walk as rain and/or snow is predicted. 
• Once I get to abot 4pm the guilt of not working for a living usually subsides for the day (probably because 4pm was the end of my work day?) and I relax a bit more...I might read, go on the computer or get supper started. I have another blog I work on a fair bit plus a bloglist of other blogs to visit and read.
• After dinner is when I ride my stationary bike and watch Netflix. I might have a glass of wine and some chocolate, probably neither a good idea. Eventually I plan to fill an afternoon or two with volunteer work. And once nicer weather arrives I'll be spending a few days each week at my trailer which will hopefully provide me with some peace and relaxation.

And such is my busy busy life (sarcasm intended).

**The takeaway today is to always plan a few things the night before for the following day as feeling "dazed and confused" is really hard to endure first thing in the morning. Your mind will thank you for it.

Walking and Depression

After hiking outside yesterday (it was a balmy 17c) it was back to the indoor track today as the rain is pouring down. 

If there is one thing that I can point to that lifts my spirits it's walking and/or cycling. It doesn't matter if I'm walking inside or outside once I get into a rhythm I start to feel small stirrings of happiness. Yes, it's only temporary but the benefits are real and eventually longer lasting. The following excerpt explains a bit about how exercise helps with depression...

(For the entire article go HERE)

A study published in 2005 found that walking fast for about 35 minutes a day five times a week or 60 minutes a day three times a week had a significant influence on mild to moderate depression symptoms. Walking fast for only 15 minutes a day five times a week or doing stretching exercises three times a week did not help as much. (These exercise lengths were calculated for someone who weighs about 150 pounds. If you weigh more, longer exercise times apply, while the opposite is true if you weigh less than 150 pounds.)

How does exercise relieve depression? For many years, experts have known that exercise enhances the action of endorphins, chemicals that circulate throughout the body. Endorphins improve natural immunity and reduce the perception of pain. They may also serve to improve mood. Another theory is that exercise stimulates the neurotransmitter norepinephrine, which may directly improve mood.

Besides lifting your mood, regular exercise offers other health benefits, such as lowering blood pressure, protecting against heart disease and cancer, and boosting self-esteem. How often or intensely you need to exercise to alleviate depression is not clear, but for general health, experts advise getting half an hour to an hour of moderate exercise, such as brisk walking, on all or most days of the week.

I read on one woman's blog about how hard it was for her to be motivated enough to walk. She put her workout clothes on the floor by her bed so they would be the first things she'd see in the morning. It helped! We all know how easy it is to make excuses or to "forget". Sometimes just getting out of bed in the morning is all we can manage. TRY to make the effort to walk, better yet walk with a friend if you can. Motivate each other.

Have a laugh on me!