The best exercise for mental health

By Felicity Duncan

Everybody knows that exercise can help mental health. I myself find that going for a run solves a lot of my problems – I burn off all my stress and frustration and can focus on solutions with a calmer frame of mind. But it turns out that running is not the best exercise for optimising mental health.

According to researchers, team sports like soccer or basketball had the biggest impact on the number of bad mental health days participants experienced. Overall, people who exercised had an average of two poor mental-health days a month, compared to 3.4 for the sedentary. But people who did team sports or exercised in a group – think spin classes, yoga classes, or Cross Fit – benefitted the most. The researchers think that the social aspect of these forms of exercise offers an added benefit on top of the usual mind-clearing benefits of physical exertion. Perhaps I should check out SoulCycle?

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