Post 3: Psychological effects at the neurological level

In most of the sources analyzing how exercise may affect psychological well being, they do not always tell why this effect was happening. The sources usually have just said, exercise can improve self esteem, self image, and sleep... In one kinesiology book about fitness, it showed some reasons for why exercise may have positive effects on psychological health. No concrete facts have been found regarding issue, but there have been a number of proposals backed by research. Firstly, physical activity stimulates the emotion centers of the brain, which produce improvements in mood and cognitive ability. Also, exercise has been associated with increased alpha brain wave activity, which relates to relaxation. The most convincing evidence has come from research that studies chemicals and neurotransmitters in the body and brain. Using MRI's and imaging techniques, researchers have found that exercise stimulates the release of endorphins and phenylethylamine. Endorphins help suppress fatigue, decrease pain, and produce euphoria. Phenylethylamine is associated with a boost in energy, mood, and attention. These two chemicals that are released during exercise are probably related to the observable psychological effects that we see after exercise, such as enhanced mood and increased self image. Exercise also decreases the secretion of hormons triggered by emotional stress, accounting for stress reduction. Lastly, exercise has been found to alter the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain. One neurotransmitter, seratonin, is associated with mood and has been found to increase during exercise which may be another cause for the elevated mood. After searching for more research on this on the internet, i have found that this neurological research is widely supported and is the main theory for how exercise increases psychological well being, especially the mood aspect. This is very interesting and I will definitly research further to see if there is any concrete evidence for what has been found. It would be good for my paper to find if levels of other neurotransmitters are changed during exercise and find out whether they might affect psychological health. For example, dopamine levels (a neurotransmitter) are associated with pleasurable feelings, which might effect self esteem.