SportsPsychologist.com Blog by Dr Victor Thompson

It’s what we regular exercisers know based on our experience: exercise boosts mood and missing exercise makes things worse mood-wise. As a Clinical Psychologist who works in the NHS in London, it is great to see that the NHS and DoH is now including exercise as an important component of treatment programmes for people struggling with anxiety or depression. Last month I was at the launch of the new NHS IAPT initiative called Brain Train , which aims to inform NHS staff about the benefits so they can give guidance to their clients. The evidence behind exercise boosting mood and psychological wellbeing is compelling. And, as we know, not everyone wants to have a sit-down therapeutic consultation with someone like me, so I really welcome this NHS initiative. So when the week at work is starting to drag you down, don’t give in to the temptation to take it easy and go home and hit the sofa. Instead, make sure you get some physical stimulation: walk, jog, run, swim, cycle, hit ...

Sport and exercise – but not competition for most of us – can be a good way to de-stress. This works for several reasons: It takes us away from stressful situations (home or work) We focus on what we are doing (e.g, chasing a football, hitting the tennis ball, running drills…) and therefore not on life’s problems We have endogenous opiates (‘happy hormones’) released into our bloodstream which feel good We might be exercising or playing sport with positive, encouraging people Those of us who exercise know this already. Perhaps we can share the good news to those who don’t exercise or engage in sport?  Dr Victor Thompson www.sportspsychologist.com