No doubt that moving makes us feel good but did you know some scientists claim exercise can be as effective as anti-depressants for those suffering with clinical depression?

When you’re feeling low, exercise can be the last thing on your mind. It could just help you lift you and we’re not suggesting you have to go full-on circuits to feel the benefits.

How exactly does exercise help our mental health?

There are many feelgood hormones that help to make up our moods, including serotonin, oxytocin, dopamine and endorphins. They all do different things but belong to the general category of neurotransmitters, chemical messengers that allow cells to communicate with each other.

• Oxytocin: plays an important role in bonding.
• Dopamine: helps us feel pleasure.
• Endorphins and serotonin: increase our sense of wellbeing, by stimulating the body to release these hormones you can boost your mood.

Things that boost endorphin production include eating chocolate, laughing and having sex, and one of the best ways to get your endorphins flowing is to exercise.

Why does exercise produce endorphins?

Endorphins also play a part in pain relief. It’s thought that the reason we experience a boost in endorphins during exercise is to reduce the brain’s perception of pain so that we keep going.

• Exercise reduces our risk of major illnesses such as heart disease, some types of cancer and stroke.
• A study suggested 20 minutes of exercise a day, 3 times a week at a moderate intensity is enough to significantly reduce symptoms of depression.
• NHS recommendations are that adults aged 19-64 do 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week, spread evenly over 4-5 days.

What counts as exercise?

We’re talking anything that gets you moving. Could be a half hour brisk walk or a kick about in the park. Anything that gets you breathing and heart rate up can be good for your mental wellbeing.

Can exercise really replace antidepressants?

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide. It’s commonly treated with antidepressants, which can be a very effective treatment.

Antidepressants can take a while to work appropriately and some experience negative side effects. Finding non-pharmaceutical treatments that work can be used alongside medication to ease symptoms.

Non-pharmaceutical treatment options for depression include:

• Talking therapy
• Cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT)
• Meditation
• Exercise

We know that exercise can improve the symptoms of depression, boosting mood, lowering feelings of anxiety and stress levels. If you’re struggling with depression, it’s worth considering exercise as an important part of your treatment.

However, don’t go throwing out your anti-depressants just yet. There have been studies that show the improvement was short term, or that it was only helpful for those with very mild depression. The most generally accepted stance is that exercise is a fantastic treatment option for depression, but most effective when used alongside other treatments.

This can look different for different people. For example, you might take antidepressants but find that increasing your activity levels lowers your symptoms even more, or you might put cognitive behavioural therapy approaches into practice in your life while also making sure to exercise three times a week.

What if I can’t exercise?

Apart from anything else, people who have depression are more likely to be sedentary, and low mood is not conducive to wanting to lace up your trainers and go for a run.  It’s perfectly fine to do as much as you are able to and nothing more. If you feel up to it, great. If you don’t, that’s OK too, just try again another day.

Another thing to keep in mind is that ‘exercise’ doesn’t need to be as vigorous as you’re probably imagining when you think of marathon training, hour-long cardio sessions or lifting big. A walk, a swim, some gardening or hoovering get you up and moving too.

All the recommendations suggest moderate activity has the best effect but see that as something to work up to and start with what you can manage. Keep in mind that any progress above sitting still is progress you should be proud of.

Help with depression

If you’re struggling with your mental health, make an appointment to see your GP ASAP. It’s hard but help is out there, and it starts with a conversation.

Like the Robin to your Batman or the Pinkman to your Heisenberg, batch cooking needs to become your sidekick.

What is batch cooking?

Batch cooking is cooking extra portions alongside the meal you’re eating. I know what you’re thinking. How is this any different to meal prepping?

The difference is that batch cooking is pretty laid back. If you’re making a casserole one evening, you might double the ingredients and freeze half, which you then might defrost and eat a few weeks down the line. Or make double the Bolognese pasta sauce and freeze a portion so you’ve got a dinner ready to save you next time you’re tempted by a takeaway because you don’t feel like cooking. Batch cooking is not as regimented as meal prep, but it can still have great results for your weight loss.

Learning how to batch cook will dramatically streamline your meal preparation times and stop you from wandering down the road to the chippy, controlled by your belly’s darkest desires. It’s all about putting a little bit of extra effort in to reap big gains, and Future You will thank you.

How do I do it?

The concept is simple. Cook whatever you had intended to cook but make a bigger batch. Dishes that work well include casseroles, stews, Bolognese and chilli’s – especially if you bulk them out with veg.

The freezer is your friend

Don’t put the work in just to let it go to waste. Your freezer is your friend and will make the whole process even easier. Dish up dinner, box it up and you’re (almost) ready to go. There are a few rules you’ve got to follow to ensure you avoid any kind of kitchen mishaps or worse, food poisoning.

1. Freeze individual portions as it’ll save time defrosting and stop you overeating.
2. Make sure you cool your food down before it goes in the freezer. Batches of hot food will screw with your freezer’s temperature. Don’t leave the food out to cool for too long, as this will give bacteria the opportunity to grow.
3. If you’re using frozen ingredients, do not refreeze it if it’s raw. Freezing food slows down bacteria growth but does not kill it. Defrosting will allow bacteria to grow and then you’d be freezing the nasties, ready for attack next time. Remember though, it’s perfectly fine to defrost, cook and then refreeze, so if you’re cooking with frozen veg, you don’t need to worry as long as it’s been cooked.
4. Use proper freezer bags/tubs to avoid freezer burn. Yuck.
5. Make sure there’s room in your freezer as bags/tubs expand and you don’t want anything to blow up.
6. For smaller foods like berries or banana slices you’re better off if you ‘open-freeze’ them first. Stick them on a lined baking tray until they’re frozen solid and then throw them into a freezer bag so they don’t freeze into an almighty lump.

The ‘do not freeze’ list

You’d be surprised at the things you can freeze and most already complete meals will freeze very well if they’re mixed up in sauces.

Remember that freezing and thawing food will reduce the quality of it and as such there are some foods that probably shouldn’t pop in the freezer alone:

• Fruit and vegetables with a high-water content such as citrus fruits, watermelon and salad greens. These won’t hold up unless you want a tasteless slush when they’ve defrosted.
• Herbs without any form of preservatives like oil or butter.
• Starchy carbs like rice and pasta, but bread is pretty good if you plan to toast it. If you’re making something you want to serve with rice, pasta or spaghetti, just freeze the sauce and cook the pasta or rice on the day.
• Dairy, including eggs and especially soft cheese.

Don’t leave your leftovers behind

Batch-cooking can also work on a slightly smaller scale. You’ve cooked a 4-portion meal for 2, that means you can go back for seconds, right? Wrong. What you have is your lunch for tomorrow. When you’re serving dinner up, grab a couple of Tupperware boxes and split it straight into 4 servings, ready to be cooled and put into the fridge. Work smarter, not harder.

Go forth and unleash the power of batch-cooking. Minimum effort, maximum gain. As we said, Future You will be pleased… treat him right!

Men are less likely to seek help for mental health problems, and less likely than women to take time off work to get medical help for anxiety or feeling low. Many of us are embarrassed to take time off work for mental health concerns. 

It’s incredible, really, that we still find it difficult to talk about and seek help for our mental health. If there was anything else wrong with your body, you’d seek the appropriate medical help, so your brain should be no different. And if someone was embarrassed about having a cold, you’d think they were a bit odd. Mental health issues aren’t quite as common as the common cold, but it’s something the overwhelming majority of us will struggle with at some point in our lives. 

We want to help put an end to the shame and stigma. After all, we all have mental health and we all need to make sure that we look after it as a valuable part of our body. 

Here are our tips on what to do if you’re struggling with your mental health, or just want to give it a much-needed boost. 

See your GP 

The usual tip for going for a walk is a very positive thing and getting some fresh air will always do you good, but it’s not helpful when you’re at rock bottom. It’s not helpful when you’re in a very bad place and finding it difficult to even get out of bed in the morning.  

If you’re really struggling with your mental health, you need to see a doctor.  

It’s worth remembering: 

• It’s easy to feel like you don’t warrant taking up their time – but you absolutely do. 

• You are worthy and you deserve the help you need to get better, just the same as if you’d broken your leg. 

• Whatever happens, the first step of going to get help is the hardest. Left untreated, these things have a nasty habit of spiralling out of control, so if you’re struggling, make an appointment today and get the ball rolling. 

Build healthy habits

So what are these healthy habits and how can you utilise them to improve your wellbeing? 

Exercise 

There’s a growing interest in the role exercise plays in the reduction of major mental health conditions and their symptoms, simply because it is so effective.  

It’s worth knowing: 

• The European Psychiatric Association recommends that exercise should form a core part of treatment plans for mental illness, with physical activity proving successful in improving symptoms in people with depression and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. 

• A 15-minute jog can have the same effects as 15 minutes of mindfulness-based relaxation techniques. 

Eat well 

Cheat meals, treats, and splurges are fine as long as they’re not the norm. Too many greasy takeaways will leave you feeling rough, both physically and mentally.

The Mental Health Foundation suggests that as the brain is acutely sensitive to what we eat and drink, and it needs a balanced diet to remain healthy. Some foods have a long-lasting influence on our mood and mental wellbeing because of the impact they have on the structure and function of the brain. 

Do your best to eat as healthy as you can and give your brain a fighting chance. Drink water, eat your veggies and cut down on sugar.  

Look after yourself 

Exercise and healthy eating aside, there is a lot you can do to practice a bit of self-care.   

We all need to: 

• Get enough sleep 

• Feel fulfilment at work and at home 

• Socialise 

• Do things that interest us 

All of these aspects have a positive impact on your health.  

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to any of this, but if you can find some time to figure out what you need to focus on it will go a long way towards improving your wellbeing. 

Make the most of resources available to you

We all know that GPs and NHS mental health services are stretched to the limit thanks to a decade of underfunding and the impact of COVID-19. This shouldn’t stop you from attempting to seek help from your GP, but there’s also no harm in making the most of online resources too.

See if your GP surgery has access to online wellbeing platforms (many do), or look up the ‘books on prescription’ scheme, which is a list of helpful books put together by professionals.

What’s this got to do with weight loss? 

A recent study found that there is a link between high BMI and poor mental health, which probably won’t come as a surprise. It’s easy to see that if you’re unhappy with your body, then it follows that you’re probably pretty unhappy generally too. 

 It’s worth remembering: 

• Losing weight isn’t always a cure. 

• Many find once they reach their weight loss goal they’re not as happy as they thought they’d be. The excess weight was a symptom of a bigger problem. 

• Eating well is so important, food has a huge effect on how we feel.  

Going to bed early isn’t going to magic away those pounds you want to lose, and antidepressants might not directly help you get to your goal weight. But it’s all linked and tied up together in a complicated, tangled web. It’s one piece of the jigsaw. Looking after your wellbeing is one way of giving yourself the best shot at getting healthy, both physically and mentally. 

If you’re struggling and require support now 

Samaritans 

Tel: 116 123 (24 hour line) 

Email: jo@samaritans.org 

CALM (Campaign against living miserably) 

0800 58 58 58 – 5pm-midnight every day 

SANE  

Tel: 0300 304 7000 (4.30-10.30pm every day)