We hear it used all the time but there are seriously not enough hours in the day, especially when you are a parent or a busy person in general. With as little time as we have available, it is extremely important that we prioritize our health and well-being above other minute things in our daily lives. Exercising has benefits that contribute to more than just our beach bods and heart health; it can also improve your mental health. One article from Psychology Today on the topic of Mental Health reports that depression rates today are higher than they have ever done in a handful of countries, including the United States, due to the fact that our "modern life" of society today keeps us isolated and focused on unimportant things as well as contributes to our inactivity. We need exercise and activity for our body to release the "feel good" hormones that improper our moods and give us energy. Exercise directly affects our brain, especially with the relationship it has to our hippocampus, which controls our emotion regulation, memory and learning, but also has a great correlation to mental health conditions, specifically depression. On the topic of time, no change can really happen over night, but you shouldn't be expected to exercise all day every day either. It's recommended that exercising or participating in any form of physical activity about 3 or more times a week is beneficial and it may take up to four weeks to see an improvement in mood or symptoms of depression. However, time is of the essence to most of us, so understand that any time dedicated to exercise does not go to waste and is still going to implement change into your life. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-works-and-why/201803/how-your-mental-health-reaps-the-benefits-exercise
