Exercise helps you stay healthy and maintain your ability to function. It’s an important and effective way to relieve stress and boost energy levels.
Our bodies require low-intensity activity and active recovery exercises such as walks in the woods, mobility exercises, stretching and light muscle exercises. The kind of exercise that loosens you up and gives your metabolism just the right kind of gentle boost.
If you aren’t used to exercising or you haven’t previously engaged in, say, strength training, it’s particularly important to listen to and respect your body and begin exercising slowly and gently.
High-intensity exercise always puts stress on the body. If you force your body to work too hard, you may inadvertently increase your stress level. This may lead to tension in the masticatory muscles, which in turn may make you prone to muscle tension not only in the jaw, but also in the cervical spine area and the neck and shoulder region. Teeth grinding can damage your teeth. It’s particularly important for those who grind their teeth to engage in gentle, relaxing physical activity.
Relaxing from time to time is also important. It helps physical recovery, reduces stress hormone levels and boosts levels of feel-good hormones.
Muscle tension slows down blood circulation in the extremities. Relaxation, on the other hand, increases circulation in the extremities, widens blood vessels and lowers your respiratory rate, blood pressure and heart rate.
Relaxation alleviates tension and helps your body replenish its resources. The quality of sleep and rest improves as sleep becomes deeper and longer. Your metabolic rate slows down. Overall health and performance improve. In a stress-inducing situation or when suffering from lack of sleep, the ability to relax may also help you cope.
