Benefits of Exercise in Addiction Treatment

Benefits of Exercise in Recovery

Experts believe that regular physical activity can act as a healthy building block for avoiding addictive substances. That’s because exercise and substance abuse work on similar parts of your brain. They both activate your reward center, which triggers the release of dopamine and serotonin.

How Does Exercise Affect Your Mind and Body?

When you’re recovering from alcohol or drug addiction, exercise is beneficial for both your body, and your mind. Physical and mental health are both connected, and exercising gives us the opportunity to improve both at the same time. Let’s take a closer look at the physical and mental health advantages that come with regular exercise.

Physical Health Benefits

Physical activity can help you maintain a healthy weight and strengthen your body. Exercise is helpful because weight struggles are sometimes connected with substance use recovery and often times experience an increase in appetite in early recovery.

The physical health benefits of exercise extend far beyond managing weight. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), getting active for at least 150 minutes per week can actually reduce the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, some types of cancers and other chronic diseases. Routine exercise can also increase the brain’s amount of new nerve connections being formed, which helps the brain’s healing process from the harmful physiological effects of frequent substance use.

Mental Health Benefits

In addition to the physical health benefits, regular exercise offers many psychological benefits. When you engage in physical activity, your body releases endorphins. Endorphins interact with your brain receptors to decrease your perception of pain, much like morphine does. The natural activation of these receptors through physical exercise doesn’t lead to addiction. This process can result in a lot of positive feelings of euphoria after each workout.

Forming good mental health habits and coping skills is especially important for those in recovery because mental health disorders like depression and anxiety can often co-occur with addiction. Exercise during recovery can be a necessary component in improving mental health and generating a more positive outlook on life. Other mental health benefits of exercise include sharper thinking, learning and judgment skills.