Heavy breathing, pounding heart rate, and sweating are your body’s natural responses to emotional stress and physical exercise. These arousal responses may also aid in mental processing and emotional relief.

Rapid breathing and racing heart rate pump oxygen and energy products to brain cells. More power for data processing translates into better problem solving.

Aerobic exercise also elevates mood. Short term mood elevation follows the release of pleasure compounds (endorphins). Longer term changes in mood follow release of Brain-Derived-Neurotrophic-Growth Factor. This natural ‘brain fertilizer’ promotes brain cell repair in regions responsible for mood regulation.

For cases of mild depression, exercise may be as helpful as professional treatment. Psychiatric researchers suggest “the benefits of exercise may be comparable to cognitive or group therapy” (Sidhu). Experts recommend a daily dose of 30-45 minutes of aerobic exercise such as running, swimming, or dancing.

It may seem difficult to start but once begun exercise usually gets easier and may end up feeling pretty good. It can pump you up with confidence before a social event or help to blow off steam from daily hassles. It may even help relieve clinical depression.

If you are not already fit for aggressive exercise, talk to a physician before you start and begin with light 10 minute routines each day. Go ahead. Get pumped up.

Kawaldeep Sidhu and others. Exercise Prescription: A Practical, Effective Therapy for depression. Current Psychiatry, June 2009.