Being overly reliant on exercise is not a coping mechanism for mental health struggles, charity warns

After finding that less than three in five people include rest days in their exercise routines, Mind has warned of the dangers of exercise addiction, Saman Javed reports

People should not become ‘overly reliant’ to manage mental health, Mind warns (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Estelle Newman* found herself over-exercising shortly after she attempted suicide. Feeling unable to be alone with her thoughts, she turned to exercise as a coping mechanism. Using exercise as a means of ignoring her emotions took its toll, and she began exercising for long periods of time even when she was injured.

The benefits of frequent exercise are well-documented and researched, but is it possible to have too much of a good thing, even when it applies to our health? On its website, the NHS lists regular exercise as a means of “boosting mood” in people with mild to moderate depression, while the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends that people take part in around three 45 minute sessions of physical activity per week.

Newman has since received medical treatment. “I still love exercise, and I would never give it up for the world but learning to cope with negative emotions and understanding where my drive to be active comes from has changed my relationship with physical activity,” she says. “Health and wellbeing are about balance, and sometimes that means running a marathon, but other times it means lying on the sofa.”

Some of us have been coping by becoming overly reliant on exercise as the main way to manage our mental health

Hayley Jarvis, head of physical activity for Mind

Although regular exercise provides a host of benefits to our mental health such as better sleep and happier moods from the release of endorphins, those who rely on exercise too heavily are at risk of exercise addiction – an unhealthy obsession with fitness and physical activity that poses its own mental health problems.

New research by mental health charity Mind has found that, while most people (67 per cent) believe that physical exercise plays an important role in their mental wellbeing, less than three in five (59 per cent) include rest days in their exercise routines.

The study, which surveyed 2,089 adults found that 18 per cent of people are exercising despite being unwell or injured – a number higher among men than women – and two in five people experience feelings of guilt if they miss a workout or sports session.

And as more than a third of people (38 per cent) report that they use exercise as a way to manage difficult feelings or emotions, the charity believes that some may be over-exercising and are at risk of exercise addiction.

In response to its findings, Mind is encouraging the public to examine their own behaviours for signs of over-exercising and ensure that they are including rest days in their routines.

The risk is particularly pronounced following the pandemic, when many people turned to physical exercise to better manage their mental health. As of July 2021, run planning app Couch to 5K had been downloaded 2.36 million times since the beginning of the pandemic.

“What we’ve seen during the pandemic is that a lack of access to our usual forms of support, including family and friends, as well as more time working from or being at home, has been really tough,” says Hayley Jarvis, head of physical activity for Mind.

The most important step is to factor in rest days to help your body and mind recover

Mind

“In that time, we have seen increasing reports that some of us have been coping by becoming overly reliant on exercise as the main way to manage our mental health.”

Previous research, carried out by researchers at Yale University and published in The Lancet journal in 2018, concluded that “more exercise was not always better” for mental health.

Looking at data from 1.2 million people in the US, study authors found that people who exercised for around 30-60 minutes three to five times a week had the best mental health. But those who were physically active for more than 90 minutes a day, and more than 23 times a month, had worse mental health than those who did not exercise at all.

One common sign that you may be over-exercising is feeling worried or distressed if you don’t exercise. Other signs are that your desire to exercise is affecting your job or relationships, if you’re constantly finding ways to be active, and if you’re reluctant to take breaks despite being tired or injured.

For those that think they may be at risk of over-exercising or an exercise addiction, Mind says the most important step is to factor in rest days to “help your body and mind recover”. Additionally, consider mixing up exercise routines by adding in low-impact physical activity like walking or yoga.

*This name has been changed to protect privacy.