Monthly Archives: September 2015

Right Brain, Left Brain

right brain left brain exerciseThe concept of people being right brained or left brained is not black and white, by any means. The most current studies have found that people are constantly using both sides of their brains in interpreting the world. There are still brain faculties that favor the right or the left, but they do not apply to the whole of the brain. They apply to compartments of the brain that represent particular faculties. It has been found that exercising, like the kind that is accomplished by riding a bike, while mentally organizing is a dual activity that uses more of the right and left brain together than most other activities.

The right brain is responsible for circular, creative thinking. Imagination, conceptual thinking, creativity and mental wandering take place within the right brain. The right brain is largely in charge of potentials and possibilities. The right brain is experimental and spends time wondering about the higher ideas. The right brain is in charge of our thinking that is inventive and original.

The left brain, on the other hand, is responsible for organizing information. This is the center of our linear thinking. The left brain is all about structure and memory. It works much more like a computer than our right brain does. It is responsible for data input, time management and memory. The left brain handles our executive functions, or all the tactical and logistical functions.

When we engage in healthy exercise, like the kind that cycling offers, it stimulates good mental health within us because it facilitates use of the right and left brain together. Exercise alone is practice for the left brain, because it seeks to improve on familiar patterns. When combined with right brain mental activity, a lot is accomplished. We resolve difficulties and challenges by putting our right brains and left brains together. We need the creativity and innovation to invent a way out of the problem, and we need our left brain to inform the inventions of the right brain with information and past experience.

Exercise is Free Therapy

exercise as therapyActivities like bicycle riding that serve as both exercise and fun are some of the most therapeutic there are. There are activities that are fun, but not good for us. Likewise, there are activities that have health benefits but are not enjoyable. It is very important that people find the activities for them that accomplish both, whether it is hiking, doing yoga, swimming or bicycling. The combination of something being both good for you and enjoyable is what makes it therapeutic, and therapeutic activities are essential to our health.

The first aspect of exercise being therapeutic is the good it does us physically. Exercise is one of the most highly recommended means of managing personal health. Doctors and medical professionals emphasize the importance of exercise as a way of preventing disease and staying in an optimal healthy condition. Our bodies rely on exercise for muscle building, fat burning and circulation. Muscles can only stay strong through exercise, so it is critical to follow a regular exercise regimen. The fats that we consume are stored in our bodies unless we exercise. And good circulation is dependent on regular exercise to keep our body and brain chemicals evenly distributed.

Of course all of the physical benefits of exercise translate directly to the ways exercise makes us feel good. The same circulation and chemical distribution that aids our physical bodies also helps our brain chemistry immensely, which is largely tied to our mental health. Exercise also makes the brain release “happy” chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine, which are indicative of pleasure. Physical activities can be enormously fun and can occupy our attention completely. Everyone is capable of finding a physical activity that is fun for them as well as beneficial.

Managing Addictions and Disorders

bicycling for mental healthThe mental health benefits of exercise are becoming known to people, but the extent of how much mental damage exercise can repair is really quite remarkable. Exercising regularly has been shown to completely improve a person’s quality of life on many levels. Humans evolved to be athletic and much of our chemistry depends on exercise in order to stay functional, both physically and mentally. When we remove the component of exercise from our lives, we become dysfunctional. When we include it in our daily lives and take it seriously, we function at our highest level.

The reason exercise makes such a big difference in our lives is because of the way it regulates our body and brain chemistry, assists our metabolism and keeps us physically and mentally strong. Body and brain chemistry can easily become imbalanced. Metabolism plays a huge part in the distribution and regulation of the chemicals in our bodies and brains. Our metabolism is what keeps our chemicals circulating, and exercise plays a huge part in what keeps them circulating correctly. Our moods can also be affected by the state of our physical health. When physical health is low we often feel down, which is why it is important to keep strength up through exercise.

It is important to recognize how necessary exercise is to mental health in a world where mental disorder and addiction thrive so easily. Exercise is one of the most highly recommended methods of fighting mental illness, including drug addiction rehab centers. The help one receives with mood regulation through exercise cannot be understated. Even in rehabs and behavioral wellness centers, exercise is a necessary part of the regimen in order to ensure the best care possible for clients. This is because mental health professionals know to recommend exercise for promotion of good mental health. By taking up an activity like bike riding, one can keep their physical bodies and their minds in good working order.

There is more information on the Drug and health products from Canada too.

The Many Benefits of Bicycling

bicycling benefitsEveryone has seen the trains of bicyclists that line scenic streets, peddling through cities, countrysides and mountainous areas. Perhaps you have been a part of them. Bicycling is one of the best ways you can possibly spend your free time and is a much loved hobby of many people around the globe. The benefits you receive from time on a bike are numerous and should make everyone consider taking up cycling in their spare time.

As everyone knows, bicycling makes for excellent exercise. In fact, bicycling is considered healthier than running or jogging because it is lower impact. Bicycling works the leg muscles and the core muscles efficiently. It is easy on joints because they have very little shock to absorb. Bicycling is a great way to keep your weight managed and the muscles in your lower body toned and shapely. Bicycling helps manage cholesterol and blood pressure, as well as helps prevent heart disease, obesity, stroke and diabetes.

Bicycling is also excellent for mental health. Some reasons for this are obvious. Enjoyable, therapeutic activities are always good for mental health. But a less known reason is related to what exercise does for mental health. Exercise is often called the most affordable form of therapy there is, and for good reason. Exercise does more to balance body and brain chemicals than the contents of a pharmacy do. Exercise makes our brains produce serotonin and dopamine, which elevate our moods and energy. Bicycling while you reflect makes use of your right brain and left brain together, which is very good for mental health.

And lastly, bicycling is simply enjoyable. It allows you to see a great deal of scenery at a much faster pace than walking, it gives the thrill of adrenaline when you go fast and it gets you outdoors to enjoy the natural world. Bicycling is addictive to many people who try it.