Tracking Exercise for Your Mental Health
Meet a friend, go to a gathering, or just head out to the supermarket and you will likely see people wearing all sorts of fitness monitors on their wrist. Most tell you how many steps you have taken, and others tell you your heart rate and how well you slept the previous night. Some can even measure your stress levels! You can track your exercise with a variety of fitness trackers, or record your exercise and sleep with a personal journal and pedometer.
Evidence shows that regular exercise is beneficial to mental health. And, we all know how lack of sleep can affect our mood. Tracking your fitness and sleep can help you stay on course. A fitness tracker, personal journal or pedometer will tell you how much you are moving and sleeping.
The accountability factor may help keep you going. If you exercise regularly, go to bed early and get a good night's sleep, you'll be rewarded by good numbers on your smartphone, in your journal, or on your pedometer. Give it a try; regular exercise and healthy sleep is certainly tied to happy moods. If your moods concern you, take our free and confidential online screening.
