Working out is good for your physical health, but it’s also good for your mental health and can play a positive role in addiction recovery. Exercise has been associated with a 75 percent decrease in substance use. At Safe Harbor Recovery Center in Portsmouth, Virginia, we encourage our clients to embrace the benefits of physical activity for their recovery journey.

Benefits of Exercise

Engaging in physical activity has been shown to offer many benefits, some of which are especially helpful for recovery:

  • Improved mental health 
      • The brain releases more endorphins, a feel-good chemical, when we exercise. This can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety and ease withdrawal symptoms.
      • Exercise is a great tool for managing stress and releasing tension. By exposing our body to stress that replicates our fight-or-flight response in a safe setting, it can give us a way to practice managing our stress levels.
      • Exercise has also been shown to improve mental clarity and decision-making skills.
  • Added structure and routine
      • Having a predictable routine that contains beneficial activities is a great way to strengthen recovery and enhance sobriety.
      • Exercising consistently has been linked to improved sleep, another important factor in staying sober.
      • People who exercise are more likely to engage in healthy eating habits, ensuring that their bodies get the vitamins and minerals they need to heal from the damage of substance use.
      • Setting and obtaining fitness goals can give people practice in setting and attaining goals in other areas of their life, including in recovery.
  • Increased physical resilience
  • Being active can help the body and brain to heal faster from the damage sustained while in active addition by increasing blood flow and oxygen levels in the body.
  • Maintaining a healthy weight can decrease the risk of developing chronic physical health conditions. Physical health conditions have been linked to increased risk of substance use.
  • Enhanced confidence
      • Working out can help a person feel better about how they look and how their body is able to perform. This can make them feel better about themselves in general.
      • A person is better able to rebuild their sense of self when they use discipline and dedication to meet their fitness goals. This can make them feel more capable of achieving goals related to recovery and personal growth.
      • Not wanting to damage their healthy body may be a motivation for a person in recovery to stay sober when faced with temptation.
  • Social engagement
      • Team sports, fitness classes, and bicycling or hiking with friends can allow people to form much-needed connections with other people.
      • Some non-profit organizations exist specifically for the purpose of giving people in recovery and their loved ones a sober community for their workouts.
  • Distraction from cravings
    • Cravings can make it hard to stay sober, but exercise can help to distract the mind from cravings and make them less powerful.
    • The stresses of daily life can sometimes become more manageable when we take a few minutes to step away and do something else for a while.

The Importance of Moderation

The dark side of exercise is that it can become an addiction of its own. When people compulsively engage in too much exercise, the results can include:

  • Injuries from overuse or overtraining
  • Deformities
  • Pain and inflammation
  • Decreased immune system response
  • Decreased performance
  • Decreased mental health benefits

For this reason, it is important to exercise in moderation. Thirty minutes per day, five times per week is a sufficient amount of moderate exercise for most people. Even if a person cannot set aside 30 minutes at one time, smaller increments of exercise have been found to be helpful. If the exercise a person does is more intense, 75 minutes per week may be enough. If you are not sure how much or what kind of exercise you should be doing, consult your doctor.

Types of Exercises That Promote Recovery

The most helpful exercise routines include cardio and strength training. Cardio gets your heart rate up for a sustained period. This can include a wide range of activities, such as:

  • Walking
  • Running
  • Swimming
  • Gardening
  • Dancing
  • Bicycling

Strength training works your muscles and includes activities like:

  • Some types of yoga
  • Weightlifting
  • Push-ups and sit-ups
  • Squats and lunges
  • Heavy gardening, for example digging

At Safe Harbor Recovery Center, we take a whole-person approach to recovery. We recognize that nurturing the mind, body, and spirit makes it easier for our clients to sustain long-term sobriety. We create individualized care plans for each person we treat and encourage them to explore different ways that they can strengthen their own recovery. This can include physical activity, medication-assisted treatment, therapy, involvement in a faith community, volunteerism, and much more.