10 Physical and Mental Benefits of Exercise for Teens

In today's fast-paced and demanding world, it's more important than ever to take care of ourselves. Self-care is essential for our mental health and overall well-being. It's about taking the time to do things that make us feel good, both physically and mentally.

And guess what? Self-care can be fun! It doesn't have to be boring or time-consuming. There are endless ways to take care of yourself, making it easy to find an activity that’s perfect for you.

So whether you're a fitness fanatic, a foodie, or a nature lover, there's a self-care practice out there for you. And the best part is, when you take care of yourself, you're not only doing yourself a favor, you're also making the world a better place.

Because when you're happy and healthy, you're better able to connect with others and make a positive impact on the world around you.

What is Self-Care? Exploring Different Perspectives

Self-care encompasses various aspects that contribute to overall well-being. It starts with making healthy lifestyle choices, which directly impact our physical health. And when we prioritize our physical self-care, we also experience improved mental and emotional well-being. Focusing attention inward on ourselves allows us to understand ourselves more deeply, know what we need to thrive, and ultimately, bring our best selves to any situation so we are kinder and more compassionate to others.

• Self-recognition is a vital aspect of self-care. Being aware of our bodies and promptly addressing emerging symptoms allows us to seek appropriate care in partnership with healthcare professionals.

• Self-monitoring is an integral part of self-care, as it involves regularly checking for signs of improvement or deterioration in our health and well-being. It can be as simple as tracking changes in our body, mood, or energy levels. Monitoring helps us identify patterns, recognize triggers, and make informed decisions about our health.

• Self-management is the active engagement in managing symptoms. It may involve making lifestyle modifications or seeking support from healthcare professionals or support groups. We can enhance our well-being and achieve optimal health outcomes by actively participating in our care.

The Benefits of Self-Care

Self-care offers numerous benefits, empowering individuals to make informed health choices and improving well-being and quality of life. Believe it or not, it even contributes to healthcare efficiency, sustainability, and resource allocation, ultimately benefiting society far beyond the individual.

Committing to a regular self-care routine empowers individuals to:

• Be proactive about their health

• Prioritize well-being

• Improve overall quality of life

• Make better choices

• Be present in situations with loved ones

These benefits may seem too good to be true! Let’s dive deeper into different kinds of self-care to enjoy all the benefits it has to offer.

7 Essential Types of Self Care

There are seven essential types of self-care that encompass various aspects of our well-being. These practices go beyond surface-level relaxation and delve into nurturing our physical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual, and environmental needs. By understanding and incorporating these essential types of self-care into our lives, we cultivate a holistic approach to self-nurturing and promote overall well-being.

#1: Physical Self-Care

Physical self-care involves nurturing our bodies. By prioritizing our physical well-being, we can also enhance our mental and emotional health.

• Prioritize Sleep: Adequate sleep is vital for rejuvenation and overall health. Establish a consistent sleep routine, create a sleep-friendly environment, and aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night.

• Engage in Regular Exercise: Physical activity improves our physical fitness, boosts our mood, and reduces stress. Find activities you enjoy, such as walking, swimming, or dancing, and make time for them regularly.

#2: Social Self-Care

Building and maintaining meaningful connections with others is essential for our emotional well-being. Social self-care helps us build supportive relationships and create a sense of belonging.

• Nurture Relationships: Set aside dedicated time for face-to-face interactions with friends and loved ones. Plan outings, visit the gym together, have meaningful conversations, and offer support to strengthen your relationships.

• Set Boundaries: Learn to prioritize your own needs and establish healthy limits. Saying “no” when necessary and carving out personal time helps maintain a healthy balance between social interactions and self-care.

#3: Mental Self-Care

Taking care of our mental well-being is crucial for managing stress and enhancing our cognitive abilities. Engaging in activities that stimulate our minds and promote self-compassion can make a significant difference.

• Engage in Stimulating Activities: Read books, solve puzzles, or explore new hobbies that challenge and inspire you. These activities keep your mind sharp and foster a sense of personal growth.

• Practice Mindfulness and Self-Compassion: Begin a positive inner dialogue and engage in mindfulness practices such as meditation or journaling. Develop self-compassion by treating yourself with kindness and understanding.

#4: Spiritual Self-Care

Nurturing our spiritual side can provide a more profound sense of meaning, purpose, and connection. It's about exploring what resonates with you and finding practices that align with your beliefs.

• Explore Your Beliefs: Engage in personal reflection, or explore practices that help you connect with your inner self.

• Connect with Nature: Spend time outdoors, immerse yourself in natural environments, and appreciate the beauty of the world around you. Engaging with nature can foster a sense of awe and spiritual connection.

#5: Emotional Self-Care

Managing and expressing our emotions in healthy ways is essential for overall well-being. Incorporating activities that help us acknowledge and process our feelings can significantly impact our emotional health.

• Express and Process Emotions: Talk to a trusted friend or family member about how you feel. Engage in activities like journaling or creative expression to explore and release emotions in a safe and supportive manner.

• Incorporate Leisure and Joy: Make time for activities that bring you joy and relaxation. Pursue hobbies, listen to music, watch uplifting movies, or engage in activities that recharge and uplift your spirits.

#6: Recreational Self-Care

Engaging in recreational activities that bring you joy and fulfillment provide a break from daily routines and help you recharge.

• Practice Self-Care Through Hobbies: Dedicate time to engage in activities that you find enjoyable and fulfilling. Whether painting, gardening, playing a musical instrument, or any other hobby, prioritize time for self-expression.

• Take Regular Breaks: Schedule short daily breaks to rest and recharge. Use this time for activities that provide a mental or physical escape from daily routines, such as walking or listening to calming music.

#7: Environmental Self-Care

Creating a peaceful and harmonious physical environment can considerably impact our overall well-being. By organizing our surroundings and connecting with nature indoors, we create a sanctuary for self-care.

• Create a Peaceful Space: Organize and declutter your living or workspace. A tidy environment promotes calmness and reduces stress, allowing you to focus on self-care activities.

• Connect with Nature Indoors: Incorporate elements like plants, natural lighting, or natural scents into your environment. These elements can evoke a sense of tranquility and bring the soothing benefits of nature indoors.

Embracing the seven essential types of self-care is the first step toward creating balance and fulfillment. By prioritizing our physical health, nurturing social connections, and honoring our emotional and environmental needs, we can cultivate a deep sense of self-care that radiates throughout every aspect of our lives.

Why is Self Care Important? Developing a Personalized Self-Care Plan

Creating a personalized self-care plan is vital to incorporating self-care into daily life. Assess your needs, set realistic goals, and commit to prioritizing self-care activities that resonate with you.

At Planet Fitness, we look for ways to nurture our members' self-care beyond physical workouts. With growing awareness of mental health's importance, we understand self-care techniques now more than ever. The PF Black Card® includes access to several amenities that help members work out their minds and bodies. Many locations offer massage chairs, HydroMassage™, and total body enhancement sessions*.

Remember, self-care is an ongoing journey, so be kind to yourself and prioritize your well-being in a way that’s unique to you! For inspiration to improve your physical self-care, check out hundreds of free workouts available in the PF App.

*Amenities and Perks subject to availability and restrictions. See home club for details.

While it may be obvious that exercise can improve your physical health, many people don’t realize the fantastic mental health benefits of exercise that are also available. 

If you’re not yet clear on how fitness can impact your mental health, let’s unpack 10 benefits of exercise on mental health (some of which you can expect to see within just a few weeks of regular movement).

Top 9 Mental Benefits of Exercise

The easiest way to understand why exercise benefits our mental health is to remember that the brain is a muscle like any other. Now, picture your brain on exercise. It’s a grab bag of happy hormones—dopamine, endorphins, and endocannabinoids, to name a few—all of which reduce stress levels, induce that post-workout high, regulate heart rate and blood pressure, and more. 

But what does that mean for your mental health? It means regular exercise is good for the brain, which in turn is good for the body. 

Here are the top 9 ways exercise boosts mental health:

1. Reduces Stress. Those “happy” hormones mentioned above? They counteract the effects of cortisol, the stress hormone responsible for your “fight or flight” response that some doctors call Public Enemy Number One against mental health. By exercising regularly, you can encourage the release of endorphins and dopamine, thereby mitigating general distress.

2. Improves Depression Symptoms. A study conducted at Duke University concluded that regular exercise could reduce symptoms of depression by as much as 70 percent. In many cases, researchers found that exercise can also replace or reduce antidepressant medication. 

3. Higher Quality of Sleep. When your body is tired, you sleep better. Plain and simple. Exercise helps work and tire your muscles, leading to improved sleep over time. More science here. 

4. Builds Self Esteem. Another mental health benefit of exercise is building confidence and self-esteem, allowing you to learn new skills and make new friends more easily.

5. Healthier Thinking. The more time you spend in your body, the less you get stuck in negative thought patterns. Regular exercise helps improve ruminating thoughts and other symptoms of anxiety. 

6. Improved Cognition. The CDC notes that regular exercise can improve brain function, especially in children, which is one of the many reasons why physical education is part of public school curriculum.

7. Lowers Risk of Disease. Since regular exercise lowers the risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer, you can breathe easy knowing you’re doing what you can to live a long and healthy life. 

8. Increased Energy Levels. While it seems contradictory, it’s true. Regular physical activity builds stamina, increasing energy levels throughout the day.

9. Better Quality of Life. When your heart rate elevates, and blood pumps throughout your body, your brain releases chemicals like the ones mentioned above, making you happy. This ultimately can lead to a better quality of life.

3 Simple Exercises to Improve Mental Health Today

Overall, even a little weekly exercise is a healthy way to occupy the brain and care for the body. This is especially important in a sedentary lifestyle, which is so common nowadays. If you’re ready to access the many mental health benefits of exercise, it’s easy to get started. 

You can begin right where you are! We’ve picked three simple exercises to boost mental health and relieve stress immediately. 

Plus, they’re accessible for beginners:

1. Seated Stretch Break

You can practice this one wherever you are. Sitting in a chair, place your feet firmly on the floor. Stack your vertebrae slowly, bringing the chin parallel to the ground and slightly tucked. 

From this effortless place, begin to notice the breath in and out through the nostrils. When ready, drop your right ear to your right shoulder. Lowering the head back easily, take ten neck rolls in each direction—inhaling across the back, exhaling across the front. Next, breathe slowly and evenly through 10 shoulder, wrist, and ankle rolls in both directions. This can take anywhere between 3 and 10 minutes. 

Complete this exercise by dropping the upper body over the legs and draping the arms toward the floor. Take ten deep breaths. Come to a seated position again slowly and continue your day, more embodied, grounded, and ready to face the challenges that come your way.

2. Stability Ball

For less than $20, you can have a stability ball arrive at your home or office by noon tomorrow. Probably. And replacing your desk chair or sofa with one, even for one hour a day, can be beneficial. Your posture naturally improves, and your abdominal muscles stay lightly engaged throughout the day, building strength and balance. 

But if you choose to use a stability ball (also known as a balancing chair or yoga ball), clear it with your doctor or a physical therapist first, especially if you have any previous back injuries. 

3. Try a Standing Desk 

The most dramatic change you could make involves a new desk set up entirely—or at least a desktop accessory to raise your working surface. Although studies aren’t conclusive in the full effects of using a standing desk to boost mental health, it burns a few more calories an hour and improves posture, leading to better spinal strength and health over time. 

You can also access the mental benefits of exercise by taking the easier option: a half-hour walk outdoors at lunch only a few times a week. If half an hour sounds too overwhelming, don’t worry! You could break the activity into shorter periods throughout the day without any deficit to the benefits received. 

The National Library of Medicine confirms this, saying, “Thirty minutes of exercise of moderate intensity, such as brisk walking for three days a week, is sufficient for these health benefits. Moreover, these 30 minutes need not to be continuous; three 10-minute walks are believed to be as equally useful as one 30-minute walk.” 

FREE On-Demand Workouts for All Levels

If you’re ready to see a myriad of benefits from exercise, on your mental and physical health, Planet Fitness is a great place to begin. Planet Fitness is the Judgement Free Zone(R) for folks of all fitness experience levels. Show your brain some love and get started now with tons of free workouts on the PF App.

We all wake up on the wrong side of the bed some days. Fortunately, exercise improves mood in a major way!

While feeling less than stellar could entice you to stay in bed or stick to the couch, research shows that the more you get moving, the happier you may feel! Scientists even estimate that just five minutes of moderate fitness can make you feel better. While there's no specific type of exercise that's a cure-all, the point is to get active!

Here are some great suggestions to lift you into a better mood:

For When You Feel Anxious: HIIT

Perhaps you're going through a stressful period at work. Or maybe you and a loved one aren't seeing eye-to-eye. Whatever the case may be, you're feeling anxious and worried and you need to work it out — literally. Exercise can improve mood by providing an outlet to channel feelings. Get out those swirling thoughts with a high-intensity interval training session (HIIT). You'll be moving from one move to the next so fast, you won't have time to fret!

For When You Feel Stressed: Yoga

Maybe you're not feeling "wrong," but you don't feel 100 percent. It could be that you have trouble focusing or your mind is scattered. Maybe you can't find inspiration or get into a creative zone. Basically, you're feeling meh. So channel those Oms and flow your way into a clearer mind with yoga! Yoga connects us to our breath and challenges us to live in the moment, and these are benefits everyone could use now and again.

For When You Feel Sad: Boxing

Going through a tough break up? No matter how long you dated, there's nothing that breaks quite as painfully as a heart. You need time to go through the stages of letting go of your past flame, and boxing can be a productive way to approach the sadness or anger you feel. And since exercise improves mood, this may even help you get out there again!

For When You Feel Tired: Running

Oxygen filling your lungs with air: This is what you need when you're tired! While feeling tired can be a big roadblock to performance, if you're trying to get some energy back, it can be helpful to push through and work out anyway.At the end of your workout, you may feel refreshed and ready to tackle what's ahead of you with renewed energy! Running is great because you can go at your own pace, take breaks, and don't have to worry about meeting a specific goal. Instead, you can simply keep your body moving and get your heart rate up!

For When You Feel Stuck: Strength-Training

Maybe work feels like a dead end right now or you haven't been on a vacation in months. Sometimes friendships can feel stagnant, and it's often hard to find the motivation to change things. Feeling stuck isn't a great sensation since it can make you want to stand still. If you're not sure which way to turn for a sense of control, you could try strength training. Because it's easy to track your strength increasing on a machine or see your minutes stacking up during a timed plank, exercises like these can provide you with a sense of measurable accomplishment and, more importantly, positive transformation. How are you feeling today? No matter your state of mind, exercise can be a great way forward and upward!

As always, please consult with a physician prior to beginning any exercise program. See full medical disclaimer here.