Exercise can have a significant, positive impact on your mood and wellbeing. Getting your body moving can improve sleep quality and protect your brain against stress. Regular exercise helps to increase the ‘feel good’ mood-regulating chemicals in your body by releasing serotonin and endorphins.
Signs your nervous system is being challenged
At the end of a workday, you may go home, feel exhausted, and not want to move. It’s easy when you feel like this to tell yourself that you need a rest, and to do nothing. However, this low state is often not just normal physical tiredness. It is the rebound from your nervous system being alert and working hard when you’re on shift; 'What goes up must come down’. This is your nervous system going into an extreme ‘powered down’ state.
Over time, this habit can set up a vicious cycle of alertness at work and feeling withdrawn and disengaged at home. This presents serious challenges:
- your relationships may suffer when you come home and just switch off from everything
- you may pull back from doing other activities that make you feel good, such as spending time with friends, playing sports or going out to things you enjoy
- the cycle of hyper-alertness/power down raises blood sugar and increases the risk of heart attack, type 2 diabetes, and weight gain.
Riding the rollercoaster
Dr Kevin Gilmartin talks about “the hyper vigilance biological rollercoaster” that many emergency services employees go through on a daily basis. It is protective to be on alert, thinking quickly and looking out for a threat when you’re on the job. Your adrenalin is pumping, making you ready to respond to whatever happens. But this uses a lot of your physical and emotional energy.
Getting back in balance
When you are in a ‘powered down’ state, the last thing you want to do is get up and move. However, this is exactly what you need to do to get your nervous system and your mind back in balance.
Enjoyable physical activity (even if it doesn’t initially feel like it) will increase your energy levels, rather than depleting them further. It’s one strategy to help you find a balance between being highly charged and completely shut down.
How much exercise should I be doing?
As a general rule, you should be aiming for about 30 minutes of exercise per day.
According to the Australian Government Department of Health:
- 2.5 hours of [moderate intensity] physical activity or 1.25 hours of [vigorous intensity] physical activity per week will help improve blood pressure, cholesterol and heart health, as well as muscle and bone strength.
- 5 hours of [moderate intensity] physical activity or 2.5 hours of [vigorous physical] activity per week will help to prevent cancer and unhealthy weight gain, which can lead to heart disease and diabetes.
Finding time to exercise
When life is busy, making time to keep fit and healthy can easily be neglected, particularly after a long shift when you just want to go home and switch off. Planning ahead and committing to a specific activity at a set time makes it more likely that it will happen. It doesn’t have to involve costly gear or membership fees.
Incidental exercise is also a great way to get yourself moving and stay active without having to find extra time in your busy day-to-day schedule. Some ideas to consider:
- walk, run, cycle or skate to work
- hop on/hop off your bus, tram or train one extra stop away from your work or home and walk the rest
- take the stairs
- organise stand up or walking meetings
- join a lunchtime walking group or yoga class
- take five-minute breaks from your desk to stretch
- do seated core or leg exercises while sitting at your desk
Planned and intentional exercise
If you do want to commit to exercise in a planned and intentional way, here are some simple tips that may make it a little easier for you to stay on track.
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