Exercise as medicine during the winter

Colleen Collins, a registered psychotherapist specializing in sports psychology, views the mind and body as interconnected, with exercise playing a vital role in how people feel, particularly during winter.

“When we’re experiencing things like anxiety or depression or a lot of stress because of work or school, this is often reflected in our bodies,” Collins said.

“You might notice you’re physically tired, a lot of fatigue, or if you’re experiencing a lot of anxiety, you might notice your heart rate is going through the roof, like racing, or maybe even a lot of like muscle tension because we tend to carry a lot of our stress in our back and shoulders,” she said.

“On the other hand, when we’re physically healthy and exercising, we might notice improved moods or better focus or ability to focus. We’re more effective at problem solving,” Collins said.

She said when someone is experiencing chronic pain it can manifest into anxiety or depression because they are not moving and many people who experience chronic pain, don’t engage in physical activity.

For athletes in particular, being taken out of a sport due to an injury can cause them to experience many emotions such as anger, frustration, sadness, loneliness and isolation which often results into a loss of identity, anxiety or depression.

“Exercise can help with exposure to anxiety sensitivity because exercise has very similar kind of physical symptoms as anxiety does, which is your heart rate increasing, the breathing increasing, you’re getting hot and sweaty, maybe your face kind of turns red, so a lot of similar physical symptoms,” Collins said.

Kathleen Martin Ginis, a professor in the Department of Medicine and in the School of Health and Exercise Sciences at the University of British Columbia, said it’s more difficult to exercise in the winter when the days are darker and colder, especially if not everyone can access a gym.

“If the gym isn’t an option, I think going to a mall is a great way to get activity in the morning. A lot of malls open early before shops open for mall walkers and it’s warm, it’s safe. It’s not slippery and there’s usually quite a nice little group of people,” Martin Ginis said.

“A friend of mine who trained for a triathlon said, ‘There’s no such thing as bad weather, there’s only bad clothing.And on those days I don’t necessarily want to get outside, I remember that.'”

“It is difficult to get outside, but getting outside, being in nature, that does seem to give somewhat of an additional mood boost over slugging away on your treadmill down in your basement,” Martin Ginis said.

Lisa Belanger, CEO of Conscious Works, an organization that supports teams and organizations to be proactive about their mental health performance, said anytime someone does anything with their body, it impacts the chemicals in their brain and anytime they have a thought, there’s a chemical and physical reaction to it.

“There’s some great research that MRIs are taken before and after a 20-minute walk and you can see the difference of the brain function. Basically, you’re using so much more of your brain. You’re able to get access to more creativity and more productivity and more attention and there's so many aspects that kind of accumulate and make a healthier, happier person,” Belanger said.

A University of Illinois Study in 2012, led by Dr. Chuck Hillman, found that as little as 20-minutes of exercise can lead to better cognition and memory and higher scores on tests and examinations.

Researchers in this study scanned the brains of nine and 10-year-olds, half who engaged in exercise such as running and playing and half who sat quietly prior to writing a test, with the active children doing better on the exam.

“It’s so amazing to me how many parents bring their kids to hockey and then sit there and don't be active themselves. I know it's because parents are so busy. But nobody has time. You have to make it right. You have to get creative on how you’re getting your body moving every day,” Belanger said.

At Humber Polytechnic, there are many opportunities that encourage students to exercise in the winter ranging from the drop-in sports to the fitness classes, both opportunities offered on campus.