Here’s How Mixed Martial Arts Can Help Fight Depression

Here’s How Mixed Martial Arts Can Help Fight Depression

 WHAT IS DEPRESSION?

Depression is a very serious mood disorder and more than 600 million people all over the world. In most sufferers, it develops gradually, with them starting to lose interest in everyday things. They experience a strong discomfort in society and feel disappointed for not having achieved their goals. Someone diagnosed with depression will likely feel severely pessimistic, even with trivial issues. There are many ways to treat it such as antidepressants and therapy sessions but one of the best is physical activity.

Everybody practising mixed martial arts (MMA) knows the benefits it provides for the body, but what many don’t know is that it also has certain benefits to offer to your mind. Individuals suffering from depression or anxiety face difficulty even getting out of bed. It’s natural that it will be equally difficult for them to participate in something that involves physical activity. However, what many don’t know is that participating in mixed martial arts can help cure depression.

Discover how practising mixed martial arts can help fight depression

Keeping You Active

Keeping You Active

Leading a sedentary lifestyle is one of the leading causes of anxiety and depression in adults. Additionally, inactivity is also associated with obesity, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and even type 2 diabetes. Since most of us spend a huge part of our day sitting down, be it at work or school, hitting the gym regularly is a great idea. Since mixed martial arts provides a great workout in itself, it can help you be in your best form. Along with being active you also have the advantage of learning how to defend yourself and your loved ones if such a situation ever arises.

Helping You De-Stress

With so much on our mind every day and the worry that comes when things don’t go your way, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that you are stressed out on a regular basis. This results in your body releasing higher levels of a hormone called cortisol which affects our mood and can also lead to anxiety. Too much cortisol in your system is what can lead to depression, especially when you are too overwhelmed with the stress and feel helpless to a great extent.

Cortisol can be more harmful than you think. It plays a major part in holding fat in the belly. Practising mixed martial arts, however, can help get rid of all of the negative energy while also helping you burn fat in one of the most efficient ways. Constantly subjecting yourself to low levels of stress from increased physical activity helps your body become completely immune to it. This results in you not being as affected with the stressors as you normally would have been.

Making You Optimistic

If you ever speak to someone who practices mixed martial arts, you will notice that the training toughened them up, both mentally and physically. This happens as similar to daily life, mixed martial arts also come with various challenges and obstacles and it boils down to how every individual handles them.

If you are among those who tend to focus all of their energy on the negative side of things, training mixed martial arts may be exactly what you need. It can help you concentrate your energy by turning your weaknesses into your strengths. Once you become stronger and learn to see the glass as half full, you will be able to see the brighter side of life.

Providing Better Sleep

Providing Better Sleep

People suffering from depression have difficulty falling asleep at night. Sleep deprivation is directly linked to the increase of cortisol in your body. This then leads to stress and results in an unending cycle forming which is rather difficult to get out of. If you have been struggling to sleep properly at night, you should consider training mixed martial arts as physical activity can help tire your body enough to fall asleep. It works even when your mind is full of thoughts that can keep you up for a long time. When you train, you improve the quality of your sleep, which in turn helps you manage your depression.

Mixed martial arts are considered to be an excellent therapy for mental illness and it is definitely something that everyone should try. It can help reduce the symptoms by keeping you active, making you more optimistic and also provide better sleep.

If you are looking for a mixed martial arts school which offer programs including Brazilian jiu-jitsu, kickboxing, Muay Thai and Karate in Brampton, among many others, you’ve come to the right place. Legends MMA is a one of a kind organization that can help bring out the best in you.