Climb steps to maintain personal well-being

How far social isolation affects the brain?

Physical movement was restricted in Covid 19 with many people staying indoors. Not only the older people but also the young ones were confined to their homes for many months. Well, a new study shows that every day activity such walking to the shop or climbing stairs would enhance the well being of a person, especially people who have psychiatric disorders.

Already it is a fact that physical activity helps in building mental health. Researchers from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Central Institute of Mental Health (CIMH) in Germany analysed the brain regions that played a pivotal role in the process of imparting mental health while doing daily activities.

They said in the study published in Sciences Advances that climbing stairs daily would make one more energetic, which helps in enhancing the well- being. Professor Heike Tost from CIMH, Mannheim, Germany said that climbing steps would make one feel better both physically and mentally.

The study conducted in 67 people for seven days found that they felt more energetic after climbing the steps.  The physical activity was combined with magnetic resonance tomography. The researchers found that ‘subgenual cingulate cortex, a section of the cerebral cortex, was important for the interaction between everyday activity and effective well-being. This region is responsible for regulating emotions and helps in resistance to psychiatric disorders. They found that people with a smaller volume of grey brain matter in this region and having a higher risk of psychiatric disorders felt lesser energy when they were physically inactive. However, their energy level got a boost after everyday activity.

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