New year, new you. Physical activity and mental health

The year is fully underway for most of us, but the longer days, wintry weather and lack of sunlight in January can be a downer for many.

But one academic at University of Northampton (UON) has a personal story and top tips to help us get back into step with being healthy after enjoying Christmas and New Year food, drink and TV.

Rachel Morris-Love, Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy, is a keen runner and advocate of physical activity. Rachel found herself adrift after an operation impacted her physical and mental health.

According to the NHS we should take physical activity each day to boost our mental health and wellbeing. The benefits include improvements to our self-esteem and confidence, increasing our motivation and focus and reducing anxiety and stress.

These positives were not available to Rachel after an operation meant she couldn’t lace up her trainers for her regular, daily run.

Rachel says: “For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been interested in running, but I took it up more seriously about when I was studying for my degree and couldn’t as easily travel to play football. I love physical exercise, but I wanted something I could do almost anywhere. Running fits in so well and I have kept it up, even with the demands of having children, who also join me for regular runs.

“I think the impact of physical activity on our mental health is underestimated. Running is my time to switch off and reflect on things. I’ll think about and process them during a run and by the time I’m back, I’ve had that clear headspace to tackle these things.

“But a few years ago, I needed a knee operation, which meant I was in a brace for six weeks and I couldn’t run for three months. That’s when I noticed the impact on my mental health – being out of action for that time and losing that happiness I get from running meant I struggled.

“I had a spin bike at home which was not something I tended to use, but it made it easier for me to exercise and would also support my recovery. I set myself a target of how many miles to cover in the month of January and that helped my mental health and engagement in physical activity.

Rachel has a few top tips to share with people about how they can keep on top of their physical activity levels or reengage with exercise: “For me, the top thing to note is whatever you do, it needs to be fun and not seem like an effort to do. It doesn’t mean you need to do massive loads of exercise or lift weights or anything like that, just going for a walk in the beautiful outdoors we have in Northamptonshire is enough.

“For people who are a bit more ambitious, my other tip is to set physical challenges to keep motivated. My previous challenges have been to take part in half and full marathons. This year, I will take up trail running – running over hills and in forests for example rather than on tarmac – which will push me even harder!”