How Exercise Can Help Relieve Anxiety in Children

Exercise has always been known to have many healthful benefits for us but did you know that it can also help to relieve anxiety in children? Children who have high levels of anxiety or who suffer from one of the many childhood anxiety disorders have shown dramatic improvement with regular exercise.

You may be wondering how exercise can help to relieve anxiety in your child. Being anxious causes the body to release large amounts of adrenalin and physical exercise can help the body to USE the excess adrenalin. Physical activity can also have other benefits that help to relieve stress and anxiety and have additional benefits for the body and mind as well.

A minimum of sixty minutes of exercise everyday is recommended for all healthy children. Exercise for kids isn’t necessarily what adults think of as exercise. Adults tend to think of a jog around the park or a trip to the gym, but exercise can come in many forms such as running a race or playing a game with friends. Encouraging kids to exercise is usually not difficult because they are naturally so full of energy. A game of tag, dodge ball, or hide and seek is usually welcomed by children especially if you play with them! Some non conventional forms of exercise might even include paintball or laser tag anything that gets you up and moving.

Exercise has many benefits for children some of which include improved circulation, increased coordination and spatial skills, improved sleeping habits, being more alert, and being generally healthier. Regular exercise can also help to keep kids fit and give them a more positive body image.  Exercise and physical activity helps to use the cortisol, a stress hormone that can contribute to feelings of anxiousness, in your body and help you to feel better. Exercise also helps to increase the release of dopamine into your body. Dopamine is the feel good chemical released by the brain. High levels of cortisol caused by high levels of anxiousness and stress can decrease the levels of dopamine and serotonin released by the body making a person feel anxious, tired, and depressed. High levels of cortisol have also been linked to problems with metabolism making it difficult to control your weight.

Some other benefits of exercise are the social aspects. Children who participate in organized sports with other children will likely develop more self confidence, a higher sense of accomplishment, and more developed social skills. Even if your child has no interest in organized sports activities you will be hard pressed to find a child that isn’t up for a game of dodge ball, a foot race, or even just running around and climbing on all the playground equipment at the local park. Children naturally have a lot of energy and children who feel anxious or stressed can have an even higher energy level. Offering children ways to constructively burn off some of this excess energy can leave them feeling calmer, more relaxed, and generally more positive.

There are tons of ways for your child to exercise and equally as many ways where the family can be physically active together. Scheduling physical family activities can be fun for everyone involved. You could go on a bicycle ride, a hike, play a game of soccer or baseball or even just a game of catch in the front yard after a hard day. You might be surprised at how much getting out and getting a little physical activity makes you feel too! Everyone releases endorphins during physical activity and endorphins are what make you feel good! Finding ways to be physically active together also allows you to spend time together so that your child can talk to you about things happening in their lives. Feeling close to a parent and being able to share their emotions can be extremely helpful for an anxious child. Something else you might consider is setting goals with your child about grades or committing to a certain amount of physical activity a week can work wonders for a child’s self esteem. As a reward for meeting these set goals why not have a special physical activity planned like going to an ice skating rink or going for a hike in a state park.

One type of exercise that you should consider if your child is anxious or has been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder is yoga. Yoga may not look like it but it works every muscle in your body, but it also teaches excellent breathing techniques. Many of the breathing techniques taught in yoga are also taught in relaxation therapy classes. Learning to control your breath and breathing slowly and evenly is extremely calming, and is a technique that can be used when your child finds themselves feeling overwhelmed or in a stressful situation. There are many different ways to learn yoga. You could attend classes together where you would have the benefit of an instructor helping to adjust your positions while you learn them or you can use a yoga work out DVD or illustrated yoga instruction guides.

Exercise and physical activity can be fun not just for your anxious child but for you and the whole family as well. Encouraging physical activity from a young age makes your children healthier not only physically but mentally as well and will have long term health benefits throughout their lives. The benefits of exercise and stress and anxiety relief have been well documented and may very well help your child to feel better and more in control of their own lives. Before starting any kind of regular physical activity it is best to check with your child’s pediatrician and if you plan to participate, with your physician as well. Talk to your child and let them know that you care and that they are not alone in their struggle with anxiety and then help them to take control. Show them how regular exercise will help them to feel better overall and to help keep those anxious feelings at bay.

If you suspect your child may be suffering from anxiety, click below to learn more about what you can do to help:

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