5 Proven Ways Exercise Can Lift Depression and Anxiety: Episode 21 with Dr. Jennifer Heisz

Imperfect Progress with Anne Guzman

Over the last decade, more research has focused on the benefits of exercise in alleviating and treating depression and anxiety. I had the incredible opportunity to speak with Neuroscientist Dr. Jennifer Heisz about this topic today.

Dr. Heisz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at McMaster University and directs the Neurofit Lab. She received her Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience and completed her Postdoctoral Fellowship in Brain Health and Aging at the Rotman Research Institute.

Today we discuss how the pandemic has impacted global levels of depression and anxiety, what it feels like to struggle with either mental health disorder. Dr. Heisz shares her own story and struggles with anxiety and depression and this includes her journey to starting exercise and even an incredible story about a mid triathlon panic attack and how she managed to finish her event and learn from it.

Dr. Heisz walks us through the science of depression, how it affects our brain biology, how antidepressant medications work, what antidepressant resistance is, what types, duration, and intensity of exercise we should do to derive the benefits for mental health, how to overcome barriers of low motivation and a lot of other very interesting topics that help us understand how stress and inflammation play a role in mental health.

Dr. Heisz is an incredible woman. She is courageous and vulnerable and strong. It is a gift to have this conversation with her. I hope that you enjoy our discussion as much as I did.

To learn more about Dr. Heisz and her new book Move The Body Heal The Mind, skip over to my website Anneguzman.com where I link to her book, her Nuerofit Lab and her contact links on Twitter and Instagram.

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Until next time, keep moving forward and remember that progress looks different for everyone and it's rarely linear and always imperfect. Keep on moving.

Anne