Exercise is crucial for physical and mental health. Nothing takes you out of your pain and troubles like fighting for your life! Exercise is the practice of the fight or flight relax that all of us have. Building muscle and pumping iron is training your body to punch and kick harder. Building your endurance, and stamina is training your body to run faster and run longer. Everything we have done to this point in our lives was training for the moment when the fight or flight reflex kicks in. The truth is as much as we have grown into people who have free thought, "functioning societies," conquered sea, air, and land, and ultimately rose to the top of the food chain we are still not that much better than humans we were in the beginning. But there is hope in that idea, that our biology dictates most of our lives.

So lets talk more about this fight or flight reflex. Back when we were purely hunters and gatherers we relied on pure instinct and strength. We lived as food nomads, searching for food and water to keep us alive. This survival instinct manifests itself when confronted with a beast, decision, or other stressor. These stresses were simple, physical, and straightforward. You either fight the bear or run. No more thought had to be placed then that. However, when we walked out of the caves and started to create societies we began to develop higher stresses. Anxiety, became something that people had to grapple with and typically never went well. We began to fight, compete, drink, and have a lot of sex to rid ourselves of some of these stresses. But all of those destressors boil down to fight or flight. Fighting & competition stem from fight, and drinking & sex stem from flight. However, unlike the simplicity in the fight or flight response for survival, most of the stressors of everyday life are internal.

So, you could be like the ancient Romans and do all of what is listed above...(side note: please get some help if you do all that!) That is pretty dangerous and unhealthy. It will likely end with you laid out on the street in an alley. So instead I propose getting the endorphin boost of these destressors with the added benefit of making you stronger and healthier. Exercise is the answer!

So instead of distracting yourself with more Netflix, go for a run. When want to hide in a ball in a corner, do some pushups. When you want to down a family size bag of Lays chips do it after a hearty workout. You can go to the gym, buy some equipment, or do some home workouts on your own. I recommend using Darebee, which is a site I use to do workouts on my own. It has everything you need to know to get the most out of your workout. (This article is not sponsored by Darebee but I love it so much I had to share it!)

But honestly between studying for your tests, consider peppering in some light exercise. Your mind and body will thank you later.

I think fight or flight was flipped in this situation...