Health experts have suggested many times about how beneficial climbing stairs is for our health. While climbing stairs has many physical benefits, researchers have found that it also benefits mental health. In fact, in a new research, scientists have found some such evidence, which suggests that climbing stairs is very beneficial for people who are highly susceptible to psychiatric disorders. Especially in epidemic-like situations, daily climbing stairs or walking to a nearby store can improve mental health.
It is a fact that exercise enhances physical health and mental health, but the positive impact of everyday activities on a person’s mental health has rarely been studied so far. However, it is not yet clear which brain structures are involved in mental improvement. So researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Central Institute of Mental Health (CIMH) in Germany studied those areas of the brain. who play a key role in this process. This research has been published in the journal ‘Science Advances’ in the field of health. In this, the researchers said, ‘We feel refreshed by climbing the stairs every day. At the same time, it can also help us to stay energetic, which is beneficial for health.
How was the research done?
Professor Heike Tost, from CIMH in Mannheim, Germany, says: ‘In the meantime, we are facing restrictions on public life and social contacts that can have a bad effect on our health. So climbing as many stairs as possible can help in feeling better. Researchers included 67 people in their research to reach the conclusion. During this time, the researchers assessed the effect related to everyday activities (related to walking) of these people for seven days.
The scientists found that people involved in these activities felt more sharp or alert. Also the energy level in them was much better. In this way, the important role of alertness and energy in the health and mental health of the people involved in the research was shown. However, the researchers then combined these analyzes with another group of 83 people. These were the people who were involved in another group of Magnetic Resonance Tomography at CIMH. Researchers found the subgenual cingulate cortex factor in the research. It is a part of the cerebral cortex that is important for making connections between everyday activities and health. It is in the brain region where emotions and resistance to psychiatric disorders are regulated.
Physical activity beneficial for health – researcher
The researchers identified this brain region as a conclusive neural correlate. This area of the brain serves as a link between physical activity and conscious (mental) energy. Researcher Tost says that people with low gray brain volume in this region and those at high risk of mental disorders felt less energy due to physical immobility.
In this way, these people felt more energized after everyday activities than individuals with larger brain volumes.
Professor Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, Director of CIMH, said: “The findings suggest that physical activity in everyday life is beneficial for health, especially for people susceptible to mental disorders.”