Building resilience through movement

Life is bumpy. Every single one of us has a unique path, but we all experience some level of rough terrain. Between the pot holes, steep inclines, blind curves, intense fog and the occasional boulder that tumbles from the cliff above landing directly in our path, it’s remarkable that any of us get out of this life alive. 

Oh wait . . . 

The point is that we’ve all been through some stuff. And yet, here we are - having survived our worst days.

So, how did we do it? We tapped into our resilience - the process of adapting well to challenging circumstances.

The good news is that resilience is not a trait that you either have or you don’t. It’s a mental skill that can be strengthened through practice and over time. 

Let’s look at the resilient brain and then explore how it can be fortified by doing something that most of us love - moving. 

What does resilience look like in the brain?

Let’s compare the brains more affected by stress - we’ll call them stress-vulnerable brains - and those that are more resilient. When we look at the brain as a whole, we don’t see any major differences in the brain’s architecture. However, when we look closer at how the brain responds to stress, we certainly see differences.  

Stress induces changes in the brain. A stressful stimulus occurs and the brain responds. That’s called neuroplasticity. But, here’s the interesting piece. Stress-vulnerable brains and resilient brains are both affected by stress. However, after that acute phase, stress-vulnerable brains get “stuck”. They immediately change in response to the stressful stimulus, but then they fail to make additional adaptations. Resilient brains, on the other hand, know how to adapt. They aren’t immune to stress; rather, they have additional strategies for coping with that stress. Here’s a cool example that happens at the level of our genes. One fascinating study published in Science, showed that 100 genes changed as a result of a stressful stimulus in stress-vulnerable brains, but 300 genes changed in resilient brains. The resilient brains essentially recruited more resources (in this case, genes) to get through the stressful period. 

Key point: Resilient people are not immune to stress; rather, they feel the stress, but then they exercise their ability to adapt.

So, how can working out build resilience? 

Moving our body builds more than muscles and cardiovascular stamina. It protects the brain from stress, thereby increasing our resilience. 

When we think about exercise and the brain, we typically celebrate endorphins. But a little-known neuropeptide called “galanin” may be the biological reason why exercise builds resilience. 

A recent study found that aerobic exercise increased galanin levels in the locus coeruleus, a part of the brain that helps mediate the stress response. Furthermore, this increase was associated with positive changes in behavior that demonstrated an ability to better handle stressful events. 

Putting it into practice 

We know that exercise makes us feel less stressful in the short-term, by decreasing the stress hormone, cortisol. But to reap the benefits of exercise on resilience, and to bolster our galanin levels, it’s important to integrate a regular workout routine, giving your brain the opportunity to adapt over time. 

Bottom line: Aerobic exercise (the jury is still out on other forms of exercise) increases our capacity to cope with stress. That’s worth doing a happy dance for!