Exercise

Physical activity or exercise is important for everyone but creative people need to maintain good levels of fitness. Apart from anything else, this helps develop and sustain the stamina needed to deliver at the levels we want to achieve.  Exercise can improve health and reduce the risk of developing certain conditions or diseases, including depression and anxiety.  In addition, putting in sufficient warm-up time is vital to help prevent injury and also helps put you in a good mental space for the performance ahead.

A number of studies have found that exercise helps combat depression. There are many views as to how it does this: exercise may block negative thoughts or distract people from daily worries, exercising with others provides an opportunity for increased social contact, increased fitness may lift your mood and improve sleep patterns. It may also change positively the levels of chemicals in the brain, such as serotonin, endorphins and stress hormones.

However, research shows that it is possible to develop an addiction to exercise so we have included information if you feel that is happening to you.