![Fiona Bruce MP in front of a purple mental health awareness banner](/sites/www.fionabruce.org.uk/files/styles/gallery_large/public/news-gallery/mha%20week%20pic%20PHOTO-2024-05-15-14-42-24.jpg?itok=Wpal5hN8)
As part of Mental Health Awareness Week, Fiona Bruce MP pledged her support at for the Mental Health Foundation’s campaign highlighting the benefits of more exercise to benefit mental health. At their event in Parliament last week, Fiona Bruce met with representatives from the charity to hear about their recent research study offering a more detailed understanding of the barriers to physical activity for people more at risk of poor mental health and suggestions of how these can be overcome.
Physical inactivity continues to be a global health issue, and the UK is no exception with 36% of adults (aged 18+) not currently meeting the activity recommendations as set out by the World Health Organisation[i]. This is not only a problem for physical health as research shows that being physically active is also significantly beneficial for mental health. Physical activity reduces the symptoms of depression and anxiety[ii] and regular activity has been found to reduce an individual’s risk of depression by as much as 30%[iii].
While 82% of UK adults agreed regular physical activity is important for mental wellbeing[iv], the advice to “move more for your mental health” is easier said than done. As the MHF report finds, there are many barriers to doing physical activity especially for those at risk of or experiencing poor mental health. There were a variety of different barriers whether due to fatigue, time constraints and business, anxiety, finances or body image. The Mental Health Foundation make a number of recommendations to try to help everyone find ways to be more active to help their mental wellbeing. They suggest finding ways to integrate exercise into everyday life routine setting small achievable goals and finding fun physical activities that are a way of connecting others. Even small changes may make a difference to improving sleep, mood, self-confidence and helping to manage stress and anxiety.
Fiona Bruce MP said:
“With a demanding job like mine working long hours and in two different parts of the country – Cheshire and Westminster – I know how hard it can be to keep physically active in such a busy world. The barriers to doing so must be even harder to overcome for those struggling with their mental health. So I’m grateful for the Mental Health Foundation for raising the importance of physical activity for mental wellbeing this Mental Health Awareness Week to encourage all to us all to “move a little more” for our mental health. Even just walking a few minutes more each day can make a difference – or talking the stars instead of the lift. With over two miles of corridors on the Parliamentary estate, and many flights of stairs, this event reminded me of the importance of spending those extra few minutes a day keeping mobile. Thanks are due to the Mental Health Foundation for highlighting this issue, and its ‘circularity’ – the more we push ourselves to exercise – even if we don’t feel like it! – the better we will feel – mentally as well as physically.”
For more information visit: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/public-engagement/mental-health-awareness-week
[i] Global status report on physical activity 2022: country profiles. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2022. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
[ii] UK Chief Medical Officers’ Physical Activity Guidelines; Dept of Health & Social Care; 2019
[iii] Physical Activity: Applying All Our Health: Office for Health Improvement & Disparities, Public Health England: 2022
[iv] Mental Health Foundation’s 2024 Report for Mental Health Awareness Week; 2024