Flushed, focused and energised: the mental and physical joys of exercise

By Aaron – the endorphin junky

Continuing this month's theme of mental health and thinking, Aaron compares the effects of exercise on his body to household appliances such as washing machines and flushing toilets. A huge advocate for exercise as a balancing solution to mental health issues, Aaron describes how it feels to force himself out of bed in the morning for his daily jog. Are you a fitness junky? Do you do a daily workout? Could you benefit from a good clear out of your inner tubes?

That blob of grey flesh occupying my skull does a decent job of managing the mundane stuff – you know, like keeping me alive and all that. But its factory install came with a load of unexpected side issues. Installation was fine, so far as I know, but along the journey of life various knocks and dents must have shaken some neurons loose. Thoughts can flow in aggressive patterns that never conclude, stop or wane in any way. Even during everyday activities, my mind can run an endless loop of “what ifs”. The factory may have installed one-and-a-half operating systems – do I have Windows 11 with a bit of XP still knocking around? Sometimes it feels as if one system is in debate with half of another, debating, reflecting, doom-scrolling scenarios past, present and future. But the causes and effects of such mind conversations aren't under the microscope here. What interests me more is the beneficial effects of physical intervention. In a word, exercise.

Biologists have found that during sleep, our brains are flushed with a fluid that cleanses and clears away dead cells. It's called cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). During sleep, particularly deep sleep, CSF flows through the brain in rhythmic waves, helping to clear out metabolic waste. While this is supposed to happen, it may or may not be working well in my head, as recently I've been experiencing chronic insomnia and very disturbed sleep. But that's another story entirely. Instead, I try to balance my thinking with exercise. 

My go-to routine is jogging. It's easy, free, and can be done anywhere. But the weather can have a huge impact, turning a blissful run along a wooded leafy lane or a sun-streaked avenue into a nightmare of frozen torment, being impacted by a thousand tiny pinpricks of ice as bitter winds or rain try to force me to retreat back to the comforting safety of a warm duvet. But the reward from having done it often comes with that “inner rinsed” feeling which a good run can leave you with. 

But we humans are of two parts. No matter how great my legs are from running, and believe me they're great legs (I know, I've been told!) there's another part above my hips that's forever been neglected. I've dabbled in swimming, badminton and aerobics, and even gave Zumba a try one year. So this year, weights are back on my radar with serious intent. And when I say serious, I mean serious for me. I'm not looking to be a bodybuilder or anything like that. But for once in my life, if only for one year, I want to have a six-pack.

The six-pack's not important though. What is important is that I'm combining a mixed twenty-minute session of weights – core, arms or legs workout, using a floor mat, bench or free standing – and then doing my run. This seems to be providing a more rounded and “full-bodied” experience. Now I'm sounding like a red wine! So instead of reaching a satisfactory ache after a good run, I'm now aching in a more balanced way from head to toe. More pain more gain? That's what they say, isn't it?

After a workout, I feel “fully flushed” (oh dear, now I sound like a toilet!), in that my endorphin rush feels like it's flowing from head to toe, cleaning out all the bits of stagnant Aaron that have got lodged here and there, shoehorned into cracks and crevices, stuck under an armpit or lodged between a spleen and gallbladder. The workout clears it all. That's what it feels like anyway.

To coin a new verb, have I been “washing-machined” from the inside out? Quite possibly. Or, to describe it in even more unscientific and layman's terms, the joys of exercise make me feel like a “flushed loo”. Chemically, my endorphins are driving the motivation to get me going. Accelerated heartbeat is literally flushing my veins and arteries, driving any clogged fats and platelets that may be taking a break and thrusting them violently into my lymphatic system to be expelled through my body's drainage ducts. If it were possible to have all my tubes plugged into a pressure washer, turned on and blasted out, this is how I imagine my body to be during and after a run. It feels cleansed. It feels refreshed. My brain feels awakened, alive, ready. Yes I'm aching, a little tired, and I know I've done a workout, but I'm also energised, focused, and ready to start the day. As my body has been blasted from the inside out, this flows over to the brain. (As I'm writing this I want to go for a run right now!) My brain is then a little sharper. The clogged thoughts have often slipped away. I'm more focused, engaged and ready to face the day ahead with more optimism, more direction and more confidence. 

Flying high: Endorphins or ego?

So do I promote exercise? Hell yeah! Do I wake up in the morning wanting to do exercise? I'm afraid not. My mental health still grips me like a straight jacket. I don't want to get up. I often don't want to go outside. Motivation can be low and internal struggles volatile. But most days, in fact every single day in 2024, I drive myself forwards. I know that after “an internal flush” I'll feel better. It requires a push, a shove from my internal drill instructor to order me to get my arse out on the street RIGHT NOW. Then I do. 

So over to you. When was your last vigorous exercise? Are you due a “full flush”? What are you waiting for?

Disclaimer: I'm not a scientist. My experiences are my own. No Aarons were damaged in the writing of this article.