How many people need exercise to help them feel better?

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I seem to be one of those anomalies for whom most exercise does not change a single thing for me. I have an entirely physical job in which I move very actively all day long. I have no car these days and I hate buses and trains, so I literally walk MILES and I also cycle miles too, the combination of which is my mode of transportation.

The daily walking, cycling and physical job appears to have no impact on whether I fall into depression or not. IN fact I got less depressed when I was a car owner and drove everywhere sitting on my ass letting a motorized vehicle do all the work.

I don't "feel good" after a long bike ride home, I just feel stressed from the journey and glad to be home. It's never had an "exercise high" effect on me even when I've had to cycle hard and fast.

I live on the 3rd floor meaning I have to walk up and down 32 stairs every day of my life, often more than once for each set of 64 up and down.

I'm physically active daily and I'm actually fatter and more depressed than ever due to life circumstances. I was skinnier and fitter when I drove a car! I was also younger and happier, both contributing factors to weight.

The only thing that I noticed ever made a difference to my emotional equilibrium was yoga, but the calming effect was not all-pervading.

The thing that calms me the most and lifts my depression the most is the company of animals. Exercise does nothing for me.

I definitely feel better after my tennis lesson. I enjoy playing and the people there are all very nice.

Yes you might be onto something there -- doing a physical job all day and feel physically burned out, getting in the car and actually getting to sit down and glide home effortlessly really was my "boost" to my mood! There was a big "ahhhhhhh!" to that on a daily basis, haha.

It's now actually quite a wretched feeling to do a physical job then have to cycle up a hill, or pound the pavement on a long walk, just to get home. It's like my hard graft is still ongoing.

I too think animals are the best "people" in the world, lol!

I would probablly be brown bread if I didn't start running around 7 years back for pyhsical and mental health reasons.Although it's catch 22 in the long run as the older i get the more demanding it's getting on my body so I'm not sure how many more years i can keep going but it really helps with my mood depression ect better than any meds i've tried, once you get into it it's quite addictive and I find it really helps keep the weight down even eating pretty much what i want within reason.

I try to adhere to a regular work out and cardio routine, it's never made much difference to my mood but it stops me being overweight or returning to being some junkie scarecrow and it is something I have a lot more control over unlike the mental side.

Exercise helps me feel better, as long as it's outside. The more solitary, the better. I find the gym too boring and overwhelming. Walking is my go-to exercise. I tried running for a few months but couldn't really get into it. I'm really lucky to live somewhere with lots of forest trails and beaches, as well as a good year-round climate, so I can exercise as often as I can find the time/motivation.

I feel regular exercise would really improve my quality of life. Problem is I have terrible motivation when it comes to anything that's outside of my interests or that does not provide instant gratification . I also don't leave the house very often.

Anyone got any advice as to how to incorporate a little weekly/ daily exercise into my day? Unfortunately I'm not a routine person at all but tend to fall into an all or nothing trap which my psychologist reckons is related to my being on the spectrum.

If you are in a 2-storey house, arrange your gear so that you have to go up and down stairs many times a day. You could also take up some craft that requires exercise, such as woodwork or laundry by hand. Maybe turn the heat down, and use exercise to warm up. The generator on my bike stand could power the laptop that distracts me from the effort, as scenery and traffic do outdoors.

I feel much better after exercise. I can feel my body more, esp. the left side, and I feel like exercise rinses stress out of me. I don't always totally notice the stress as it builds until it's gone; the stress seems to lower my awareness of anything except "acting normal" and getting through... My muscles have been very tight for decades in spite of the exercise and stretching. I wonder if being pretty abusively pressured to never (stim) made my brain store that tension in these muscles...

I was only diagnosed recently, and think that I partly shut down or something from sensory stuff and stress from "passing" all day, generally.

I've exercised almost every day for decades now, it's my best habit -- the rewards make it easy for me to do. I don't have great advice for folks who don't find it so helpful! That would make it harder for me to do... Perhaps if some folks exercise enough, they will start getting this sense of stress relief? It might be quantity/intensity, or maybe it's a physiological difference.

Slow but reasonably intense aerobic mixed with weights are best for me, I've found; nothing too complicated. To get my heart rate up, I crank a treadmill up to a steep angle, and just walk uphill slowly. I cannot stand exercise classes, and a somewhat quiet environment is crucial. No loud weights being dropped! The weight lifting helps my proprioception some; I do it very slowly too, which helps me feel in my limbs better than fast stuff.

I might like a yoga class if I could ever find a slow and gentle enough one; I need to vary what I'm doing depending upon weird internal variables... I did try one that should have been ok, but they didn't believe I'm autistic and were really not pleasant. I think about taking a diagnosis sheet back there; that's stress too. Ugh.

jcfay,

I'm a cat lover too, and they are a great thing to come home to.

I exercise daily. Sometimes, multiple times per day. It's probably the one thing that keeps me sane.