Health & Medicine
3 MIN READ

Yoga, Walking, and Dancing Are the Most Popular Global Exercises

Cite This
, (2021, March 24). Yoga, Walking, and Dancing Are the Most Popular Global Exercises. Psychreg on Health & Medicine. https://www.psychreg.org/most-popular-exercises/
Reading Time: 3 minutes
In a new study, Reebok has revealed the most popular physical and mental exercises to do while working from home in an effort to improve health and productivity. Partnering with health experts and psychologists, they reveal the most popular exercises you can do right from home.
Reebok additionally analysed Google search data, Instagram data, and media popularity (number of articles per year) across over 20 types of exercises to reveal the favourite at-home workouts.

Globally, the study revealed that yoga, walking and dancing are the top 3 exercises during COVID-19.

With an average of 1.4 million searches each month, 89.6 million hashtags on Instagram and 27 million article shares this year, yoga is an excellent stress-relief exercise, which involves a series of moving meditations, stationary poses, or postures, which are further combined with deep breathing techniques.

Yoga is a key form of exercise for stretching and strengthening the shoulders, back, and abdominals after a day in front of a computer screen. This is necessary as ‘failing to combat the daily hunch poses detrimental effects to our posture as well increases the risk of injury and inability to perform,’ according to Harvey Lawton.

Walking is a simple exercise that helps to boost our mood and relieve stress. With an average of 119,000 searches each month and 56.8 million article shares on the topic globally, it is the second most popular exercise for managing burnout. Walking helps to release tension in the body, both in the neck and in the legs. At the same time, walking can frequently reduce the incidence of stress-related conditions such as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Walking helps to stretch and strengthen muscles and is also ‘beneficial for the hippocampus; which is the part of the brain that acts like a brake on the stress response,’ says Ruth Cooper-Dickson, a positive psychologist.

Dancing is a top exercise that can be done in any spacious room you have at home as an instant mood booster and stress reliever. With physical as well as mental benefits, dancing is a great workout that improves grace and agility as it raises your heart rate whilst using your legs actively, helping to strengthen your body and core muscles, simultaneously burning calories and reducing your risk of injury.

Dancing is a great exercise ‘for activating GABBA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) – this is an amino acid whose purpose is to calm the brain and act as a fire extinguisher to enable brain cells to suppress their activities,’ comments Ruth Cooper-Dickson. ‘GABBA activation also provides quick and effective stress relief” in an effort to clear your mind after a stressful working day.

Joe Mitton, founder of Mittfit reveals why exercise is essential ‘for releasing dopamine and serotonin which both help in mood and sleep’ and reduce feelings of stress. 
You garner the majority of these benefits with short periods of exercise each day. Lee Chambers, an environmental psychologist and well-being consultant states that: ‘Finding an exercise that you enjoy is vital, as this helps you remain consistent in ensuring you take the breaks and stay active daily.
‘Whether that is walking around the block, dancing in your living room, yoga in the kitchen or a bodyweight circuit in the bedroom, the considerable benefits of exercise on your mental health, especially over the darker, colder months, should be utilised to ensure you feel fortified for the challenging times we face.’

The articles we publish on Psychreg are here to educate and inform. They’re not meant to take the place of expert advice. So if you’re looking for professional help, don’t delay or ignore it because of what you’ve read here. Check our full disclaimer