How moms can combine exercise and motherhood for mental well-being

Parents have been given assurances that their overwhelming stress of raising children will not go unnoticed: in the United States, the Surgeon General recently announced counseling on parental mental health and well-being.

Although it is not surprising that raising children with additional challenges of social media contributes to parents’ stress, it’s true especially visible in mothers of small children.

In my work as an exercise physiologist and health researcher, my goal is to teach mothers how to move and appreciate the importance of engaging in physical activity while maintaining self-compassion. I am aware that although physical activity may have a positive impact on mental well-being, this is also an additional condition in case of an overloaded schedule.

With mothers scrolling through endless to-do lists, expecting a traditional approach to exercise (travel to an exercise facility, exercise for 30 to 60 minutes, travel home) will not work. Yet this is what parents’ social media is flooded with, as are some mothers promote their fitness programs and return to their pre-pregnancy bodies.

Why workouts often don’t work

Those who work in behavioral medicine have noticed traditional exercise recommendations – structured exercise at a specific intensity for an extended period of time – may have a deterrent effect in certain circumstances. These simply don’t work for those who have difficulty finding time in their schedule for self-care. This may be most true for mothers, who often are focusing on household choressubmerged intensive parentingcarrying the mental burden of motherhood (give birth and raise a small child) and working outside the home.

The amount of time spent with children has increased dramatically in recent decadesAND most mothers do not have the support that would make raising children easierit’s no wonder that mental well-being – and, moreover, physical activity – suffers.

AND 2020 study found that 39 percent of working mothers in the United States did not engage in any vigorous activity during the week. However, those who were able to engage in regular physical activity had a higher quality of life.

Possible physical fitness

So what is the solution? How can we promote physical activity to support mental well-being among mothers without adding it to an overwhelming to-do list? From my own research with new mothers, it is clear that those who try to stick with more structured exercise often find it a failure because Even the best-laid plans can be derailed by a child’s illness, work deadlines, and softball tryouts.

In a recently submitted study, my colleagues and I focused on encouraging mothers to engage in physical activity based on their own sense of readiness. Thanks to this, the exercises will not become another overload that the body will not regenerate enough to cope with. For example, one participant described:

“Obviously I’m not feeling the best, so I’m not going to force myself to do anything too intense… I’m kind of giving you permission to focus more on yourself and recover, so that’s been nice.”

However, in the previous study we offered physical activity programming in a structured online format to young mothers. Participants were unable to follow the program as expected and therefore felt like they had failed.

“At the end of the day I thought: yes, no, I won’t make this film, I’m going to sleep. So that would make me feel […] it wasn’t enough for me […] I should have done it, I should have tried harder. So it was a love-hate relationship.”

Flexible approach

It appears that a flexible approach may be best for mothers committed to physical activity, given the challenges of finding time to achieve success with more rigorous programming.

“Exercise snacks” started as an opportunity to move in small bites throughout the day to reap health benefits. Moreover, the principle of “no pain, no gain” has gone out of fashion and is being increasingly emphasized promoting enjoyable exercise. For example, the ability to choose the force of pressure on the body during exercise – instead of prescribing a specific intensity – increases overall engagement in physical activity. Ecological gymnastics, i.e. physical activity in the natural environment, It has also been shown to be more enjoyable and should be considered as a way to increase adherence.

As a full-time working mother of two young children – without a local support system – physical activity has changed dramatically for me over the last few years. Before school started, I practiced yoga in the office, ran or walked on the baseball fields during the spring sports chaos, and lifted weights in the yard while my kids ran in circles around me. It’s not perfect, but it does the job and it makes me feel better.

While all mothers face different challenges and there are not necessarily solutions for everyone, mothers foregoing physical activity during these stressful years is not conducive to their health and well-being. So perhaps the solution is to be flexible and compassionate about engaging in physical activity while being aware of the many demands placed on mothers.