When you think of “self-care,” your idea of a mud mask might look a little different than ours. But hear us out: Completing an obstacle course caked in mud is actually one of the best things you can do to boost your mental health. Don’t believe us? Here’s how Tough Mudder can improve your mental health.
1. Exercise is medicine for your mind
In addition to all the physical benefits, regular exercise is stellar for your mental health. It’s been shown to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, and improve stress management and emotional wellbeing.
While you may not think of Tough Mudder as your conventional exercise, the running, jumping, swinging, and crawling can all benefit your body and mind. Add fun and friends into the mix, and you’ve got yourself a mental-health cocktail.
2. Team sports can boost your mood
While any form of exercise comes with its benefits, team sports may work particular wonders for your mental health. Team sports may enhance social skills and peer support, leading to even better mental health overall.
At Tough Mudder, we place an emphasis on teamwork to get the job done. We get hard sh*t done, together. Everyone needs a helping hand at some point on the course, and we pride ourselves on our Mudders’ team-oriented spirit.
3. It increases your mental resilience
Failure may not feel good, but it’s a completely normal part of life. And the more mentally resilient you are, the better equipped you’ll be to handle failure.
One way to become more mentally resilient is to fail at something regularly. Just like training your muscles to overcome physical failure, you can push your mind to the point of failure and work to overcome that feeling. So next time you can’t make it up Everest or Mudderhorn, use it as an opportunity to practice your mental resilience in the face of adversity.
So do the hard stuff. Sign up for a Tough Mudder today, you never know how you might benefit.