Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? It is better to relax by watching TV or reading a book than by doing physical exercise. Use reasons and examples to develop your response.
Today’s world is such a competitive, developed, and intricate one that leads people to have a hectic lifestyle in which everybody tries to manage stress in a way. With this in mind, a heated controversy exists as to whether it is better to calm down by watching TV and reading books or doing physical exercise. As far as I am concerned, physical activity can be beneficial to minimize the amount of stress and make one feels relaxed. The reason for my choice is manifold, among which mind rest and make friends dominate.
To begin with, the more one does physical exercise, the more his or her body system can be vigorous and handle anxiety and tension. Needless to say, nowadays, people would spend an enormous amount of their time to work and make money in order to keep pace with others. Therefore, their mind needs some time to get rid of any thoughts and to refresh. Having physical activity, for example, a simple walk in a park and take a deep breath of fresh air, a person can increase the level of special hormones such as oxytocin, which is related to the feeling of happiness, in their body. On the other hand, reading a book or watching TV would increase mental activity. Reading a novel, for instance, an individual needs to analyze the characters and understand what is happening in the story exactly. As a result, mental activity can increase dramatically and the brain may not receive sufficient rest.
The other equally significant reason worth mentioning is that doing physical exercise tend to provide a good opportunity to establish social relationships. In other words, one can make new friends by joining a gym, walking in a park, doing yoga to name but a few. According to a study in the University of Tehran, stress and the effect of negative experiences can be reduced by socializing. To illustrate my point, I would like to mention my own experience. A few years ago, I had a monetary issue and I had to withstand too much stress every day thanks to my “enjoyable” life condition. I remember trying to relieve anxiety and bring some excitement to my life by reading even humorous books or watching comedy, but none of them did change my mood. One day one of my co-workers suggested I join a gym, and after a while, by virtue of making some new friends lending support to my life, I overcame all my troubles and did not feel depressed anymore. So significant role might play a friend in having peace and quiet that no one can cast doubt on it.
To sum up, by taking to account all the above-mentioned examples, one can conclude that doing physical exercise can bring about relaxation, for not only can our mind rest and throw away negative thoughts, but we can make friends and not being alone as well.