The best exercise for your mental health that only takes 4 minutes

Exercise is considered one of the best natural remedies and preventative measures to help alleviate feelings of anxiety, depression and stress. And it doesn’t take much. Even setting aside just 4 minutes, ideally in the morning, can make a big difference to your mental health.

The most effective mental health exercises

One of the most effective ways to do this is with high intensity interval training (HIIT) – an on and off exercise routine also known as Tabata. It consists of eight sets of exercises each performed at your highest capacity for 20 seconds, with a ten second rest between each set.

HIIT training (also called Tabata protocol) originated in Japan and is named after the scientist Dr. Izumi Tabata, who created it in the early 1990s.  His research at the time found that short intense bursts of exercise with even shorter rest periods, conditioned the body better than a continuous moderate-intensity exercise. 

You push yourself as hard as you can for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds. This is one set. You’ll complete eight sets of each exercise. 

One of the best things about it is that it can be done anywhere and it can also be a great way to finish a walk, swim, paddle or bike ride.

Example Tabata routines

The exercises you choose can be anything you feel like.  

For example, a week of workouts could look like this:

Monday: 4 minutes of squats – 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off x 8

Tuesday: 4 minutes of push ups – 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off x 8

Wednesday: 4 minutes of mountain climbers – 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off x 8

Thursday: 4 minutes jumping lunges – 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off x 8

Friday: 4 minutes burpees – 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off x 8

Saturday: 4 minutes – Run for 20 seconds then walk for 10 seconds, repeating 8 times.

Sunday:  20 seconds body weight squats then get down into push up position in your 10 second res, then 20 seconds of push-ups  x 4 sets of each. 

What the science says

The science is that short periods of rest in between longer periods of intensely performed exercise, means your body doesn’t have time to fully recover. 

As you progress through the workout, your body is forced to work at full capacity increasing heart rate and increasing your metabolism.

Morning HIIT exercise routines build endurance and muscle, and burn heaps of calories.

The increased level of oxygen your body uses, means that excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) sees your body burning additional calories in the recovery period, throughout your morning.

The benefits of Tabata

You will have had your first win of the day and as time goes on, the improvements in self-esteem and self-confidence mean that you may be able to extend your 4 minutes to another session at lunch time. 

You may very well have experienced something similar to the EPOC effect after running out of petrol and having to run for the bus, so it’s good to put that rush towards something useful like improving your mental health.

If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health, please reach out to your GP for help, or call Lifeline on 13 11 14.

This article was written by David Lee, a Sydney based Life Coach for over 20 years, with a particular interest in mind and body focused wellness, for mental health and work / life balance. David was the in-house Personal Trainer for Australian Men’s Fitness magazine for 6 years and is the co-author of The Complete Health Series book.