5 Exercises to curb your addiction cravings

The first few months of rehab were awful. 

I can tell you from the first-hand perspective of a long-term addict who decided to turn her life around and gave life a second chance.

Once I decided to quit drugs and alcohol, there was not much to do because my body was controlling me. The constant agony, pain, and urges were too much to handle, so I decided to ask for professional help. 

Apart from the physical harm, addiction also caused some serious intellectual and developmental disabilities in my body, which is why I was not able to reduce my cravings and was always relapsing no matter how hard I tried.

This was when I met my fairy godmother in the disguise of a rehab professional. She advised me to try alternative treatment approaches such as a good diet and physical exercise to control my cravings. Even when I was not convinced about them, after a few weeks of running, I changed my mind.

There are many exercises that can help you curb addiction cravings, and I am here to tell you all about them. So, without further ado, let’s get started. 

5 Exercises to control addiction cravings

The benefits of exercise in our lives are uncountable. Starting from keeping us healthy to helping us sleep on time-physical activities have a magical power in them that allows us to control our life the way we want.

Let’s find out the top 5 exercises to reduce addiction cravings here: 

1: Running

Running or walking is an excellent example of aerobic exercise that can regulate your mood early in the morning.

If you choose to jog in nature instead of taking a stroll around the block, it will have an even bigger impact on your addiction cravings. 

If you don’t have so much time in your daily schedule, take 15 minutes from it in the morning and go for a run. You may even meet other people who run around the same time, and that will give you plenty of opportunities to socialize with people. 

When you run, you sweat, which releases the piled-up stress that addiction cravings have been causing. 

2: Yoga

Mindfulness activities like meditation and yoga can help you be calm, serene, and tranquil.

It teaches you to enjoy life as it is, and once you become an expert in yoga and meditation, you will learn to appreciate the small things in life.

People usually relapse after coming back from rehab when they face negative emotions. Yoga would be a perfect solution here because it would teach you to handle stress in the most productive way.

Thus, even when life throws curveballs at you, you don’t crave drugs. Instead, you embrace them with a big smile and open arms and emerge victoriously.

3: Swimming

Swimming is a great exercise to curb addiction cravings because it keeps your body so physically and mentally active that you won’t have time to think about addiction anymore.

Regular swimming reduces the voluntary absorption of morphine. Although this finding was drawn from a study conducted on opioid-addicted rats, the findings are likely to be similar for humans.

Drug and alcohol withdrawal can cause paranoia, anxiety, depression, and insomnia. 

However, swimming regularly when you are in recovery will help you fight these withdrawal symptoms with ease, and you will start leading a much healthier life soon enough.

4: Weight lifting

Even if you are not an insomniac, the nights after rehab must have introduced you to this condition.

But, long sleepless nights are only going to increase your cravings.

Then, what to do?

Well, you can join a gym and start weightlifting to keep your body in shape, tone your muscles, and reduce your cravings even if you don’t fall asleep as soon as you hit the bed.

Don’t be intimidated by this suggestion. We are not asking you to be a bodybuilder. You can simply start with light weight lifting, and if your body permits, increase the weight gradually.  

5: Team sports

When you return from rehab, you probably won’t have many friends left to support your recovery.

This is why team sports can be an excellent exercise option to reduce your alcohol cravings and create a support network.

Even if you are not an addict and just drink during occasions, you may notice some stubborn fat stored right around your abdominal area. 

So, it’s time you burn those extra holiday calories and join a team sport to spend your time and reduce your addiction cravings. 

People also turn to addiction to escape negative emotions, and taking part in team sports can help you improve your self-esteem. 

Benefits of exercise

Apart from helping you control your addiction cravings, there are ample benefits of exercise such as:

• It can ease the withdrawal symptoms.
• It can replace your triggers with positive reinforcements.
• It can prevent your chances of relapse.
• It can help you think more clearly and regain control of your life.
• It can aid your sleeping problems.
• It can teach you to socialize with people who live a healthy life.
• It can improve your self-esteem and self-confidence, making you a healthy human being.
• It makes you more open-minded so that if you see someone struggling with addiction as you did, you will be ready to help them instead of stigmatizing them.

Stay fit! Stay active!

As you can see, exercise is the magical solution to all your problems.

So, even if you are not an addiction victim, you should make exercise a part of your daily routine. 

You don’t need to be in the gym for hours. Instead, you can start exercising at home. Just take 15-30 minutes of your schedule every morning or evening, and do light stretching.

Once you are comfortable with the light fitness activities, you can switch to more strenuous ones.

However, if you want to know more about exercise’s impact on addiction cravings, let us know below. We will come back with an answer immediately.

Till then, stay fit, and say NO to addiction!!!