Medium is an awesome website to get a closer look at certain subjects that particularly interest you while also introducing you to new content you may be curious about. While looking through the website I began to wonder something. How do I know if the information I’m reading is true? Maybe it is just a result of an isolated incident? This is when I was able to see how to distinguish the truth from more isolated incidents.

The beauty is in the ability for multiple writers to write about the same subject. If multiple writers have accounts of the same experiences, we can sort the more universal truths from the irregular occurrences. The same way scientists test the conclusions of others in their field to see if their results match, the writers of medium can share what they have seen or been through to see if it lines up with others. To test this, I decided to look through a few stories on a common theme, working out, to see if the same results were reported from multiple sources.

Everyone knows working out is great for your physical health. You can burn fat, gain muscle, and train for certain sports, but other side effects can have even a greater impact on yourself. After reading through four articles on people’s experiences of pumping iron, I have come to the conclusion that your brain and overall mental well-being benefits from your workout even more than your body.

Three of the articles all focused on the writer’s journey as they started working out regularly. They all had a similar frame to them. The writer was looking to improve their own physical well-being but were surprised by the large amount of mental benefits they received as well. Two of the more major results were an overall change in mood and an improvement in sleep quality. The writers were able to feel at a more stable upbeat mood and were able to stay in deep sleep for longer amounts of time.

“My mood doesn’t swing to such wild ends of the emotional spectrum as often”

Andy Boyle

The fourth article took a look at the opposite. What happens when you stop working out as regularly. The writer, as expected, found things to be a lot harder for him mentally. He felt tired in the evenings and could not concentrate as well on his work. His remedy for this was to get back on his workout plan.

By comparing the findings of all these articles, we can identify that the benefits of working out regularly go way beyond just getting in shape. Mentally, you feel a lot better about yourself, you are able to be more alert and productive, and you can sleep better. Using this built-in tool that medium has was essential for confirming this information. The magic of this site really comes through when you can see everyone’s experiences in a subject and use this to determine what you believe is the truth. Medium allows for the truth to come out on top every time.

• Links to the Stories:
• https://medium.com/darius-foroux/i-stopped-working-out-daily-heres-what-happened-d1faa91314af
• https://medium.com/@andymboyle/what-i-learned-working-out-for-a-year-4853f1e39d0f
• https://medium.com/swlh/the-benefits-of-working-out-it-isnt-what-you-think-e0e7e528ace1
• https://elemental.medium.com/working-out-is-powerful-brain-training-c3f8f003dfd1

View at Medium.com