It is no surprise that during the 2020 COVID 19 pandemic, the populations increase in mental health crises has been on the rise. In an article titled “The Psychological Impact of Quarantine and How to Reduce it: Rapid Review of the Evidence,” evidence supported the increase in symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, anger and confusion as a result from financial, emotional and physical stressors exacerbated by quarantine (Brooks, Webster, Smith, Woodland, Wessely, Greenberg, & Rubin 2020). In this same study by Brooks et al (2020), healthcare workers were found to be predisposed to these effects on their mental health affecting their ability to care for patients because of recurrent risk to exposure and ethical turmoil experienced with decisions being made during a pandemic. The COVID 19 pandemic has heavily impacted the social, emotional, and overall health of our population (Brooks et al., 2020). An additional study in the article “Mental Health and the Covid 19 pandemic” highlighted that the effects experienced by a population experiencing a pandemic lead to an increase in psychiatric conditions, unhealthy behaviors such as substance abuse, and an increase in noncompliance to public health direction (Pfefferbaum, & North, 2020). Physical exercise has been shown to increase the mental health of individuals in congruence with obvious benefits on physical health.

            In the book Exercise-Based Interventions for People with Mental Illness: A Clinical Guide to Physical Activity as Part of Treatment, exercise is found to be an effective intervention for treatment of mental illness including but not limited to anxiety, depression, eating disorders and substance abuse disorders (Stubbs 2018) all of which the population has seen an increase in since the shut downs associated with the Covid 19 pandemic. High intensity interval training (HIIT) in a gym setting itself was shown to decrease cardio- metabolic risk factors and increase psychological health in a population (Shepherd, Wilson, Thøgersen-Ntoumani, Adlan, Wagenmakers, & Shaw 2015). This brings me to my request Governor Walz, that gyms be considered essential and remain open during the remainder of the Covid 19 pandemic.

            Being a nurse myself during this pandemic, I have personally witnessed and experienced the positive effects of attending a gym, which uses proper disinfection measures and follows social distancing guidelines, has had on mental and physical health. We in Minnesota are limited to accessibility to physical exercise during the winter months which is a variation that needs to be accounted for as this current plan would carry us into the winter season.  I do understand your concern for our population as again, I am a healthcare provider. However, I have an overwhelming concern for the impacts on mental health I have seen this pandemic take on my patients and community which is set to take even a further toll as this shut down continues. Having fitness centers remain open that have been proven to follow sanitation and safety guidelines placed by the Center of Disease Control is an avenue we need to take to preserve the mental and physical health of our state. Please take the time to review this petition along with evidence attached. Thank you for your time and consideration.

                                                    References

Brooks, S. K., Webster, R. K., Smith, L. E., Woodland, L., Wessely, S., Greenberg,    N., & Rubin, G. J. (2020). The Psychological Impact of Quarantine and How to    Reduce It: Rapid Review  of the Evidence. The Lancet, 395(10227), 912-920.            doi:10.2139/ssrn.3532534

Pfefferbaum, B., & North, C. S. (2020). Mental Health and the Covid-19 Pandemic. New England Journal of Medicine, 383(6), 510-512.    doi:10.1056/nejmp2008017

Shepherd, S. O., Wilson, O. J., Taylor, A. S., Thøgersen-Ntoumani, C., Adlan, A. M.,  Wagenmakers, A. J., & Shaw, C. S. (2015). Low-Volume High-Intensity Interval      Training in a Gym Setting Improves Cardio-Metabolic and Psychological          Health. Plos One, 10(9). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0139056

Stubbs, B., & Rosenbaum, S. (2018). Exercise-based interventions for mental illness: Physical activity as part of clinical treatment [9780128126066]. Retrieved November 18, 2020.