Research Shows How Exercise Helps With Mental Health and Well-being

As a practicing Clinical Exercise physiologist with a strong passion for supporting individuals living with mental health conditions, I wanted to share some of the current research and my clinical experience working within this area.

Exercise can be a powerful therapeutic tool to assist with improving the mental health and well-being of individuals from all walks of life.

So let’s get into the research!

Exercise and mood enhancement research consistently demonstrates that exercise has a positive effect on mood and self-esteem, while also decreasing stress levels. Regular physical activity leads to an improved frame of mind, making individuals better equipped to handle life’s challenges. Additionally, exercise has been shown to improve cognitive functions such as attention, focus, memory, and decision-making.

The benefits of exercise on mental health can be attributed to various physiological and neurological mechanisms.

Exercise optimizes catecholamine levels. These include hormones such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine, released in response to physical and emotional stress. Additionally, exercise lowers cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone, and decreases systemic inflammation. Furthermore, it improves the functioning of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. This is a critical component of the body’s stress response system that works to mitigate the effects of stressors.

Without delving too deeply into the intricate physiological responses that occur when engaging in regular exercise, it is clear that the outcome can significantly contribute to overall improvements in mental well-being.

Aerobic activities, resistance training, and yoga all show benefits for depressive and anxiety symptoms. Resistance exercise has the most significant impact on reducing depression symptoms, while yoga demonstrates the most considerable effect on anxiety reduction. Physical activity improves mental health through various neuromolecular mechanisms.

Understanding that the current research is important but also considering the practical implications to this. In my experience, when choosing the right exercise to improve your mental well-being, I would want to find out what exercise you enjoy the most. This means which form of exercise will you likely maintain and regularly engage in. That’s because I want you to build positive physical activity behaviors for life that are going to maintain your continuously changing mental well-being.

Yoga, a popular mind-body intervention, has gained recognition for its potential therapeutic benefits in managing mental health conditions.

Research indicates that yoga can reduce depressive symptoms and improve the quality of life in individuals with mental health diagnoses. It works by influencing the autonomic nervous system, the hypothalamus-pituitary axis, and central nervous system activity, leading to a more balanced and regulated state.

One of the key mechanisms through which yoga promotes mental health is by decreasing the activity of the sympathetic nervous system. This is the body’s “fight-or-flight” response. This leads to reduced physiological arousal, lower heart rate, and decreased blood pressure, resulting in an overall sense of calm and relaxation.

Studies have shown that regular yoga practice can lead to a sustained reduction in sympathetic nervous system activity. This contributes to long-term improvements in mental health and well-being. Additionally, yoga has been found to increase the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system. This is the body’s “rest-and-digest” response, so it promotes relaxation and recovery. The combination of decreased sympathetic activity and increased parasympathetic activity creates a more balanced autonomic nervous system. This is essential for optimal mental health.

Exercise also plays a critical role in promoting better sleep quality and quantity.

Regular physical activity improves sleep patterns, lowers the proportion of light sleep, and enhances rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. This leads to improved immune system function, glucose metabolism, and cognitive ability, further contributing to overall mental well-being.

The relationship between sleep and mental health is bidirectional. That means sleep deprivation has a negative impact on mental well-being. Numerous studies have shown that inadequate sleep can lead to increased stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms. Chronic sleep deprivation has also been linked to a higher risk of developing mental health disorders. Furthermore, sleep disturbances are prevalent among individuals with mental health conditions. For instance, insomnia is a common symptom of depression, So improving sleep quality can alleviate depressive symptoms.

Exercise, by promoting better sleep, can help break this vicious cycle and improve overall mental health outcomes. Research indicates that aerobic exercise, in particular, can significantly improve sleep quality and reduce insomnia severity.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) has also shown promising results in enhancing sleep patterns. By incorporating regular physical activity into our daily routine, we can promote better sleep. Thus, foster better mental health.

The effect sizes of symptom reduction for depression and anxiety through physical activity are comparable to, and in some cases slightly higher than, those observed with psychotherapy and pharmacology.

This highlights the potential of exercise as an effective, non-invasive, and non-pharmacological intervention for mental health conditions. It is important to highlight that as a Clinical Exercise Physiologist, I advocate for a multidisciplinary approach to the management of all health conditions. That also means when working within the mental health field.

The importance and relevance of utilizing psychological and pharmacological interventions is very important and can be highly effective in the management and treatment of mental health conditions. So my recommendation would be to not just focus on one area of mental well-being management but rather utilize various treatment options including psychological, pharmacological, and physical activity interventions in your approach to increasing your mental health.

As we have discussed, engaging in regular physical activity can serve as a powerful tool for enhancing your mental health and well-being. To reap these benefits, it is essential to find a form of movement that resonates with you and incorporate it into your daily routine. If you’re unsure where to begin, don’t hesitate to seek support from your doctor, a local clinical exercise physiologist, or a psychologist. They can provide guidance and help you take the first steps toward prioritizing your mental health.

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• Blumenthal, J.A. and Rozanski, A. (2023) ‘Exercise as a therapeutic modality for the prevention and treatment of depression’, Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 77, pp. 50–58. doi:10.1016/j.pcad.2023.02.008.
• Chawla, V. et al. (2023) ‘The future of Yoga for Mental Health Care’, International Journal of Yoga, 16(1), p. 38. doi:10.4103/ijoy.ijoy_25_23.
• Heissel, A. et al. (2023) ‘Exercise as medicine for depressive symptoms? A systematic review and meta-analysis with meta-regression’, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 57(16), pp. 1049–1057. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2022-106282.
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