Can exercise and running help anxiety and depression?
Yes. In fact doing any type of exercise helps.
How does exercise help depression and anxiety? We don’t know exactly.
But regular exercise seems to ease depression and anxiety by:
- Releasing feel-good endorphins. Endorphins are natural brain chemicals that can improve your sense of well-being.
- Taking your mind off worries. Thinking about something else instead of worrying can get you away from the cycle of negative thoughts that feed depression and anxiety.
Regular exercise has many mental health and emotional benefits too. It can help you:
- Gain confidence. Meeting exercise goals or challenges, even small ones, can boost your self-confidence. Getting in shape also can make you feel better about how you look.
- Get more social interaction. Exercise and physical activity may give you the chance to meet or socialise with others. Just sharing a friendly smile or greeting as you walk around your neighborhood can help your mood.
- Cope in a healthy way. Doing something positive to manage depression or anxiety is a healthy coping strategy. Trying to feel better by drinking alcohol, dwelling on how you feel, or hoping depression or anxiety will go away on its own can lead to worsening symptoms.
What type of exercise reduces anxiety and depression?
I.e. is a structured exercise programme the only option?
Physical activity such as regular moderate pace walking – not just formal exercise – helps mood improve.
But. Physical activity and exercise are not the same thing, but both are good for your health.
Physical activity is any activity that works your muscles and requires energy. Physical activity can include work or household or leisure activities. So, what is exercise? It is surprisingly hard to define. This is one definition.
Exercise is an out of the ordinary, planned and repetitive body movement
But the boundary between physical activity and exercise is blurred. What about a rapid 5k walk, for example.
And within the exercise concept, there is considerable variation. The word ‘exercise’ may make you think of running laps around the gym.
But exercise includes a wide range of activities that boost your activity level to help you feel better.
It does not have to include the gym. Just fit exercise into your day
Certainly exercise includes running, team sports, swimming at a good pace, and other fitness activities. These get your heart pumping.
But so can physical activity such as gardening, washing your car, walking around the block or doing other less intense activities. Any physical activity that gets you off the couch and moving can boost your mood.
For example, take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park a little farther away from work to fit in a short walk. Or if you live close to your job, consider biking to work.
Summary
We have described whether exercise and running can help anxiety and depression. Yes, in fact any type of exercise, so long as its regular. We hope that helps.
