Does Exercise Help Anxiety?

Anxiety affects millions of people worldwide, causing excessive worry, nervousness, and physical symptoms that interfere with daily life. This article explains how exercise can reduce anxiety symptoms, which types are best, and why physical activity is one of the best natural evidence-based ways to manage anxiety.

This article is from the Exercise & Lifestyle sections of our Library.

If you've ever felt your worries quiet down after a brisk walk or noticed your racing, sporadic thoughts slow down during a workout, that is not a coincidence. There is a growing body of scientific evidence which confirms what many people experience firsthand: exercise can be used to manage anxiety.

For the millions of adults and children who struggle with anxiety — whether it’s just an occasional worry or more serious diagnosed anxiety disorders, there is hope. Physical activity isn't just good for your body. It's also one of the most effective and easiest ways to support your mental health as well.

The scientific research is fairly consistent and clear — exercise and being physically active reduces anxiety symptoms in a lot of different people: healthy adults, those with medical conditions, those with mild anxiety and those with serious diagnosed anxiety disorders.

It’s not just about feeling slightly better after a workout (although that helps too). The benefits are comparable to some of the standard treatments for mild to moderate anxiety, like medications or talking therapies.

What makes exercise particularly compelling is that there are consistent benefits across different types and causes of anxiety, whether that’s general anxiety, social anxiety, stress-related anxiety, or anxiety symptoms.

Does Exercise Prevent Anxiety?

Perhaps the most compelling discovery is that staying physically active may prevent you from developing anxiety disorders in the future. Research shows that those who are physically active have a lower chance of developing anxiety problems in the first place.

This “protective effect” of exercise extends (again) across different types of anxiety, including generalised anxiety disorder, agoraphobia, and even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

So, rather than waiting until anxiety becomes a problem, building regular movement into your life now may help keep anxiety at bay in the future.

It Works Across All Ages

One of the most encouraging findings is that exercise helps with anxiety regardless of your age. Both younger and older adults can reduce their anxiety by being physically active.

Children and adolescents also benefit from regular physical activity. Studies on young people show reductions in “state anxiety” (that temporary feeling of nervousness or worry) when kids and teens engage in structured exercise programs.

This matters a lot, as anxiety disorders often first appear during childhood or adolescence; so establishing healthy coping strategies early in life can set the foundation for maintaining good mental health.

What Is The Best Exercise?

Good news: multiple types of exercise reduce anxiety symptoms. Aerobic exercise like running or cycling, resistance training with weights, mixed programs that combine both, and “mind-body” practices like yoga and tai chi are all effective.

Interestingly, research suggests that low-intensity yoga and other mind-body exercises may also be effective for anxiety. This type of exercise tends to combine physical movement with breathing exercises and mindfulness, addressing anxiety through multiple pathways all at the same time.

However, standard aerobic (or “cardio”) exercise is the most studied and most consistent type of exercise for helping anxiety. This includes activities like walking, jogging, swimming, or cycling — anything that gets your heart rate up above resting levels and keeps it there.

Resistance training, whether it’s lifting weights or bodyweight exercises, also shows meaningful reductions in anxiety.

There is some evidence to suggest that the intensity of your workout matters more than the type of activity. Moderate to vigorous intensity exercise tends to produce better anxiety reductions than low-intensity exercise, although both are effective.

So this doesn't mean you need to push yourself to exhaustion — it simply means exercising at a level where you're breathing harder than normal but can still carry on a conversation. And if you can’t exercise at a moderate intensity level, any exercise is better than none!

The Setting Matters Too

Here's something that might surprise you: where and how you exercise can influence the anxiety-reducing benefits you get. Research shows that supervised, group-based exercise programs often produce better anxiety outcomes than unsupervised workouts at home.

This doesn't mean solo runs or home workouts are ineffective — they definitely help. But if you're specifically exercising to manage anxiety, consider structured classes, group fitness sessions, or working with a trainer. The scientists seem to think the combination of professional guidance, social connections, and accountability may promote the anxiety-reducing effects of exercise.

How Does Exercise Reduce Anxiety?

Scientists have identified how exercise reduces anxiety, changing both your biological and psychological pathways.

On a biological level, regular physical activity reduces inflammation and oxidative stress throughout your body, including your brain.

Exercise also promotes the production of “brain-derived neurotrophic factor”, a substance that supports the growth and health of neurons in your brain, which helps regulate mood and anxiety.

Psychologically, exercise serves as a form of “exposure therapy” for the physical sensations associated with anxiety.

Think about what happens when you exercise: your heart rate increases, you breathe harder, and you might feel sweaty, clammy or warm — sensations similar to those that occur during anxiety or panic.

Regularly experiencing these sensations in the safe, predictable context of exercise can help your brain learn that these bodily feelings aren't dangerous, improving your resilience to stress.

Exercise also builds “self-efficacy” — your confidence in your ability to accomplish goals and overcome challenges.

As you exercise more, you progressively get stronger or improve your fitness levels; this sense of achievement can extend beyond the gym, helping you feel more capable of handling the stresses of everyday life.

Practical Recommendations

Any type of exercise works, but if you want to specifically target your anxiety, aim for moderate-intensity aerobic or resistance exercise a few times per week.

If you're drawn to mind-body practices, yoga or tai chi classes may be helpful; they are well-suited to calming an anxious mind.

Consider group classes or supervised programs where possible, like yoga classes, running groups or sessions with a personal trainer - the social element of exercise is also good for anxiety.

If you are inactive and don’t like the sound of any of that, even short walks can provide benefits, and you can gradually increase distance and speed as you get fitter.

Choose activities you genuinely enjoy (or at least don't dread). The best exercise for anxiety is the one you'll do consistently. This might be dancing in your living room, hiking on trails, swimming laps, lifting weights at the gym, or joining a recreational sports team.

An Important Tool, Not a Cure-All

While exercise is a powerful way to reduce anxiety, it's important to view it as one tool in your toolbox rather than a complete cure to replace everything else.

If you're experiencing significant anxiety that interferes with your daily life, other (professional) treatments are probably necessary. However, exercise can still act as a “complementary therapy” with other things.

Some people with mild to moderate anxiety find that exercise alone can provide sufficient relief for their symptoms. But others may benefit from combining it with other (professional) treatments.

You need to find the combination of strategies that works best for your individual circumstances. We can only give you general advice here.

Bottom Line

The evidence is compelling and exciting: regular physical activity does reduce anxiety symptoms, helps prevent anxiety, and works across different ages, different types of exercise, and different types and severities of anxiety.

You don't need a gym membership, expensive equipment, or hours of free time. You just need to find ways to move your body regularly at (ideally) a moderate intensity. An anxious mind may resist or be reluctant to do this at first, but the research suggests that the effort is worthwhile.