Exercise and Mental Health
Exercise and Mental Health
May 1, 2024
Joy Stepinski, MSN, RN-BC
Undoubtedly, most people can relate the importance of exercise to physical health. However, did you know that physical activity also has a profound effect on mental health? The National Institute of Mental Health (a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) reports that in 2021, one in five adults lived with a mental illness [1]. This number includes serious mental illness, which is defined as interfering with one or more major life activities. Those living with mental health conditions are at risk of physical symptoms, due to medication side effects, inability to sleep, unhealthy eating choices, physical inactivity, and sedentary behavior [2]. Exercise, as a non-pharmacological intervention, has been demonstrated to improve mental health.
Depressive disorders, which are recognized as a major global burden of disease [3], are linked with increased medical conditions, healthcare costs, and early mortality. Authors of one meta-analysis determined that physical activity was protective against depression. The analysis used 49 prospective studies, encompassing 266 encompassing 266,939 participants. While the lowest amount of exercise correlated with the highest rate of depression, the inverse was also true. The more people exercised, the less depression was experienced. Exercising improved depression across the age span (youth in youth, adults, and seniors, regardless of geographical location.
Another meta-analysis investigated anxiety disorders, which are the sixth leading cause of disability worldwide [4]. Fourteen cohorts were used, of 75,831 participants. The results showed that high amounts of physical exercise had a positive effect on anxiety, agoraphobia, and posttraumatic stress disorder again across all age groups.
These articles consistently stated that exercise was “protective” against both physical and mental health issues. As the authors of one study expressed, “Increasing physical activity should be considered a priority on preventing mental and physical chronic conditions and reducing overall mortality” [4]. Exercise is an important factor in whole health!
References:
1. National Institute of Mental Health. (2023). Mental illness. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness
2. Schuch, F. B., & Vancampfort, D. (2021). Physical activity, exercise, and mental disorders: It is time to move on. Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, 43, 177-184. https://www.scielo.br/j/trends/a/jCRvs9LQq8ycmLwLysGBRFM/?format=pdf&lang=en
3. Schuch, F. B., Vancampfort, D., Firth, J., Rosenbaum, S., Ward, P. B., Silva, E. S., ... & Stubbs, B. (2018). Physical activity and incident depression: A meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. American Journal of Psychiatry, 175(7), 631-648.
4. Schuch, F. B., Stubbs, B., Meyer, J., Heissel, A., Zech, P., Vancampfort, D., ... & Hiles, S. A. (2019). Physical activity protects from incident anxiety: A meta‐analysis of prospective cohort studies. Depression and Anxiety, 36(9), 846-858.