How Does Exercise Reduce Stress?

Ever feel demotivated, fatigued or lose your appetite? Struggle to sleep or eat a balanced, healthy diet? All of these are signs of stress.

It was Stress Awareness Day this week, which prompted lots of advice on how to manage and deal with the stress in our lives.

However, the best way to manage stress is to prevent it in the first place. Easier said than done…

When you consider just how bad stress is for us, both mentally and physically, we all need to take steps to reduce its presence in our lives. Stress sends our bodies into emergency response mode and negatively impacts our immune system, ability to fight off viruses, overall mood and energy levels.

While some stress is inevitable in modern life, consistent exercise significantly reduces its impact on both body and mind. Let's dive into the what, why and how.

If you move a lot, you’re less likely to be stressed

‍We all know the basics, exercise reduces levels of cortisol 'the stress hormone', and increases endorphins – the ‘runner’s high’. Endorphins don’t just increase mood, they’re also natural painkillers and induce feelings of relaxation and optimism.

If you exercise consistently, your body will get used to regularly releasing endorphins and produce less cortisol. The result? A lot less stress.

Consistency is key in prevention, the more you can train your body to generate the right hormones and suppress the damaging ones, the better trained you’ll be to handle stressful situations.

‍Is aerobic or resistance training better for stress prevention?

‍There have been consistent reports that people feel calmer and happier after 20-30 minutes of aerobic exercise – like a walk or a run – and that it can also minimise stress for some time afterwards.

However, any form of exercise will contribute to reducing cortisol levels and increasing endorphin flow, so if you prefer deadlifts to the rowing machine, go for it. Resistance training also gives you a sense of resilience and strength, which can contribute to an improved mindset and feeling of control.

What is undisputed is that taking time out of your day to move your body helps to clear your mind and reduce stress and anxiety. So however you like to move - go for it!

‍How do I know if exercise is making me less stressed?

‍A study by the Mental Health Foundation asked people to rate their mood immediately after periods of physical activity (e.g. going for a walk or doing housework), and periods of inactivity (e.g. reading a book or watching television).

Researchers found that the participants felt more content, more awake and calmer after being physically active compared to after periods of inactivity. They also found that the effect of physical activity on mood was greatest when the mood was initially low.

Many studies look at different intensity levels of activity and their impact on people’s moods. Overall, research has found that low-intensity aerobic exercise – for 30–35 minutes, 3–5 days a week, for 10–12 weeks – was best at increasing positive moods.

‍Try it 💡 Using a scale of 1-10, track how stressed you’ve felt each day against the day’s movement – it could be an intense workout or a long walk around a shopping centre. Notice after 30 days whether there’s a correlation between your stress levels and the amount of movement you’ve done – you might surprise yourself.

‍Don’t stress about stress

‍It sounds obvious, but, generally speaking, the more you can distract your mind by focusing on what your body’s doing, the less susceptible you’ll be to stress.

Maintaining consistency in your exercise routine may feel like hard work sometimes, but living with preventable stress levels is often harder. Why not commit to a new routine and see how you feel?