The Effects of Exercise on Anxiety and Depression

Together, the stress-related conditions of anxiety and depression represent the two most common mental health disorders. This chapter provides an overview of the research addressing the antidepressant and anxiolytic responses to exercise. It focuses primarily on the results of large-scale epidemiological studies, randomized controlled trials, and meta-analyses or systematic reviews to evaluate the more robust and higher-quality evidence. Magnitude of effects through effect size or standard mean difference are emphasized. Based on the available evidence, the chapter addresses issues related to exercise modality, intensity, and dose-response, potential mechanisms derived from both human and animal literature, as well as future directions for research and application related to exercise as a treatment for depression and anxiety. The fact that the effects of exercise on anxiety and depression have been mostly positive despite the methodological limitations is encouraging and should bolster the future pursuit of optimizing the exercise intervention.