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Exercise and Mental Health: How Daily Movement Shapes Mood and Resilience

  • Writer: Emma Donovan
    Emma Donovan
  • 3 days ago
  • 6 min read
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Modern mental health care tends to focus on thoughts, emotions, trauma, and relationships. These are essential parts of human wellbeing, but they are not the whole picture. Our psychological lives unfold inside a physical body. The way we move that body each day quietly yet powerfully shapes mood, energy, attention, and resilience.

When most people think about movement, they think about structured exercise. But movement includes everything from daily walking to posture to strength to mobility.


Over time, these patterns create conditions inside the body that support or strain mental health. Researchers have known for decades that movement influences emotional wellbeing, yet many people still think of it as a separate category from psychological care.


What often gets missed is that the relationship between movement and mental health goes both ways. Mental health shapes movement patterns, and movement patterns shape mental health. Depression can reduce energy and motivation to move. Anxiety can narrow someone’s comfort zone around exercise. Trauma can shift posture, breathing, and muscle tension. At the same time, regular movement can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, improve stress tolerance, and strengthen the biological pathways that support emotional regulation. Movement and mental health continually influence one another. Small shifts can begin to support both the body and the mind.


Below are several dimensions of movement that meaningfully affect psychological wellbeing. Each one comes from the broader Movement and Exercise domain of a holistic wellness model I use in therapist education and my own clinical work. Together, they offer a fuller picture of how movement patterns shape the mind.


Daily Movement and Mental Health

Most people think mental health benefits come only from the gym or a morning run. Yet research shows that even light activity throughout the day has powerful effects on mood.1 Movement supports blood flow, cognitive function, and steady energy. It can also reduce inflammation and help regulate glucose, which affects emotional stability.2


Short walks, household tasks, stretching at work, or moving between activities all create micro-restoration for the nervous system. Even a few minutes of gentle movement every hour can make an impact.


How Sedentary Time Affects Mood and Wellbeing

Long periods of sitting affect the body in ways directly tied to mental health. Sedentary time is associated with higher rates of depression and anxiety, even in people who exercise regularly.3 Physical stillness changes breathing patterns, muscle tension, and leads to higher sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) activity.4 It can contribute to sluggishness, low motivation, and fatigue.5


Occupational and public health guidance increasingly encourages standing up and moving, even if briefly, throughout the day.6 Every 20-60 minutes is a good start. These short breaks can create small but meaningful shifts in stress hormones, circulation, and mental clarity.


Aerobic Exercise and Mental Health

Aerobic activity is one of the most well-studied non-pharmaceutical interventions for mood. Aerobic movement consistently improves mood in ways comparable to many standard treatments for mild to moderate depression. Brisk walking, cycling, dancing, and swimming increase heart rate and oxygenation, stimulate endorphins, and release brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which supports neuroplasticity.7,8


Dozens of studies show moderate to large antidepressant effects from regular aerobic movement. In fact, large reviews have found that exercise often performs similarly to antidepressants in reducing symptoms of mild to moderate depression.9,10,11 For many, the combination of movement and other treatments offers the strongest benefit. National guidelines suggest 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week.12 Many people reach these numbers through active transportation, walking with friends, or meaningful daily routines that feel natural rather than forced.


Strength Training for Mood, Anxiety, and Stress Tolerance

Strength work benefits more than muscles. Growing evidence shows that resistance training reduces anxiety, enhances cognitive function, and supports metabolic health.13,14,15 These changes matter for mental health because stable blood sugar, lower inflammation, and physical strength all support a more resilient mood and stress response.


Strength training does not have to involve heavy weights. Bodyweight exercises, yoga, Pilates, and resistance bands can provide similar benefits. National recommendations suggest strength-building activities at least twice per week.12


Stretching, Posture, and the Mind-Body Connection

Flexibility, posture, and mobility shape how the body carries tension. Many people store stress in their shoulders, jaw, low back, or hips. Over time, these patterns influence breathing mechanics, energy, and perceived stress.

Gentle stretching, mobility work, and posture awareness can reduce physical discomfort and support emotional ease. When the body is comfortable, the mind has more room to regulate.


Exercise Confidence and Mental Health

In order to reap the benefits of exercise, it’s necessary to feel confident and capable in your chosen physical activity. People are more likely to stay active when they feel capable, skilled, or familiar with a form of movement they enjoy. Exercise self-efficacy is one of the strongest predictors of long-term consistency. If you struggle to maintain a routine, focus on enjoyment. When movement feels meaningful or pleasant, it becomes something someone returns to even during difficult seasons. Confidence grows with practice, not perfection.


Your Relationship With Movement Matters

For many people, movement is tangled with guilt, pressure, or “all or nothing” patterns. A strained relationship with movement can create avoidance or perfectionism, both of which affect mental health.


Reframing movement as a form of self-support rather than self-discipline changes the experience. Movement becomes a way to care for the system that carries emotions, thoughts, and energy through the day. It becomes an act of generosity towards oneself rather than a chore.


Motivation, Mood, and Building Sustainable Habits

People often wait for motivation before moving, but motivation can follow action. Initiating small, values-based actions often strengthens motivation and positive mood.16 Therefore, small, gentle steps create momentum. A five-minute walk, a few stretches, or a short strength session can shift energy enough to make the next step feel easier. People who approach movement with curiosity and self-kindness rather than pressure tend to build steadier habits and experience more emotional benefits.


Closing Thoughts

Movement supports mental health in ways that are both simple and profound. It stabilizes mood, improves attention, supports emotional regulation, and strengthens biological pathways connected to resilience. At the same time, mental health shapes how we feel about moving. Understanding this bi-directional relationship makes room for compassion. No one has to approach movement perfectly. Small steps make a big difference.


If you are reflecting on your own movement patterns, it can help to choose one or two areas that feel realistic. Consider where your body might feel drawn to move a little more, or which pattern feels most nourishing right now. Gentle shifts can create meaningful changes in how you feel, think, and navigate daily life.


About the Author

Emma Donovan, LPC, BCHN, is a psychotherapist and educator specializing in holistic and functional approaches to mental health. She founded the Holistic & Functional Psychology Institute where she trains other therapists in holistic methods.


References

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  2. Silva FM, Duarte-Mendes P, Teixeira AM, Soares CM, Ferreira JP. The effects of combined exercise training on glucose metabolism and inflammatory markers in sedentary adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sci Rep. 2024;14(1):1936. Published 2024 Jan 22. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-51832-y 

  3. Jiang, L., Cao, Y., Ni, S., Chen, X., Shen, M., Lv, H., & Hu, J. (2020). Association of Sedentary Behavior With Anxiety, Depression, and Suicide Ideation in College Students. Frontiers in psychiatry, 11, 566098. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.566098 

  4. Park, J. H., Moon, J. H., Kim, H. J., Kong, M. H., & Oh, Y. H. (2020). Sedentary Lifestyle: Overview of Updated Evidence of Potential Health Risks. Korean journal of family medicine, 41(6), 365–373. https://doi.org/10.4082/kjfm.20.0165

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  6. Stanford University Environmental Health & Safety. Microbreaks. https://ehs.stanford.edu/subtopic/microbreaks Published December 14, 2015. Accessed November 30, 2025

  7. Sleiman SF, Henry J, Al-Haddad R, et al. Exercise promotes the expression of brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) through the action of the ketone body β-hydroxybutyrate. Elife. 2016;5:e15092. Published 2016 Jun 2. doi:10.7554/eLife.15092

  8. de Sousa Fernandes MS, Ordônio TF, Santos GCJ, et al. Effects of Physical Exercise on Neuroplasticity and Brain Function: A Systematic Review in Human and Animal Studies. Neural Plast. 2020;2020:8856621. Published 2020 Dec 14. doi:10.1155/2020/8856621

  9. Noetel M, Sanders T, Gallardo-Gómez D, et al. Effect of exercise for depression: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. BMJ. 2024;384:e075847. Published 2024 Feb 14. doi:10.1136/bmj-2023-075847

  10. Morres ID, Hatzigeorgiadis A, Stathi A, et al. Aerobic exercise for adult patients with major depressive disorder in mental health services: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Depress Anxiety. 2019;36(1):39-53. doi:10.1002/da.22842

  11. Liang J, Pan X, Zhao L, Li Y. Effects of Aerobic Exercises at Different Intensities on Sleep Quality in Individuals with Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nat Sci Sleep. 2025;17:2091-2109. Published 2025 Sep 3. doi:10.2147/NSS.S520079

  12. US Department of Health and Human Services. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services; 2018.

  13. Gordon BR, McDowell CP, Lyons M, Herring MP. The Effects of Resistance Exercise Training on Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Sports Med. 2017;47(12):2521-2532. doi:10.1007/s40279-017-0769-0

  14. Herring MP, Meyer JD. Resistance exercise for anxiety and depression: efficacy and plausible mechanisms. Trends Mol Med. 2024;30(3):204-206. doi:10.1016/j.molmed.2023.11.016

  15. Warner SO, Linden MA, Liu Y, et al. The effects of resistance training on metabolic health with weight regain. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2010;12(1):64-72. doi:10.1111/j.1751-7176.2009.00209.x

  16. Karimpour-Vazifehkhorani A, Bakhshipour Rudsari A, Rezvanizadeh A, Kehtary-Harzang L, Hasanzadeh K. Behavioral Activation Therapy on Reward Seeking Behaviors in Depressed People: An Experimental study. J Caring Sci. 2020;9(4):195-202. Published 2020 Dec 1. doi:10.34172/jcs.2020.030


 
 
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