What are the mental health benefits of physical activity?

In the next part of our series on the benefits of physical activity, we unpack the many positive benefits of physical activity for our mental health and wellbeing, from reducing depression and improving our mood to better sleep quality.

It is widely accepted that physical exercise is good for our mental health. Whether that’s to relieve stress or just help us to feel better about ourselves. But what might be surprising is how wide-reaching these positive impacts can be.

Day to day, it can improve sleep quality, while helping us to function more easily and feel better overall. But, did you know – from a clinical perspective – it can boost our cognitive skills too? This includes our ability to plan and organise at work and at home; as well as to control our emotions, improve our memory span and deliver academic performance. Research into 15 studies, involving more than 33,000 individuals, found that physical activity is associated with 38% reduced risk of cognitive decline¹ - and that can include everything from the ability to concentrate to the onset of dementia.

Studies show that physical activity can positively impact us across four main areas.

1. Depression

Alongside more subtle benefits for our overall wellbeing, physical exercise or increased activity has been proven to help alleviate even severe forms of mental illness. According to the World Health Organisation, depression is one of the leading causes of disability, affecting more than 264 million people worldwide. Affecting anyone at any age – women more so than men – around 800,000 people die each year due to depression. Globally it is the second leading cause of death for people aged between 15-29 years old³.

Physical activity has been shown to help reduce depressive symptoms for those with or without clinical depression, while lowering the risk of an individual developing clinical depression. As little as 30 minutes can bring down the likelihood of depression by more than 40%⁴.

2. Sleep

There is also strong evidence that moderate to vigorous physical activity improves quality of sleep in a number of ways, including reducing the amount of time it takes to fall asleep and increasing the amount of time spent in deep sleep. It can also help to reduce daytime sleepiness⁵. Even small amounts of physical activity can improve our quality of sleep, however how and when we exercise will affect our sleep patterns in different ways – and some of us benefit more so than others. For example, evidence suggests moderate resistance training and stretching exercise are particularly helpful to people with insomnia⁶.

3. Mood

It might seem obvious, but physical activity can also have a positive impact on people’s mood. And there is science to prove it. One study⁷ asked participants to rate their mood following a period of activity, such as going for a walk, and after periods of inactivity, such as reading a book. Participants felt calmer, had more energy and felt more content, compared to those following periods of physical inactivity⁸. Physical activity can also be very effective in relieving stress. Highly active individuals tend to have lower stress rates compared to individuals who are less active, research has suggested⁹.

4. Anxiety

Evidence also shows that engaging in regular exercise can help reduce symptoms of anxiety in individuals with acute symptoms of anxiety and individuals with chronic levels of anxiety¹⁰. Importantly, the benefits of engaging in physical activity can take effect immediately.

Anxiety affects a large number of people every year. In 2013, there were 8.2 million cases of anxiety in the UK¹¹. While anxiety can affect anyone at any age, in England women are almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder than men¹².

Mental health during COVID-19

The recent pandemic has impacted the mental health of our nation significantly. According to a nationwide study from the Mental Health Foundation, more than half of adults and over two thirds of young people said their mental health had declined during lockdown.

For those already experiencing mental health problems, some symptoms worsened during the pandemic. Additionally, many people who were not experiencing mental health problems developed mental health problems as the COVID-19 crisis took its toll¹³. A survey carried out by Vitality during lockdown also found that one in five members were more anxious and one in four were more stressed than in the pre-lockdown period¹⁴.

Interestingly, while over 80% of UK adults have experienced stress as a result of the pandemic, nearly 60% of those said that physical activity – specifically walking – helped them cope. The most preferred way to cope with stress was revealed to be walking¹⁵.

Read Part Two: The prevalence of physical inactivity in the UK and why it needs to change.

Coming next: How does physical activity positively impact society?

Insights for this article were taken from our report titled ‘Protective benefits of the Vitality Programme: Physical Activity’ – read the full report.

Learn more about how the Vitality Programme can benefit the health and wellbeing of your clients

Sources:
1. Physical activity and risk of cognitive decline: A meta-analysis of prospective studies.
2. CDC, Benefits of Physical Activity https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pa-health/index.htm
3. Depression, World Health Organisation
4. 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report.
5. Physical activity and risk of cognitive decline: A meta-analysis of prospective studies.
6. Brazilian Journal of Psychiatry, Effects of resistance exercise training and stretching on chronic insomina
7. Ekkeakakis et al., 2000
8. Walking in (affective) circles: Can short walks enhance affect?
9. Kuovonen et al., 2005, Job strain and leisure-time physical activity in female and male public sector employees.
10. Physical Activity Guidelines, Advisory Committee, 2018
11. The size, burden and cost of disorders of the brain in the UK.
12. Prevalence, incidence, morbidity and treatment patterns in a cohort of patients diagnosed with anxiety in UK
13. Coronavirus: Mental Health in the Pandemic
14. 335 Vitality members who answered a Daily Pulse survey on 1 June 2020
15. Mental Health in the Pandemic, Mental Health Foundation, Accessed December 2020