Many forms of exercise can help you when you're feeling stressed. The key is to find the right one(s) for you.
Stress is an unavoidable fact of modern life, but that doesn’t mean you have to take it sitting or lying down. You can regularly take steps (pun intended!) to relieve stress to prevent it from taking a toll on your physical or emotional health.
Among the very best ways to alleviate stress and anxiety is exercise, which brings a host of other health benefits too.
This isn’t a one-size-fits-all proposition. From dancing to martial arts to walking, different types of exercise can help relieve stress. In fact, a review of studies in a 2023 issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that various forms of physical activity – including aerobic, resistance training, mixed-mode and mind-body exercises – can improve psychological distress, anxiety and depression in adults.
Trust me. As a certified Spinning and Pilates Reformer class instructor, which I do as a side gig, I can see the difference in my participants after each workout. They routinely leave the studio in a more upbeat mood, looking and feeling more relaxed. But it's not just them – I personally get the same benefits. Pilates and Spinning regularly help me blow off steam, as well as make me feel strong and empowered both physically and emotionally.
Physical activity can relieve stress in numerous ways, including “by diverting your attention from what you’re anxious about, decreasing muscle tension and building up resources that bolster resilience against stormy emotions,” explains Dr. John Ratey, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of the book “Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.”
“To maximize the benefits, choose something enjoyable so you will do it repeatedly,” he adds.
