Exercise and the Brain: The Mental Health Benefits of Exercise
Exercise can help to regulate stress hormones and trigger the release of mood-boosting neurotransmitters. When combined with other treatments, exercise can help with symptoms of several mental health conditions, including depression and ADHD.
It’s well known that regular exercise has numerous positive health outcomes for the body, such as strengthening the muscles, bones, heart, and lungs and helping to prevent certain diseases.
One often-overlooked benefit is the impact of physical activity on mental health.
Considering the high prevalence of anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions worldwide, countless people may benefit from the positive mental health effects of exercise.
In this article we’ll address the relationship among exercise, various mental health conditions, and the brain, as well as how diet may impact your mental health.
How does exercise impact the brain?
While exercising may seem fairly simple on the surface, a complex chemical cascade occurs inside your body each time you go for a run, hit the gym, or participate in any other physical activity.
This chemical cascade is responsible for several positive effects on your brain (1).
Releases neurotransmitters
As you begin exercising, depending on the intensity, a number of important chemical messengers called neurotransmitters are released throughout your nervous system.
Endorphins and endocannabinoids
Perhaps the most common neurotransmitters people think of in relation to exercise are endorphins. But lesser known neurotransmitters called endocannabinoids also play an important role in your brain when you’re working out.
Endorphins block pain and increase sensations of pleasure, and exercise certainly increases your endorphin levels (2Trusted Source).
But recent research suggests that the euphoric feeling you get after a hard workout may result from endorphins and endocannabinoids working in tandem.
Endocannabinoids, in particular, are a group of neurotransmitters that are thought to be responsible for that “runner’s high” — the feeling of calm euphoria that occurs after a strenuous workout (3Trusted Source).
Dopamine
Another impactful exercise-related neurotransmitter is dopamine.
Dopamine plays an important role in how you feel pleasure. It’s also responsible for other processes in your body, such as regulating heart rate, sleep cycles, mood, attention, motivation, working memory, learning, and pain processing (4, 5Trusted Source).
Data is limited on which type of exercise best stimulates dopamine release, so more research is necessary.
Promotes neuroplasticity
Neuroplasticity is the ability of your brain and nervous system to change their activity in response to internal or external stimuli (6).
This plays a huge role in learning new skills, activities, and languages.
Some research suggests that exercise can promote neuroplasticity by increasing certain signaling factors (7Trusted Source, 8Trusted Source).
Increases oxygen supply to the brain
As your heart starts to pump faster during exercise, it increases the oxygen supply to your brain.
This results in certain changes to the blood vessels of your brain, promoting potential improvements in executive function, which includes working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control (9Trusted Source).
In a 2021 study in 48 adults with mild cognitive impairment, researchers looked at the impact of exercise on blood flow to the cerebrum. This is the largest part of the brain and is responsible for higher intellectual function, sensory impulses, and motor activity (10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source).
They found that a 1-year moderate to vigorous exercise program increased cerebral blood flow and reduced the risk of further cognitive decline.
This suggests that regular physical activity can improve blood flow to important parts of your brain, in turn reducing your risk of conditions related to cognitive decline, such as Alzheimer’s disease and stroke (12Trusted Source, 13Trusted Source).
SUMMARY
When you exercise, a number of neurotransmitters are released, including endorphins, endocannabinoids, and dopamine. Exercise also promotes neuroplasticity and increases oxygen supply to your brain.
Source: Healthline