How exercise and running can reduce anxiety

Anxiety is the most common mental health issue in the UK today. Statistics from Mind, a mental health charity, show that eight in 100 people will experience issues related to anxiety in any given week. If you’re not living with an anxiety disorder yourself, it’s highly likely that you know someone who is.

In the last few years, there’s been growing interest in using exercise for anxiety treatment. Numerous studies have found concrete evidence for the link between physical activity and improved mental health (something ASICS has believed in since our company began). In fact, there’s an ongoing trial in the UK looking at how GPs can prescribe exercise - rather than medication or psychotherapy - as a way of treating various mental health issues.

Let’s learn more about the links between exercise and anxiety - and how it might help.

Note: This article is NOT intended as medical advice. It is for informational purposes only. If you believe you have anxiety, it’s important to get this diagnosed by a doctor. Equally, if you’re already being treated for anxiety, speak with your doctor about treatment for your anxiety disorder and exercise.

Does exercise help anxiety?

Yes. There is a large and growing body of scientific evidence around anxiety disorders and exercise. We’ve collated information from three meta analyses (studies that look at the findings of lots of other studies) to show how exercise seems to help with anxiety.

People who exercise more, suffer from anxiety less

One of the most compelling pieces of evidence here is a review of 13 studies into exercise and anxiety. The researchers found that high levels of physical activity seemed to protect against various kinds of anxiety disorder, including agoraphobia and PTSD. Essentially, people who are regularly physically active experience anxiety less often.

May be more effective than medication/psychotherapy

Another major review of studies concluded that physical activity was 1.5 times more effective for treating anxiety than cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and medication. This suggests that free, easily accessible activities like walking, yoga or running, could be more effective than traditional treatments.

Note: If you’re being treated for anxiety, this finding doesn’t mean you should stop your treatment. Speak with your doctor if you have any doubts or would like to use exercise more.

Exercise reduces anxiety and depression levels

Another review of nine studies about exercise for anxiety concluded that exercise did indeed have a positive effect on alleviating anxiety. Furthermore, aerobic exercise (such as running) was found to be especially effective.

Related: Running for positive mental health

How does exercise help anxiety?

Anxiety is a complicated condition, and there are numerous kinds of anxiety disorder - each with their own symptoms and causes. These include panic disorders, agoraphobia, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, and many more.

The exact mechanism by which anxiety disorders and exercise interact isn’t totally clear at present. But here are some of the ways running might help anxiety:

Changes to brain chemistry

When you exercise, your brain releases a variety of chemicals that can help reduce anxiety and protect against it. These include serotonin, gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) endocannabinoids and dopamine. These chemicals and hormones work in different ways, but can all help you feel more relaxed and happy.

Distraction

When you’re feeling anxious, do you sometimes find you’re thinking over and over about a difficult or uncomfortable thought? Exercise might help anxiety for the simple reason that it distracts you. Pulling on your running shoes, heading out the house and seeing different sights and sounds makes it harder to think about the thing that is making you anxious.

Exercise changes the brain

According to Dr John Ratey, writing on the Harvard Medical School’s website, exercise changes how your brain actually works. In particular, it affects part of the brain called the amygdala, which helps us react to real or perceived threats. Regular exercise may ‘train’ the amygdala, improving your resilience against anxiety.

Indirect benefits of anxiety disorder exercise

Regular exercise might also help manage anxiety indirectly too - in several different ways:

• Self esteem: Getting fitter and achieving goals (such as running your first 5K) can improve how you feel about yourself and enhance your self esteem.
• Overcoming fears: Depending on how anxiety affects you, going for a run - even to the end of the street and back - can help on your journey to overcoming certain fears. As you begin running further, you can start to see that your worst fears have not materialised.
• Improved sleep: Poor quality sleep is closely linked to heightened levels of anxiety. Going running will naturally make you feel more tired, so you’re likely to sleep better. This, in turn, could reduce your general anxiety too.
• Sunlight: There’s also a well-established link between anxiety and Vitamin D deficiency. Many people don’t get enough Vitamin D but, amazingly, our bodies produce Vitamin D when we are exposed to sunshine. So, by taking part in outdoor exercise like running, you could increase your Vitamin D levels.

Related: How does running affect your body?

Other benefits of using exercise for anxiety

An anxiety disorder exercise routine delivers tons of other benefits too:

• It will improve your physical health, and reduce the risk of developing a wide range of diseases.
• Apart from the cost of some running shoes and clothes, exercise is completely free (compared to visiting a therapist, for instance)
• You can exercise whenever you want
• Unlike medicine, running has no potential side effects (although you should take care to avoid the risk of running injuries)
• If you join a club, running can be a very social sport and a great way to make new friends

Running for a cause: Could raising money for mental health charities motivate runners?

How to use exercise for anxiety

“The more I cycled, the more I realised that I was breaking free of the despair I’d been feeling, and the more I pedalled, the more I felt like my body was cheering on my mind. I tasted my sweat and it was spectacular. I was ready to run again” - Eleanor Morgan, author of Anxiety For Beginners, A personal investigation (extract reproduced in Women’s Health).

Many people who’ve suffered from anxiety have found real solace in exercise. Indeed, pulling on a pair of running shoes can be their first step on a journey towards managing their condition more effectively. For some, it may even help them fully recover.

Note: It’s vital to stress the importance of getting professional help, especially if your anxiety disorder is severe. Self-help with exercise is undoubtedly beneficial, but it’s always best to get advice from a doctor or qualified therapist first.

Anxiety disorder and exercise: where to begin

If you’re new to running, or it’s been a while since you’ve taken part, it’s important to take things slow. Sometimes, people overexert themselves when they begin running, and this can increase their risk of injuries. If you get injured, then that’s likely to put you off continuing - which won’t help with anxious feelings either.

Here are some tips for using exercise to manage your anxiety.

Follow a beginner’s running plan

Consider following a beginner’s running plan like the Couch to 5K (we’ve written a detailed article about it here). In a Couch to 5K, you will:

• Go from being a complete beginner to being able to run for a long time in nine weeks
• Exercise three times per week, with at least one rest day between sessions
• Begin with a mixture of short runs and walking
• Progressively walk for shorter amounts of time, and run longer
• By the end, you’ll be able to run continuously for at least 30 minutes

You can learn more about Couch to 5K on the NHS website. They also have a free app you can download.

Try to stick to a routine

Having a regular running routine can give you a sense of control, which in turn may help you stay on top of your anxiety. The NHS recommends that adults should aim to do at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity per week (that includes things like walking), or 75 minutes of vigorous activity (like running). You could aim to do three 20 minute runs per week, and then a couple of walks or cross training (see below).

Of course, there might be days where you’re feeling especially anxious and can’t face heading out the door. It’s totally OK to have a day off! You can just pick it up again tomorrow.

Use running apps for motivation

There are many running apps out there which can help you track how far you’ve run, your route, your pace and more. With ASICS’ Runkeeper, you can also find personalised training plans, and even podcasts about mindful running.

Using running for mindfulness

Mindfulness is a popular practice that aims to help with people’s mental health, including with anxiety. It’s a big topic, but a major part of mindfulness is about changing how you think, so you experience the present moment in a non-judgmental way. Rather than thinking about the past or future, you try to ‘be’ in the here and now.

Running combines very well with mindfulness - it is, after all, quite challenging to think about a negative thought when running. But the sport also allows you to listen to your body, breathe deeply, and move rhythmically - all of which can help with being mindful.

Run with others

Running with a friend, or joining a running club, can be a great form of exercise and anxiety management. Research has shown that face to face interaction may help with the management of various mental health issues - including anxiety.

This, of course, depends on the kind of anxiety you have - it may be less suitable for people with Social Anxiety Disorder, for instance.

Cross train

Cross training is when you combine your main kind of exercise (such as running) with other kinds of training. Studies show that other kinds of exercise, including strength training and yoga are also very effective in treating mental health problems. So, why not experience even more benefits?

Warm up

A thorough warm up is vital for any runner, no matter how experienced you are. Take just a few minutes before each session to get your body prepared, using dynamic movements such as lunges, squats, high knees and butt kicks. A warm up reduces your chances of getting an injury, and helps you get more out of each run.

Take up running with ASICS

At ASICS, we’ve always believed in the positive effects of exercise on the brain and body. In fact, ‘ASICS’ stands for ‘Anima Sana In Corpore Sano’ - Latin for ‘a Sound Mind in a Sound Body’. And, as the studies mentioned above show, this view is now backed up with a huge amount of concrete evidence.

That belief ties into everything we do when designing our running shoes, clothes and accessories. By creating the highest quality, most supportive and comfortable products, we want to make running feel accessible to everyone, everywhere. Because if you’re confident in your gear, you’re more likely to continue running - and keep experiencing its physical and mental health benefits.

Your journey with exercise and anxiety

Anxiety disorders are incredibly common, and they can have a really negative effect on people’s quality of life. There is no single treatment for all kinds of anxiety, and the underlying causes and symptoms often vary from one person to the next. However, it’s becoming increasingly clear that using exercise for anxiety disorder management can often be very beneficial.

If you’re looking to begin using exercise for anxiety management, it’s always valuable to speak to your doctor first. But by building up the distances you run slowly, warming up properly, and keeping track of your progress, you may start to see a noticeable improvement in your anxiety and overall well being. Enjoy the journey.