Exercise and Depression and Anxiety

Exercise benefits not only your body, but your mind as well. Aerobic exercise prompts the release of mood-lifting hormones, which relieve stress and promote a sense of well-being. The repetitive cycle of muscle contraction and release that takes place in yoga or in aerobic pursuits such as walking and swimming increases the level of the brain chemical serotonin, which combats negative feelings. Indeed, there's reason to believe that physical activity might have a positive impact on a number of mental illnesses, including sleep and eating disorders, dementia, substance abuse, and personality disorders. But the most thoroughly studied in this regard are depression and anxiety disorder. Each year, more than 1 in 10 American adults—19 million total—experience some form of depression. Women are twice as likely to have such depressive episodes. Suicide, the most serious consequence of depression, is the ninth-leading cause of death in this country, and mental illnesses cost the healthcare system $148 billion dollars each year.
Can boost mood The strongest evidence for the mood-lifting potential of exercise derives from people with symptoms of depression and anxiety. But studies that involved people without such symptoms—including research over the past 15 years that focused on cross-sections of the population in the United States, Canada, Finland, and Germany—have reached roughly similar conclusions. In sum, people getting at least a moderate amount of exercise have fewer symptoms of depression.