A large-scale review found that cardio led to the strongest reductions in anxiety and depression symptoms, but all forms of exercise performed well
It’s not uncommon for people to joke that working out is their form of therapy (and it’s often cheaper than the treatment itself). Now, new research indicates there might be something to that old adage.
A new study published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine discovered that aerobic exercise overall had the greatest impact on reducing anxiety and depression symptoms, although all types of exercise were found to be as good as, if not better, than medication and talk therapy.
The researchers compiled hundreds of studies on both anxiety and depression, looking at the impacts of different types of exercise on the mental health of 19,368 participants between ages 18 and 67, finding aerobic formats — which the researchers stated included movement like running, swimming and dancing — had the strongest impact on study participants’ symptoms.
“This meta-meta-analysis provides robust evidence that exercise effectively reduced depression and anxiety symptoms across all age groups, comparable with, or exceeding, traditional pharmacological or psychological interventions,” the authors wrote.
Breaking that down further, the researchers discovered that longer-term commitment (over 24 weeks) to supervised and group aerobic exercise may be most effective for depressive symptoms, while a shorter-term, lower-intensity aerobic exercise intervention (of up to 8 weeks) may be best for anxiety.
“Given the cost effectiveness, accessibility, and additional physical health benefits of exercise, these results underscore the potential for exercise as a first-line intervention, particularly in settings where traditional mental health treatments may be less accessible or acceptable,” the authors wrote.
They also found the most substantial effects were among young adults (ages 18 to 30) and women who had recently given birth.
The researchers pointed out the potential clinical implications of this study for broader adoption of exercise interventions in treatment, so long as practitioners utilize individually tailored interventions informed by what they know about their patients.
“Group and supervised formats gave the most substantial benefits, underscoring the importance of social factors in mental health interventions,” researchers explained. “With evidence that different characteristics of exercise appear to impact depression and anxiety at varying magnitudes, tailored exercise programs must be prescribed.”
Mental health is an increasingly important priority among those looking to work on their fitness and wellness, with one in three U.S. adults (38%) claiming they plan to make a mental health–related New Year’s resolution for 2026, a 5% increase from last year.
It seems like fitness is already an integral part of mental health, as a survey last year found that 77% of gym members work out to improve both their mental and physical health.
