Can exercise reduce anxiety symptoms?
Written by
Stella Nilsson
Reviewed by
Prof. Benjamin Murphy, Ph.D.Consistent movement offers great anxiety reduction benefits beyond general fitness. Aerobic exercise releases natural mood enhancers called endorphins that decrease the stress hormones in our bodies. I have worked with clients who reduced their panic attacks a great deal through their regular movement patterns. Your workouts become medicine for your nervous system.
Aerobic Movement
- Brisk walking, jogging, cycling, or dancing
- Elevates heart rate for 20+ minutes to release endorphins
- Best for: Dissipating nervous energy, improving mood regulation
Yoga & Tai Chi
- Gentle flowing movements synchronized with breath
- Enhances mind-body connection through deliberate motion
- Best for: Reducing rumination and physical tension patterns
Strength Training
- Weight lifting or resistance band exercises
- Builds physical resilience that transfers to emotional strength
- Best for: Boosting confidence and stress resilience capacity
Interval Training
- Short bursts of high intensity followed by recovery
- Mimics natural stress-response patterns for adaptation
- Best for: Building tolerance to discomfort and uncertainty
Exercise works by regulating cortisol, your primary stress hormone. It burns off excess adrenaline through movement. It increases BDNF production to repair the damage that stress does to brain cells. For example, I keep clients' anxiety diaries in which 30% symptom reduction occurs after 6 weeks of routine.
Set goals on a smaller scale. For example, take 10-minute walks after meals. Or five-minute dance breaks while working. It's more important to do something consistently than to go for something intense. I'd suggest coupling movement with a natural reward, like a space outdoors or favorite music. That way, you create habits about movement as a way of managing anxiety that you'll stick to now.
Exercise is an immediate and long-term remedy. Within a few hours, a twenty-minute walk decreased stress. Practiced regularly, it alters stress response mechanisms in a few months. Your body becomes the best anxiety reduction tool available at all times, requiring only that it be put into action with no prescriptions or appointments.
Read the full article: 10 Anxiety Reduction Techniques That Work
