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Sweat away your stress

Two smiling women taking a walk.

April 9, 2026— Stress is an unavoidable part of life. But too much can harm your physical and mental health. That's why it's important to know how to manage stress—in the moment and over time.

One especially handy tactic: Exercise.

Exercise is an effective way to ease stress and, for many people, anxiety. But moving your body and getting your heart rate up isn't exactly a relaxing activity. So, how does it calm the mind?

How exercise lowers stress and anxiety

Exercise helps relieve stress and anxiety in several ways. It can:

Boost mood-lifting endorphins. During exercise, your body releases feel-good brain chemicals called endorphins. These chemicals can improve your mood and sense of well-being. Exercising may release other mood-lifters, too, like dopamine and serotonin.

Lower stress hormones. In a stressful situation, your body releases hormones like cortisol and epinephrine. It's part of the fight-or-flight response. Exercise lowers those stress hormones, according to the American Psychological Association (APA).

Fuel energy and focus. Exercise helps reduce fatigue, improves alertness and concentration, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America reports. These effects could give you a natural energy bump and improve your focus.

Help you get a good night's rest. Exercising (not too close to bedtime) can help you sleep better. It's easier to cope with stress when you feel rested and refreshed.

Build your resilience. Exercise mimics parts of the stress response. For instance, it raises your heartrate and breathing. But it does this in a positive, controlled way. Over time, this may help your body practice how to handle difficult feelings without being overwhelmed, according to the APA.

Release physical tension. Stress tenses our bodies—that's the stiff neck or sore shoulders you might feel when you're stressed out. Exercise helps relieve this tension in our muscles and body.

Give you a healthy stress outlet. Exercising is better than turning to food, alcohol or other unhealthy ways to cope. Those habits may only make your stress worse.

How much exercise is enough?

You'll get more benefits from exercise when you do it regularly. For most people, a good goal is about 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise a week, plus strength exercises on two days.

Doing that much exercise, or more, is likely to give you a broader variety of physical health benefits while helping to manage your anxiety or stress. But any exercise is better than none. For instance, just 5 minutes of aerobic exercise (such as brisk walking) can yield anti-anxiety effects.

Are you ready to get moving? Choose activities you enjoy—that way, you're more likely to keep doing them. For example, you might want to try:

  • Walking, jogging or running.
  • Riding a bike.
  • Shooting hoops.
  • Doing yoga or stretching.
  • Lifting weights.
  • Swimming.
  • Playing tennis.

What's holding you back?

See if any of these common exercise barriers apply to you and learn tips to overcome them.

Sources

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