Depression, anxiety and stress can all be effectively treated with cardio workouts. Even if you smoke or feel “too fat” for aerobics, your brain needs this kind of activity.
The findings come from a large-scale review published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Researchers analyzed data from hundreds of studies to see how different types of exercise impact mental health across all ages.
The analysis found that people with depression often benefit most from supervised or group exercise sessions.
For anxiety, shorter program spans — lasting up to eight weeks and using lower intensity activity — tended to be the most helpful.
Across the board, all types of exercise performed as well as, or sometimes better than, medication and talk therapy. These benefits appeared regardless of age or gender.
While previous research suggested that exercise could match psychotherapy and medications in reducing symptoms, the study also showed that gaps remained.
For example, it wasn’t clear how exercise intensity, type, frequency or age group affected outcomes.
How the Study Was Conducted
The researchers combed through databases for pooled data analyses of randomized controlled trials published in English through July 2025.
Eligible studies included structured, purposeful physical activity aimed at improving mental and physical health.
Exercises were categorized by type, intensity, duration and whether they were done individually or in groups.
For depression, the review included 57 pooled analyses covering 57,930 participants aged 10 to 90.
Participants either had a clinical depression diagnosis or depressive symptoms without other major conditions.
Exercise programs were grouped as:
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Aerobic (19 analyses)
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Resistance training like strength exercises (eight analyses)
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Mind-body practices such as yoga, tai-chi and qigong (16 analyses)
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Mixed programs combining multiple types of exercise (39 analyses)
Exercise and Anxiety
For anxiety, the review included 24 pooled analyses covering 19,368 participants aged 18 to 67.
Exercises were classified as aerobic (seven analyses), resistance (one), mind-body (nine) or mixed (13).
Overall, exercise produced a medium reduction in depression symptoms and a small-to-medium reduction in anxiety symptoms.
The strongest improvements were seen in young adults (18-30) and postpartum women.
Which Exercises Work Best
All workout types helped improve mental health.
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For depression, aerobic activity in supervised or group settings was most effective.
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For anxiety, aerobic, resistance, mind-body and mixed programs all had moderate benefits.
In many cases, the effects were as strong as or stronger than traditional therapies such as drugs.
Study Limitations
The research notes some limitations: Exercise intensity and program length definitions varied across studies, and there was limited data covering every life stage.
Despite this, the evidence shows that exercise is a powerful tool for reducing depression and anxiety across all ages.
There’s no need to get over-analytical about this or stuck on the fact that there were some limitations to this investigation.
It’s plenty proven, in study after study, that structured physical activity works wonders for mental health, feeling down and out, feeling hopeless, feeling overwhelmed, feeling stressed to the hilt.
