A healthy lifestyle isn’t just about diet, it also involves regular physical activity. Recent research has highlighted an unexpected benefit of exercise — its impact on reducing stress and promoting heart health.
Exercise is well-known for its physical benefits, from reducing the risk of heart disease to maintaining a healthy weight. However, a new study has revealed an unexpected connection – that regular physical activity could help protect against heart disease by reducing stress-related activity in the brain.
Quote from Dr. Ahmed Tawakol, senior study author: “Physical activity was roughly twice as effective in lowering cardiovascular disease risk among those with depression. Effects on the brain’s stress-related activity may explain this novel observation,” said in a release.
This indicates that the benefits of exercise extend beyond just physical health, potentially offering significant mental health benefits, especially for those dealing with stress-related conditions like depression.
The researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital analyzed medical records of 50,359 people who completed a physical fitness survey. A subset of this group also underwent brain imaging scans and measurements for stress-related brain activity.
During an average follow-up of 10 years, approximately 13% of the participants developed heart disease. However, those who regularly engaged in physical activity had a 23% lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease compared to those who did not exercise.
The cardiovascular benefits were even more significant among those with pre-existing depression, who were expected to have higher levels of stress-related brain activity.
The study suggests that people who exercise more stress less, resulting in a direct positive effect on their heart health. This could be one of the reasons why people with depression, a stress-related mental health condition, often experience significant benefits from physical activity.
Exercise has been shown to have profound positive physical and mental health effects. Exercise has already been shown It can reduce anxiety, depression, and bad moods by improving self-esteem and cognitive function. It has also been proven that it doesn’t take much to reap these mental health benefits – activities such as brisk walking, cycling, yoga, or swimming all count.
Heart disease, which remains the leading cause of death in the United States, can be significantly reduced through physical activity. Regular exercise is also linked to lower instances of diabetes and cancer.
The latest study adds to the growing body of evidence highlighting the link between mental and physical health. The research shows the real effects that prolonged stress can have on the physical body and how exercise can help mitigate these effects.
Clinicians can use this information to encourage their patients, especially those with stress-related conditions like depression, to engage in regular physical activity. Tawakol suggests:
“Clinicians could convey to patients that physical activity may have important brain effects, which may impart greater cardiovascular benefits among individuals with stress-related syndromes such as depression.”
