Physical activity has lots of benefits for your mental health. It can help you manage stress, feel more confident and boost your mood. It can also ease symptoms of mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Still, being physically active can be difficult. In fact, up to 45% of adults and 30% of children aren’t meeting the government recommendations for physical activity - and this is understandable.1,2
There are many barriers that can stop you from being physically active. This guide explores the mental health benefits of physical activity and small strategies to help you add physical activity to your daily routine.
Contents
To help you understand how physical activity benefits your mental health, and how to get the most from it, this page covers:
What is physical activity?
Physical activity means any movement of your body that uses your muscles and uses up energy. Physical activity can be split into three main categories:
- Moderate-intensity physical activity
Activity that raises your heart rate, makes you breathe faster and makes you feel warmer counts as moderate-intensity physical activity. This form of movement can include walking, hoovering, or playing with your kids. - Vigorous activity
Activity causes you to breathe hard and fast and your heart to pump faster than with moderate-intensity activity. This form of physical activity can include running, swimming, or dancing.3 - Strengthening activities
This refers to any physical activity that uses resistance to contract your muscles. The resistance could be gravity, water or a resistance band, for example. There are many strengthening activities we can do, such as digging, carrying a heavy rucksack, or squat exercises.
How does physical activity improve mental health?
Physical activity can improve your mental health in multiple ways. Let’s explore some of the main benefits of physical activity for mental health:
1. It boosts your mood
When you’re physically active, your brain releases feel-good chemicals called endorphins and serotonin. These can naturally improve your mood, reduce tension and stress and make you feel more energised.4
2. It lowers stress levels
Stress can increase your risk of sleep problems and feelings of overwhelm in the short term, and mental health problems and heart disease long-term.5-7
Physical activity lowers the level of stress hormones (called adrenaline and cortisol) in your body, which makes you feel less stressed. Physical activity can also soothe the physical effects of past stress, such as back pain, headaches, neck pain or stomach problems. This can help your body to relax.
3. It enhances your self-esteem
Self-esteem is how you feel about yourself, including how much you value and believe in yourself. Physical activity can improve how you see yourself and increase your sense of self-worth. It can also give you a more positive outlook, making it easier to live a satisfying life.9-11
4. It reduces symptoms of depression
Being physically active provides some protection against depression if you haven’t experienced it before and reduces existing depression symptoms. Any form of physical activity can help relieve depression symptoms.12
5. It lowers anxiety levels
Physical activity can act as a form of anxiety relief, helping to reduce the symptoms of anxiety disorders and the physical influence of anxiety on the body. It does this in the same way it reduces your stress - the release of endorphins and other feel-good chemicals helps your body feel more relaxed and calm.13
What are the main barriers to exercising?
There are many barriers that may stop you from getting the physical activity you need. The main ones tend to be:
- Body image: feeling self-conscious or fearing judgement can make it hard to be physically active. You may avoid going outside for a run or to the gym because of fears of what people think.
- Injury or illness: chronic conditions, such as arthritis or chronic fatigue, can limit your options when choosing a physical activity. You may also worry about making your condition worse, or feel exhausted afterwards.
- Lack of time: busy schedules can make it hard to prioritise movement. You may feel like you barely have time to pause for breath, let alone add physical activity to your day.
- Financial difficulties: gym memberships, classes and activewear can be expensive. If you’re living in an area with limited access to safe parks and walkable areas, this can make being physically active harder.
- Feeling depressed, stressed or anxious: depression, anxiety and stress can lead to low energy levels and lower your motivation, sometimes making movement feel overwhelming.
- Lack of energy: tiredness from stress, poor sleep or health conditions can leave you feeling unmotivated to exercise. It may feel like another thing to add to your seemingly never-ending to-do list.
- Fear of failure: worries about not being “good enough” can hold you back from physical activity. It may stop you from being consistent or prevent you from starting.
How can I be more physically active for my mental health?
You may face multiple barriers to exercising, and that’s normal. But these barriers don’t have to stop you from living a physically active life. Here are our tips to help make it easier to increase your physical activity.
1. Find a form of physical activity you love
If you were told doing the washing up was good for your physical and mental health, would that make you want to do it? Probably not. The same applies to being physically active. You’re more likely to stay physically active and integrate exercise into your life if you find activities you enjoy doing.
2. Start small and build up over time
When it comes to getting physically active, it’s easy to get ahead of yourself and make promises that you struggle to keep. So, it’s best to take your time and gradually increase how physically active you are.
You can start by adding 10 minutes of movement into each day and then adding an extra 10 minutes each week. Before you know it, you’ll be up to 30 minutes of physical activity a day.
3. Swap inactivity with activity
Becoming more physically active doesn’t have to involve making elaborate changes to your routine. Instead, it could involve making small tweaks to activities you’re already doing. For example, you could use a walking treadmill under your desk if you work from home.
4. Set yourself a goal
Setting goals can help you perform better as it improves focus and motivation and gives you a sense of purpose. However, be careful with the type of goal you set. Research shows that goals concentrating on performance rather than the process itself can be demotivating.14
For example, a goal to “Do a 1-mile run in 12 minutes” is likely to be less effective than “Go for a run three times a week.”
5. Move more at home
Home is a fantastic place for rest, but this can mean it’s one of the places you move the least. Long periods of inactivity can increase your risk of depression, dementia, weight gain, diabetes and other health and mental health conditions.16-19 So, moving more at home is important for your health.
One of the easiest ways to reduce long periods of inactivity at home is by incorporating physical activity into everyday tasks, such as:
- Breaking up your evenings with an after-dinner walk
- Getting a standing desk, so you can stand while working
- Doing daily stretches while sitting at your desk
- Getting up and walking around once every hour
For two more tips on how to get physically active, check out our guide.
6. Get your family or friends involved
Studies show that working out with other people can help keep you motivated and hold you accountable so you’re less likely to skip a session.15 However, when choosing who to buddy up with, try to pick someone who is at a similar fitness level to you. Choosing someone who is much more physically active can be demotivating and disheartening.
Further support and information
NHS
The NHS Choices website has a number of tools to help people get started with physical activity, including exercises for older people, strength and flexibility videos, advice on taking up new sports, and advice on getting started with walking. The tools are available here: www.nhs.uk.
You can also download the NHS Active 10 app. This tracks your steps, lets you set physical activity goals, helps you celebrate your achievements and offers tips to increase your activity levels.
The Great Outdoor Gym Company
Outdoor gyms are gyms where some gym equipment is provided in outside spaces for people to use for free. You can find the nearest free outdoor gym via The Great Outdoor Gym Company: www.tgogc.com/find-a-gym.
The British Heart Foundation
The British Heart Foundation’s ‘Health at Work’ website provides further suggestions and some resources to get started with physical activity at work: www.bhf.org.uk/healthatwork.
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- Gov.UK. (2016, July 18). Health matters: getting every adult active every day. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/health-matters-getting-every-adult-active-every-day/health-matters-getting-every-adult-active-every-day
- Sport England. (2023, December 7). Children's activity levels hold firm but significant challenges remain. https://www.sportengland.org/news-and-inspiration/childrens-activity-levels-hold-firm-significant-challenges-remain
- CDC. (2023, December 6). What counts as physical activity for adults. https://www.cdc.gov/physical-activity-basics/adding-adults/what-counts.html#:~:text=Vigorous%2Dintensity%20aerobic%20activity%20means,Jogging%20or%20running
- Chan, J. S. Y., Liu, G., Liang, D., Deng, K., Wu, J., & Yan, J. H. (2018). Special Issue – Therapeutic Benefits of Physical Activity for Mood: A Systematic Review on the effects of exercise Intensity, duration, and modality. The Journal of Psychology, 153(1), 102–125. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2018.1470487
- American Psychological Association. (2024, October 21). Stress effects on the body. https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/body
- Mariotti, A. (2015). The Effects of Chronic stress on Health: New insights into the molecular mechanisms of Brain–Body Communication. Future Science OA, 1(3). https://doi.org/10.4155/fso.15.21
- NHS. (2025, January 1). Stress. https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/feelings-symptoms-behaviours/feelings-and-symptoms/stress/
- Harvard Health Publishing. (2020, July 7). Exercising to relax. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/exercising-to-relax
- Nguyen, D. T., Wright, E. P., Dedding, C., Pham, T. T., & Bunders, J. (2019). Low Self-Esteem and its association with anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation in Vietnamese Secondary School Students: A Cross-Sectional Study. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 10. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00698
- Bayat, B., Akbarisomar, N., Tori, N. A., & Salehiniya, H. (2019). The relation between self-confidence and risk-taking among the students. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 8(1), 27. https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_174_18
- Liu, M., Wu, L., & Ming, Q. (2015). How Does Physical Activity Intervention Improve Self-Esteem and Self-Concept in Children and Adolescents? Evidence from a Meta-Analysis. PloS one, 10(8), e0134804. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0134804
- Noetel, M., Sanders, T., Gallardo-Gómez, D., Taylor, P., Del Pozo Cruz, B., Van Den Hoek, D., Smith, J. J., Mahoney, J., Spathis, J., Moresi, M., Pagano, R., Pagano, L., Vasconcellos, R., Arnott, H., Varley, B., Parker, P., Biddle, S., & Lonsdale, C. (2024). Effect of exercise for depression: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. BMJ, e075847. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2023-075847
- Lin, Y., & Gao, W. (2023). The effects of physical exercise on anxiety symptoms of college students: A meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1136900
- Williamson, O., Swann, C., Bennett, K. J., Bird, M. D., Goddard, S. G., Schweickle, M. J., & Jackman, P. C. (2022). The performance and psychological effects of goal setting in sport: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 17(2), 1050–1078. https://doi.org/10.1080/1750984x.2022.2116723
- Mema, E., Spain, E. S., Martin, C. K., Hill, J. O., Sayer, R. D., McInvale, H. D., Evans, L. A., Gist, N. H., Borowsky, A. D., & Thomas, D. M. (2022). Social influences on physical activity for establishing criteria leading to exercise persistence. PLoS ONE, 17(10), e0274259. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274259
- Koyama, T., Kuriyama, N., Ozaki, E., Tomida, S., Uehara, R., Nishida, Y., Shimanoe, C., Hishida, A., Tamura, T., Tsukamoto, M., Kadomatsu, Y., Oze, I., Matsuo, K., Mikami, H., Nakamura, Y., Ibusuki, R., Takezaki, T., Suzuki, S., Nishiyama, T., . . . Wakai, K. (2020). Sedentary Time is Associated with Cardiometabolic Diseases in A Large Japanese Population: A Cross-Sectional Study. Journal of Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis, 27(10), 1097–1107. https://doi.org/10.5551/jat.54320
- Liao, J., Hu, M., Imm, K., Holmes, C. J., Zhu, J., Cao, C., & Yang, L. (2022). Association of daily sitting time and leisure-time physical activity with body fat among U.S. adults. Journal of Sport and Health Science/Journal of Sport and Health Science, 13(2), 195–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2022.10.001
- Raichlen, D. A., Aslan, D. H., Sayre, M. K., Bharadwaj, P. K., Ally, M., Maltagliati, S., Lai, M. H. C., Wilcox, R. R., Klimentidis, Y. C., & Alexander, G. E. (2023). Sedentary behavior and incident dementia among older adults. JAMA, 330(10), 934. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2023.15231
- Huang, Y., Li, L., Gan, Y., Wang, C., Jiang, H., Cao, S., & Lu, Z. (2020). Sedentary behaviors and risk of depression: a meta-analysis of prospective studies. Translational Psychiatry, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-020-0715-z