Exercise and mental health: simple movement can uplift the mind. Illustration by the Author.
Exercise functions as a strong tool for depression management alongside therapy and medication treatment which benefits all people. Research indicates that normal adults who exercise regularly experience decreased symptoms of depression.
The research by O’Sullivan et al. (2023) evaluated resistance exercise training (RET) effects on adults who displayed mild depressive symptoms. The participants in the study underwent eight weeks of strength training exercises but the control participants did not receive any intervention. The participants who performed resistance exercises demonstrated substantial mood enhancement which proves that strength training works as an effective treatment for depressive symptoms.
Complementing this, the systematic review by Budde, Dolz and Mueller-Alcazar (2025) analyzed ten years of meta-analytic research about exercise effects on depression through multiple studies. The review established that physical exercise of any type produces depression symptom reduction at levels equivalent to what therapy and medication achieve. Exercise creates positive effects on mental health through its ability to stabilize stress hormones and enhance brain chemicals and growth factors and decrease inflammation levels.
The combination of resistance training and general physical exercise provides healthy adults with effective and accessible and non-judgmental mental health support. Regular exercise practice throughout daily activities provides an uncomplicated method to enhance emotional health.
Reference: Budde H., Dolz N. & Mueller-Alcazar, A. (2025). A 10 year update of effects of exercise on depression disorders in otherwise healthy adults: A systematic review of meta-analyses and neurobiological mechanisms. PLOS ONE https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0317610
O’Sullivan D. Smith J. & Thompson, L. (2023). Effects of resistance exercise training on depressive symptoms in healthy adults: A randomised controlled trial . https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016517812300272X