Cardio and Mental Health: The Science Behind It

From improved mood to lower blood pressure, cardiovascular activity, commonly referred to as “cardio,” can have amazing benefits to your physical and mental health.

Cardio is often referred to as “aerobic exercise.” By definition, this means “with oxygen.” That may sound strange at first, but oxygen actually has a lot to do with cardio! When doing activities like running, cycling, walking and even dancing, you are using large muscle groups to increase your heart rate, and pull in oxygen as you move for extended periods of time.

Let’s look at this through the lens of a runner. During a jog, you move your legs in a repetitive and rhythmic pattern, pump your arms, and twist your trunk as you run anywhere from 1 minute to 4 hours. While you are continuing to move, deep within your muscles are working hard, pulling in oxygen to allow blood flow to those large muscle groups. This helps with strength, endurance, and overall muscle health!

The inner workings of the cardiovascular system not only work on the muscular level, but release chemicals in your brain to help with other aspects of your mental health.

Benefits at a Glance

• Better Mood: cardio can help with emotional regulation and release of endorphins (your happy hormones)
• Improved Cognition: continuous physical activity has shown to improve memory, and mental stamina
• Reduced depression: when done continuously, cardio has been found to reduce depression symptoms
• Better sleep: research has shown that aerobic exercise can improve both the length and quality of sleep

The Science Behind It

So how does this all work? Well, when we increase our heart rate with activities like cardio, we are putting our body through a bit of a stress test. This releases chemicals in your brain like dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins that help to improve mood. Other neurotransmitters, like cortisol that helps with stress, are also put to the test and released during activity. Consistency with exercise allows these hormones to regulate under stressful conditions, which will help with mood and anxiety during different situations.

Think of a time you felt stressed. You probably felt emotions similar to when you work out– fast heart beat, sweating, etc. With consistent activity, you are “working out” the chemicals in your brain. This helps you regulate emotions and feelings in these situations to help combat stress long term!

The Main Takeaway

The World Health Organization recommends doing 150 - 300 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity each week to help maintain all of those benefits.

The good news is that being active doesn’t have to mean running for hours or biking uphill. Build up your tolerance. Start with something that you enjoy so that you can stick to it long term. Remember, it’s ok to start low and build up over time.