Understanding the Psychological Benefits of Exercise

The purpose of this review is to evaluate the psychological benefits of exercise, specifically regarding depression and anxiety. This document evaluates multiple studies that introduce a correlation of different types of physical training and how they compare to psychological health. Depression and anxiety affect at least 300 million people worldwide in some way. There is evidence to support different types of exercise to affect, and improve, depression and anxiety. The findings suggest that group exercise shows a correlation to fewer depressive symptoms than with isolated exercise. Group exercise has been shown to give people a social outlet, which is where many people’s depressive symptoms come from. There is also evidence to suggest that higher intensity workouts have better benefits on depression and anxiety effects. Other variables taken into account include the ages and genders of individuals. The results of this review are important for finding more innovative ways of therapy for depression and depressive symptoms. Also, exercise programs for college students specifically could help deal with the stress that comes from the college lifestyle