Exercise: An Ineffective Stress Manager?

 

Scientific research shows that regular exercise offers many benefits. From improved organ health to better sleep, exercise benefits your body in many ways. Exercise benefits not only your physical health, but also your mental health. Exercise has often been considered one of the best ways to manage all kinds of stress. Whether you work out at the gym or take a short walk, exercise is widely considered one of the best ways to combat stress. Although regular exercise has clear physiological benefits, how effective is it for mental health? Where does exercise rank on the list of stress managers? More importantly, just how exactly does exercise affect the stressed brain? 

Stress can alter the brain in many ways, but the extent of these changes remains relatively unknown. A study conducted by Buhr et al. investigated the relationship between stress and exercise. Researchers used three rodent groups and shock conditioning to examine this connection: one group was shocked zero times, another was shocked fifty times, and the final group was shocked one hundred times. The groups then ran on treadmills, and researchers recorded their distance over nine weeks. The group shocked 100 times ran the shortest distance, averaging 1 kilometer per week, while the group never shocked ran the longest distance, averaging 6 kilometers per week. Further, after analyzing dopamine levels in all rodents, it was found that dopamine turnover in shocked rodents was much lower than in the control group. Stress makes exercise feel less rewarding. Although exercise still yields physical health benefits, a stressed individual will gain little benefit in the brain. As a result, there is legitimate doubt about exercise's benefits for stressed individuals. Indeed, another remedy might yield better results than exercise.

Make no mistake: research has examined exercise's neurological benefits for stressed individuals. The problem is that these benefits have been greatly exaggerated. An article written by Gary Wenk investigated the results from studies done about the effects of exercise on depressed individuals. Wenk found no real dose-benefit relationships in these studies, suggesting the placebo effect rather than quantifiable effects. Furthermore, the studies lacked a control group and were subject to heavy experimenter bias. Ultimately, the only conclusion that was drawn from these studies was that exercise helps depression as well as drug therapy or behavioral therapy. There is virtually no real difference between exercising and any other proven depression treatment. In other words, exercise is about as effective as any other stress treatment. It is almost impossible to find concrete proof that explains that exercise is the best sole approach to stress. If exercise does not work for one person, they might as well try something else. Exercise, like many approaches to stress, works on a case-by-case basis.

Truthfully speaking, it is incredibly difficult to determine what does and does not work for stress. This is because we do not fully understand all the neurological effects of stress. Not only that, but stress comes in many forms and degrees, and it is never the same for everyone. If a universal solution to stress existed, there would be no point in all this research on stress and its effects. Calling exercise an ineffective stress manager is a bit disingenuous, since some people truly do feel stress relief from it. Personally, I am not someone who feels much relief from it. But I would also be a liar to call exercise useless for managing stress. Plenty of evidence supports exercise's mental health benefits. In the end, no single method is perfect for battling stress. The best thing you can do is experiment with many approaches and figure out which ones work best for you. 

Works Cited

Buhr, Trevor J., et al. “The persistence of stress-induced physical inactivity in rats: An investigation of central monoamine neurotransmitters and skeletal muscle oxidative stress.” Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 17, 1169151. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2023.1169151

Wenk, Gary. “Exercise Alone Is Not an Effective Treatment for Depression.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/your-brain-on-food/202601/exercise-alone-is-not-an-effective-treatment-for-depression.