By Will Duru, BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science, Award-winning Personal Trainer with over 10 years of experience in strength training and optimising recovery.
One minute you’re feeling fine, the next you’re overwhelmed with anxiety or snapping at someone you love. Next, you feel a wave of sadness for no apparent reason. If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. For so many of the women I work with, especially those in their 40s and 50s, navigating the hormonal shifts of perimenopause, life can feel like being on an emotional rollercoaster that you can’t get off. It can feel like you are no longer in control of your own emotions, and that is a deeply unsettling and exhausting experience.
Many people think of exercise as something you do to change your body—to lose weight, to build muscle, to improve your heart health. And it does all of those things wonderfully. But what is so often overlooked is the profound and powerful impact that exercise has on your mental and emotional health. We often dismiss it as just a “distraction” or a way to “blow off steam.” But it is so much more than that. The right kind of exercise is a powerful biological intervention. It is a non-pharmaceutical tool that can directly and effectively help you manage mood swings, calm anxiety, and build a more resilient mind.
So, can exercise really help? The answer is an absolute, unequivocal yes. In this article, I’m going to explain the simple science behind why it works. We’re going to look at how exercise changes your brain chemistry for the better, why strength training in particular is a secret weapon for building mental fortitude, and how it can break the vicious cycle of poor sleep and bad mood. This isn’t about just feeling a little bit better; it’s about giving you a tool you can use for the rest of your life to feel more in control, more stable, and more like yourself.
Your Brain on Exercise: The Feel-Good Chemicals
The most immediate and well-known mental benefit of exercise is that it is a natural mood booster. This isn’t just a feeling; it’s a direct result of exercise changing the chemistry of your brain. When you move your body, you are essentially giving your brain a bath in a cocktail of powerful, feel-good chemicals. A huge amount of research, including a major 2024 meta-analysis, has confirmed that exercise is an effective treatment for depression and anxiety. [1]
Let’s break down the key players in this process in simple terms:
Endorphins: You have probably heard of the “runner’s high.” This feeling of euphoria is caused by the release of endorphins. These are your body’s own natural opioids. They act as a natural painkiller, but they also have a powerful mood-elevating effect. They are the reason why, even after a tough workout, you often feel a sense of calm and well-being.
Serotonin and Dopamine: These are two of the most important neurotransmitters when it comes to your mood. Serotonin is often called the “happy chemical.” It plays a huge role in feelings of well-being, happiness, and calm. Dopamine is the “motivation chemical.” It’s associated with pleasure, reward, and focus. Here’s the amazing part: exercise has been shown to increase the levels of both serotonin and dopamine in your brain. [2] In fact, many of the most common antidepressant medications work by trying to increase the amount of available serotonin in the brain. Exercise does this naturally.
What this means is that the mood boost you get from a workout is not just a happy accident. It is a predictable and reliable physiological response. You can literally use a workout as a tool to change how you feel. If you are feeling anxious, irritable, or low, a 30-minute workout can be one of the fastest and most effective ways to change your brain state. It’s a powerful tool that you have at your disposal every single day.
Strength Training as a Mental Fortitude Builder
While any form of exercise is good for your mental health, I am a huge advocate for strength training, and I believe it offers some unique and powerful mental benefits that go even beyond what you get from cardio. The mental effects of strength training are just as important as the physical ones.
First, there is what I call The Empowerment Effect. The very act of getting progressively stronger over time has a profound psychological impact. Think about it. When you lift a weight that you couldn’t lift a month ago, or you do a push-up for the first time, you are getting direct, undeniable proof of your own capability and resilience. You are proving to yourself that you can do hard things. This feeling of competence and self-efficacy doesn’t just stay in the gym. It spills over into every other area of your life. It builds a deep, unshakable confidence that you can handle challenges, both physical and emotional. A 2017 meta-analysis confirmed that resistance exercise training significantly improves anxiety symptoms in both healthy people and those with a diagnosed illness. [3]
Second, a focused strength training session can be a form of mindfulness in motion. When you are trying to lift a heavy weight with good form, you can’t be thinking about your to-do list or worrying about a conversation you had yesterday. You have to be completely present in the moment. You have to focus on your breathing, on the feeling of your muscles contracting, on the path of the barbell. This intense focus can act as a form of moving meditation. It gives your brain a much-needed break from the cycle of anxious, racing thoughts. For that 45 minutes, your only job is to move your body. This can be an incredibly powerful way to quiet the noise in your head.
This is why tracking your progress is so important. It’s not just about the numbers; it’s about tracking your mental wins. Every time you add a little more weight or do one more rep, you are making a deposit in your confidence bank. I always encourage my clients to use a workout tracker like the 12reps app. It allows you to see, in black and white, how far you have come. It turns your fitness journey into a visual representation of your growing strength and resilience. I invite you to download the 12reps app today and start tracking your own mental wins.
The Sleep-Mood Connection
If there is one pillar of health that is absolutely critical for a stable mood, it is sleep. And this is another area where exercise can be a game-changer. Poor sleep and a bad mood are locked in a vicious cycle. When you don’t sleep well, you are more likely to be irritable, anxious, and emotionally volatile the next day. And when you are feeling anxious or stressed, it can be almost impossible to get a good night’s sleep. It’s a cycle that can feel impossible to break.
Exercise is one of the most effective ways to break this cycle, and it works from both ends. Regular physical activity helps to regulate your circadian rhythm, which is your body’s internal 24-hour clock. A well-regulated circadian rhythm helps you feel sleepy at the right time in the evening and more alert during the day. Exercise can also increase the amount of deep, restorative sleep you get each night. This is the stage of sleep where your body and brain do most of their repair work.
So, how can you use exercise to improve your sleep? The most common advice is to try and get your workout in earlier in the day if you can. An intense workout raises your core body temperature and your heart rate, which can be disruptive for some people if it’s done too close to bedtime. However, everyone is different, and some people find that a workout in the evening helps them de-stress from the day. A gentle, relaxing walk or some stretching in the evening can also be very beneficial for winding down.
The bottom line is that by improving your sleep, exercise has a powerful, indirect effect on your mood. By breaking the vicious cycle of poor sleep and anxiety, you are creating a positive upward spiral. Better sleep leads to a better mood, and a better mood leads to better sleep. Exercise is the key that unlocks this positive cycle.
Conclusion
So, let’s come back to our original question. Can exercise really help with mood swings and anxiety? The answer is a clear and definitive yes. It is not a temporary distraction; it is a powerful tool that works on a deep, biological level. To recap, exercise improves your mental health in three key ways:
- It changes your brain chemistry, releasing a cocktail of feel-good chemicals like endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine.
- It builds mental fortitude, especially strength training, which provides a powerful sense of empowerment and acts as a form of moving meditation.
- It improves your sleep, breaking the vicious cycle of poor sleep and bad mood.
Your workout is not just something you do for your body. It is one of the most important appointments you can keep for your mind. It is a daily opportunity to meet a stronger, calmer, and more confident version of yourself. You have the power to change how you feel, and it is waiting for you in your next workout.
Are you ready to feel the incredible mental benefits of exercise for yourself? I encourage you to make an investment in your own well-being. Start your free trial of the 12reps app today and discover the power of a consistent, structured exercise routine.
References
- [1] Noetel, M., et al. (2024). Effect of exercise for depression: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. BMJ, 384. https://www.bmj.com/content/384/bmj-2023-075847
- [2] Lin, T. W., & Kuo, Y. M. (2013). Exercise benefits brain function: the monoamine connection. Brain sciences, 3(1), 39-53. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4061837/
- [3] Gordon, B. R., McDowell, C. P., Lyons, M., & Herring, M. P. (2017). The effects of resistance exercise training on anxiety: a meta-analysis and meta-regression analysis of randomized controlled trials. Sports Medicine, 47(12), 2521-2532. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28819746/
