Stress and anxiety are all too common these days — something most of us face in one form or another.
Between work demands, packed schedules, financial worries, and everything happening in the world, it often feels like there’s always something weighing on our minds.
Anxiety can show up in many ways, such as a racing heart, shallow breathing, sleepless nights, or that uneasy feeling you just can’t shake. But the good news? You can take steps to manage it, and running is one of the most effective tools out there.
Numerous studies show that aerobic exercise, especially running, can significantly reduce stress and anxiety levels. In this guide, we’ll explore how running helps calm your mind and share simple ways to use it to feel more centered, balanced, and confident.
What Are The Mental Health Benefits of Running?
Suffering from stress and anxiety is unfortunately a common problem, whether you have a clinical anxiety disorder or mental health condition such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAS), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), social anxiety, transient situational anxiety, or simply more nerves and worries than you’d like to feel.
Anxiety is thought to be1Tetel, M. J., de Vries, G. J., Melcangi, R. C., Panzica, G., & O’Mahony, S. M. (2018). Steroids, stress and the gut microbiome-brain axis. Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 30(2), e12548. https://doi.org/10.1111/jne.12548 a product of elevated cortisol, overactivity, and disruption in the negative feedback mechanisms of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the primary axis governing stress in the body.
The good news is that many studies2Stonerock, G. L., Hoffman, B. M., Smith, P. J., & Blumenthal, J. A. (2015). Exercise as Treatment for Anxiety: Systematic Review and Analysis. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 49(4), 542–556. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-014-9685-9 have found that aerobic exercise, such as running, can lower stress and anxiety.
How Often Should I Run To Help Manage Anxiety Symptoms?
Research suggests3(PDF) How does sport affect mental health? An investigation into the relationship of leisure-time physical activity with depression and anxiety. (n.d.). ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331867128_How_does_sport_affect_mental_health_An_investigation_into_the_relationship_of_leisure-time_physical_activity_with_depression_and_anxiety that meeting the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendations to accrue 150 minutes per week of moderate-intensity physical activity reduces depression and anxiety symptoms, along with many other physical health benefits, such as improved cardiovascular health and weight loss.
Can Running Help Anxiety And Stress?
If you’ve ever felt like a good run helped you work out your nerves and decrease your stress, leaving you in a happier, calmer, more confident state, you’re not alone. I know that when I’m having a tough day or have something on my mind, a run can instantly make me feel calmer.
According to the American Psychological Association,4American Psychological Association. (2014). https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2013/exercise. Www.apa.org; American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2013/exercise 62 percent of adults who say they exercise to help manage stress report that their workout is indeed a “very” or “extremely” effective technique to manage stress.
Even a single run can immediately decrease state anxiety. A large review5Oswald, F., Campbell, J., Williamson, C., Richards, J., & Kelly, P. (2020). A Scoping Review of the Relationship between Running and Mental Health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(21), 8059. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17218059 reported that eleven studies involving testing mental health outcomes from a single bout of treadmill running found significant reductions in state-trait anxiety and POMS subscales of anxiety.
Similarly, three studies investigating a single bout of track running and two studies with a single outdoor run also demonstrated a significant anxiety reduction and increased mental well-being.
In one of the outdoor studies, anxiety decreased, and mood increased after just a 10-minute jog.
In other words, even just running a mile or two—treadmill, track, trail, road—can provide stress relief and leave you in a better mood.
Consistent running can also work wonders for your mental health, providing relief from stress and anxiety. Generalized anxiety levels have also been shown6Oswald, F., Campbell, J., Williamson, C., Richards, J., & Kelly, P. (2020). A Scoping Review of the Relationship between Running and Mental Health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(21), 8059. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17218059 to decrease over the duration of longer exercise programs—in the 10-20 week range.
A study7Keating, L. E., Becker, S., McCabe, K., Whattam, J., Garrick, L., Sassi, R. B., Frey, B. N., & McKinnon, M. C. (2018). Effects of a 12-week running programme in youth and adults with complex mood disorders. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 4(1), e000314. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjsem-2017-000314 found that a 12-week running training program for adults and children with clinical diagnoses of various mood disorders resulted in significant reductions in anxiety, stress, and depression.
How Does Running Affect Your Stress and Anxiety?
Although anecdotal and experimental evidence suggest that running and other forms of physical activity can reduce stress and anxiety and improve wellness, the mechanisms of action aren’t as well understood.
We used to believe that exercise reduces anxiety by releasing endorphins, feel-good chemicals better known as the short-term “runner’s high.” However, it seems that the release of these compounds during exercise may not actually cross the blood-brain barrier.
That said, the stress-busting effects of exercise aren’t all in your head. Findings suggest8Childs, E., & de Wit, H. (2014). Regular exercise is associated with emotional resilience to acute stress in healthy adults. Frontiers in Physiology, 5(161). https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2014.00161 that regular exercise, such as consistent running, protects against the negative emotional consequences of stress, such as elevated heart rate, blood pressure, and circulating cortisol levels.
So how does running reduce stress and anxiety?
#1: Running Can Reduce Cortisol Levels
Cortisol is one of the primary stress hormones in the body. The adrenal glands produce it in response to stress. Exercise can lower cortisol levels, which reduces the physical and emotional manifestations of anxiety.
An animal study9Miller, R. M., Marriott, D., Trotter, J., Hammond, T., Lyman, D., Call, T., Walker, B., Christensen, N., Haynie, D., Badura, Z., Homan, M., & Edwards, J. G. (2018). Running exercise mitigates the negative consequences of chronic stress on dorsal hippocampal long-term potentiation in male mice. Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 149, 28–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nlm.2018.01.008 demonstrated that exercise acts as a neuroprotective agent against the negative effects of stress on the brain. This may be partially due to the beneficial ways in which exercise can reduce the production and circulation of cortisol.
However, although moderate-intensity and low-intensity exercise, such as base-building aerobic runs, recovery runs, and easy runs, can lower cortisol, high-intensity exercise,10Hill, E. E., Zack, E., Battaglini, C., Viru, M., Viru, A., & Hackney, A. C. (2008). Exercise and circulating cortisol levels: the intensity threshold effect. Journal of Endocrinological Investigation, 31(7), 587–591. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03345606 including racing, speed workouts, hard runs, and other intense forms of exercise, can increase circulating cortisol levels.
Therefore, it’s important to balance your training by alternating hard workouts with easier runs in lower heart rate zones.
#2: Running Can Give You a Break
One of the simplest ways running can reduce stress is by physically removing you from a stressful situation. Running gives you a chance to unplug, go outside, and connect with nature.
We all need a break from the various responsibilities and demands for our attention, time, and physical and mental energy.
Your runs are for you. It’s your time. It’s your body. It’s all your decision.
With that said, running isn’t necessarily a selfish act, as going for your run can help you be the best “you” you can be for the rest of your day in every other aspect of your life.
#3: Running Can Increase Your Emotional Resilience to Stress
Running can help build your emotional resilience11Childs, E., & de Wit, H. (2014). Regular exercise is associated with emotional resilience to acute stress in healthy adults. Frontiers in Physiology, 5(161). https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2014.00161 to acute bouts of stress. You can think of emotional resilience as a metaphorical protective armor you can wear against impending stressors. The more resilience you have, the less stress will affect you.
#4: Running Rewires the Brain
Exercise appears to rewire the brain12Schoenfeld, T. J., Rada, P., Pieruzzini, P. R., Hsueh, B., & Gould, E. (2013). Physical Exercise Prevents Stress-Induced Activation of Granule Neurons and Enhances Local Inhibitory Mechanisms in the Dentate Gyrus. Journal of Neuroscience, 33(18), 7770–7777. https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.5352-12.2013 and help regulate anxiety by triggering mechanisms in the ventral hippocampus of the brain that inhibit anxiety. In this way, running helps quiet the cascade of anxiety that originates in the brain.
#5: Running Increases the Production of Endocannabinoids
Rather than the mood-boosting effects of running being a product of endorphins, they are likely largely due to endocannabinoids,13Raichlen, D. A., Foster, A. D., Gerdeman, G. L., Seillier, A., & Giuffrida, A. (2012). Wired to run: exercise-induced endocannabinoid signaling in humans and cursorial mammals with implications for the “runner’s high.” Journal of Experimental Biology, 215(8), 1331–1336. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.063677 which are natural cannabis-like compounds produced by the body that reduce pain, increase feelings of pleasure, and induce a sense of calm.
#6: Running Increases Self-Esteem
Many of us struggle with anxiety rooted in self-doubt or that nagging feeling of “I’m not good enough.”
Running can be a powerful antidote to that. It helps quiet imposter syndrome by building self-esteem, confidence, and a sense of control. Each time you lace up, set a goal, and follow through — whether it’s finishing a 5K or just showing up — you remind yourself that you’re capable and strong.
Studies have found14Oswald, F., Campbell, J., Williamson, C., Richards, J., & Kelly, P. (2020). A Scoping Review of the Relationship between Running and Mental Health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(21), 8059. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17218059 that marathon training increases self-esteem and psychological coping mechanisms for stress, anxiety, and depression.
#7: Running Can Improve Sleep
Running expends energy and can leave you feeling tired, which can help you sleep better at night.
One study15Redirecting. (2024). Elsevier.com. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1054139X12001115 with adolescents found that running 30 minutes in the morning for three weeks improved sleep quality and overall mood.
Poor sleep can increase stress and anxiety and leave you in an emotionally depleted state to handle stressors as they come. Therefore, if running helps you sleep better, you can get the rest your body needs to maintain emotional resilience.
#8: Running Alters Metabolism In the Brain
Running appears to alter the metabolism of fatty acids in the brain’s hippocampus, which seems to affect reducing anxiety, according to an animal study.16Liśkiewicz, A., Przybyła, M., Wojakowska, A., Marczak, Ł., Bogus, K., Nowacka-Chmielewska, M., Liśkiewicz, D., Małecki, A., Barski, J., Lewin-Kowalik, J., & Toborek, M. (2020). Physical activity reduces anxiety and regulates brain fatty acid synthesis. Molecular Brain, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13041-020-00592-7
#9: Running Builds a Sense of Community
Running can be a social activity that allows you to meet new friends and bond with others. Social connection can reduce stress and improve your overall sense of well-being.
#10: Running Gives You Something to Rely On
Anxiety and stress are often exacerbated by “what ifs” and the unknown. Running is a tangible and actionable activity that you can control. You decide when, where, how far, how fast, and with whom you run.
Running consistently, whether several days per week during your lunch break, every weekday morning before heading to work, or with your neighbor every evening when you get home at night, provides a stable routine or constant you can rely on in a life of unknowns.
Many runners find comfort in creating a running “habit” and enjoy the feeling of knowing at least one point of their day is going to be predictable and enjoyable.
Whether you enjoy running because of the many benefits of exercise or appreciate how it can reduce stress and anxiety, putting in the miles is undoubtedly one of the best ways to live your best life.
If you are looking to start up, read our Couch to 5k Training Plan and begin to reduce your stress and anxiety today.
