New science and research reveal how daily physical exercise can create a positive impact on your brain function, mood, and overall mental health.
“Exercise” has become a dreaded word to many. It sounds like a chore. Who knew that movement could help you think and that regular exercise could help you exorcize your depression and help organize what goes on in that most complex organ of ours, the brain?
New research reveals how multifaceted the effects of movement and exercise are on the brain — and how it can help with your stress, sleep, cognition, mood, and overall quality of life.
The Connection Between Physical Activity and Cognitive Ability
Researchers have found that human evolution linked thinking skills to movement. As luck would have it, too much sitting, which our modern lifestyle generally demands, is not good for the brain.
“Foraging involves many different cognitive abilities and associated brain areas, many of which may be enhanced by physical activity,” says Gene Alexander, PhD, one of the University of Arizona (UA) researchers who published a study linking exercise, cognition, and brain health.
“These complex cognitive abilities are thought to depend on multiple brain regions, including the frontal cortex, the hippocampus, the motor cortex, and others,” he notes.
“We think that aerobic activity, combined with mental stimulation, might be the most valuable, providing ways for the brain to establish stronger and more efficient connections, which may help to hold off aging,” says Dr. Alexander, UA professor of psychology and psychiatry, neuroscience, and physiological sciences.
Aerobic exercise, also known as cardio, increases blood flow to the brain, whereas resistance training challenges muscles through lifting weights or using bands, your own body weight, or gym equipment.
Both are beneficial, according to Roger McIntyre, MD, FRCPC, professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at the University of Toronto and member of bpHope’s Expert Network. “They complement each other at a molecular level.”
The Impact of Exercise on Bipolar Brain Functions
The research on how exercise impacts bipolar is still young and developing, but there are some theories. For one, the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein that stimulates new brain cells — and activity in the frontal cortex and hippocampus regions of the brain have all been linked with how bipolar affects brain function, research shows, and exercise may influence all of them.
Another reason is neurotransmitters, chemicals in the brain that have many functions, including helping to regulate your mood. Alexander explains how physical activity can impact these brain chemicals, reduce stress, and help you sleep better. The research suggests that “exercise benefits the brain by increasing BDNF and blood flow to the brain,” says Alexander.
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Although a University of Texas study identified the area of the hippocampus that bipolar affects, no study yet pinpoints precisely how exercise affects the hippocampus in brains with bipolar.
However, Alexander notes that, as people age, there tends to be more atrophy in parts of the hippocampus. “Exercise seems to delay or diminish the atrophy in this brain structure, which is especially important for memory.”
Medication and Movement to Help Combat Bipolar Symptoms
While exercise alone is not enough to combat bipolar, Dr. McIntyre says that the studies within the last 10 years or so provide data that is rigorous and replicable as to how it benefits the brain. “It has a tremendous anti-depressant effect; it benefits cognition, general well-being, quality of life, and function,” he says.
He adds that the benefit of exercise is compelling and that exercise should be considered a routine and standard recommendation for all individuals living with bipolar disorder, in combination with appropriate medication. “And, where needed, counseling and other support services,” he says.
David S. from Minnesota was diagnosed with bipolar 2 in 2012. He credits his commitment to medication with helping him establish healthy routines, such as exercise.
“Medication got me to a steady baseline so I could start doing other things. It got me through the door.”
On the other side of the door were graduate school and the routine of exercising three to four times a week. He does not get down on himself if he misses one of his weekly sessions and says, “I exercise because it will make me feel much more stable and improve my whole life.”
Indeed, exercise improves his sleep, thus ensuring a good mood the following day. David adds, “If I’m in a bad mood, running can completely turn it around.”
Embracing Exercise to Help With Bipolar and Chronic Pain
Finding the motivation to make exercise a habit varies from person to person. Some with bipolar are lucky enough to have been born into an active lifestyle, but that’s not the case for everyone.
Natasha Tracy from British Columbia is challenged by chronic pain, as well as bipolar 2. The renowned speaker, bipolar blogger, and author of Lost Marbles: My Life With Bipolar Disorder and Depression recalls her stint at a gym a few years back, in which she experimented with elliptical and rowing machines: “People kept telling me that they felt good after. I felt terrible after because I was in pain and I was exhausted. I couldn’t do anything the rest of the day.”
Tracy’s primary care doctor suggested Aqua Fit and made her an offer she couldn’t refuse: three months’ access to a recreation center for $50, as long as she made a commitment to try it out. She’s working toward a goal of feeling “less chronic body pain.”
Although skeptical at first, Tracy also started wearing a Fitbit. It prompts her to get up and walk around because it buzzes if she doesn’t achieve her 250 steps an hour. “I’m a data girl,” she admits. “I thought I might be motivated if I saw my progress.”
How to Begin Exercising to Help Relieve Bipolar Symptoms
For those struggling to begin exercising, start slow and build up in frequency, duration, and intensity, recommends Benjamin Goldstein, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry, pharmacology, and psychological clinical science at the University of Toronto and a member of bpHope’s Expert Network. “Start with 10 to 15 minutes,” Dr. Goldstein suggests. “If someone just jumps in for an intense half an hour on a bike, they might have a bad experience.”
However, there’s more to exercise than helping to relieve symptoms from bipolar, says Goldstein. Another compelling reason to exercise aerobically is the link between bipolar and heart disease.“Bipolar increases the risk of heart disease and makes it happen earlier,” he says.
How Exercising Supports Bipolar Stability
Jeff G. from British Columbia grew up playing various sports, including soccer, hockey, and baseball. At eight, he became a competitive swimmer and was part of multiple national record-breaking relay teams. When a shoulder injury ended his competitive swimming career at age 16, he transitioned to coaching swimmers and competing in triathlons.
When Jeff was 15, he had to give up swimming for a year to heal his shoulder. During that year, he attempted to take his life twice, but he was not diagnosed with bipolar 2 disorder until age 26.
“Growing up and being in sports so intensely — it’s like having endorphins ingrained,” explains Jeff. “When I have struggled the most with my mood instability in my life, the activity in my life has been at its lowest.”
For him, staying healthy means staying active. “The minimum I need to do to feel right is running three times a week, walking the dog daily, and yoga three times a week. If I do less, my mood starts to drop almost instantly. My self-esteem takes a hit, and my anxiety increases an extreme amount,” he says.
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Jeff has since transitioned from swim coach to yoga teacher. He teaches various yoga classes, including classes for swimmers and yoga for mental health. The fitness aspect of yoga is incredible, he explains, “but even more helpful is the mindfulness aspect, which has changed my life.”
Your Brain on Exercise: The Benefits
“Functional differences in the brain that distinguished teens with hypomania became more like regular teens after a single session of exercise,” says Goldstein, one of the Sunnybrook research psychiatrists who conducted a study on the topic.
The study found evidence that “a single 20-minute bout of aerobic exercise impacts both neural deactivation deficits in attention and activation deficits in inhibition.” In other words, post-exercise, underlying concentration and impulsivity improved.
Gaining Control of Bipolar Management Through Exercise
Mobility is tightly linked to brain health, says McIntyre. “Patients have often told me they have a sense of a loss of control,” he says. “They take pleasure in hearing that, by doing something, they can help themselves. It is empowering.”
For Madison (not her real name), exercise is a way to help with anxiety and to clear her head. The Toronto resident employs twice-weekly exercise sessions, which include resistance training and cardio. Diagnosed with bipolar 1 disorder while still in high school, she is determined to do anything she can to maintain good health.
“I love the feeling of physical exhaustion,” she says. “It can be very difficult when you just have the mental exhaustion. There’s nothing that compares to the feeling of sweating.” She adds that, ultimately, it reminds her that there is a way she can feel different. And better.
Editorial Sources and Fact-Checking
- Physical Activity Boosts Brain Health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. February 12, 2024.
- Raichlen DA et al. Adaptive Capacity: An Evolutionary Neuroscience Model Linking Exercise, Cognition, and Brain Health. Trends in Neuroscience. July 2017.
- Brosch K et al. Reduced Hippocampal Gray Matter Volume Is a Common Feature of Patients With Major Depression, Bipolar Disorder, and Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders. Molecular Psychiatry. July 15, 2022.
- Cao B et al. Area of Brain Linked to Bipolar Disorder Pinpointed. Molecular Psychiatry. January 24, 2017.Metcalfe AWS et al. Effects of Acute Aerobic Exercise on Neural Correlates of Attention and Inhibition in Adolescents With Bipolar Disorder. Translational Psychiatry. May 17, 2016.
UPDATED: Printed as “Your Brain on Exercise,” Spring 2018