Exercise and mental health, after four decades of research: A survey of the meta-analytic reviews of the literature

Abstract

The effects of physical exercise on mental health have been studied systematically mainly during the past four decades. Despite the emergence of a large literature that spans several aspects of mental health, the findings of these investigations do not appear to be widely known and, consequently, the application of exercise as a preventive and therapeutic modality within psychology remains limited. This review examines the findings of 28 meta-analyses that cover the topics of anxiety, depression, mood, stress reactivity, cognitive performance, and self-esteem. Most meta-analyses point in the direction of positive effects, albeit of small to moderate size. However, the methodological quality of most relevant studies is less than optimal. Therefore, methodological improvement should be a priority for future investigations in this area.