Can Exercise Make You Happy? Or Does Happiness Help You Exercise?

In the time you spend reading this article, you could instead take a walk and just maybe be happier.

Is the road to happiness paved with… pavement? A little walking certainly seems to help. But a good mood to start with doesn’t hurt. Photo by Robert Roy Britt

Whether and how exercise fuels happiness has been the subject of much research with few solid conclusions. But the evidence is getting much stronger, as more and more findings tie physical activity to happiness, even if they often leave open the question of which causes which.

The case is bolstered by a new study that provides some of the strongest objective evidence yet that exercise can thwart depression—arguably the inverse of happiness, or at least an obstacle on the road to mental wellbeing.

Importantly, it doesn’t seem to take much time to improve your mood, if the exercise-causes-happiness claims are directionally correct. Taking the stairs at work, sweeping out the garage or tending to your garden, in combination with other physical activity, appears to sow some seeds of happiness, a recent review of nearly two dozen studies found.

“The link between exercise and mood is pretty strong,” says Michael Otto, a professor of psychology at Boston University, speaking to the broad body of research. “Usually within five minutes after moderate exercise you get a mood-enhancement effect.”

Hmm. Let’s assume any lasting effects might take a little more effort. But hey, we have to start somewhere.

Prop 1: Exercise Fuels Happiness

Exercise, especially when vigorous, is known to release endorphins, hormones that generate positive feelings and even inhibit pain. This is why exercise is often recommended as one ingredient in a treatment recipe for many physical and mental ailments.

So just how much exercise is needed, and at what intensity, for the body to produce positive mood-altering effects on the brain? In setting the lowest likely bar, you can set aside the word “exercise.”

In a review last year of 23 peer-reviewed studies on physical activity and happiness, involving thousands of people from school children to seniors, University of Michigan researchers concluded that just about any activity is better than none, and more is…