It seems that everyone in today's society is unable to avoid constant tension and anxiety, a small but powerful emotion that profoundly affects our daily life. According to the International Health Organization, nervousness or more anxiety has become one of the most common mental disorders in the world, affecting about 300 million people, and the number is still increasing.
Luckily, whether it's a mild daily anxiety or an anxiety disorder that needs to be treated, there is always a way to alleviate it. One of the proven effective tools is physical exercise. For example, a 2021 study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders showed that most people with long-term anxiety experienced a decrease in anxiety levels after 12 weeks of exercise**. In addition, exercise of all levels can reduce anxiety, whether it's a group class at the gym, a jog on the playground, or a walk in the park, all of which can help soothe the mind and promote physical and mental health.
Interestingly, why exercise relieves anxiety and boosts mood is not yet fully understood. Traditionally, the cerebellum's motor coordination function is well known, but new research is gradually revealing its role in emotion processing. Professor Zhu Jingning's team at Nanjing University recently discovered that the cerebellum plays an unexpectedly important role in reducing anxiety through exercise. Their study, published in the journal Neuron, points to a cerebellum-centered neural pathway that connects motor coordination and emotion processing. Certain forms of exercise activate this pathway more intensely, potentially being more effective at reducing anxiety.
To establish a direct link between motor coordination and emotion processing, the researchers analyzed cerebellar neurons in mice in detail. Using transsynaptic virus tracing techniques and fluorescence microscopic optical section tomography (FMOST), they traced the connections of individual neurons to other brain regions. The results showed that neurons located in the dentate nucleus (DN) of the cerebellum project their long protrusions directly onto the amygdala, which is responsible for dealing with fear and anxiety. This was not only true in mice, but also in rat running experiments where amygdala neurons were activated, and were also affected by neurons in the cerebellar dentate nucleus. After several days of exercise, these rats behaved more "calmly" when confronted with anxiety-prone environments, indicating that exercise effectively reduced their anxiety levels.
Further studies have found that the projection from cerebellum to amygdala is monosynaptic glutamatergic, so it can activate amygdala neurons and may have a long-term enhancing effect, which may be one of the mechanisms by which exercise continues to have a positive effect on mood. Combined with previous studies, scientists have also found that hypothalamic (PFA) neurons activate cerebellar dentate nucleus neurons by releasing orexin, a neuropeptide. Thus, certain exercises provide a cascade of excitatory signals by activating the hypothalamic-cerebellar-amygdala pathway, exerting a dual anxiolytic effect. So, which exercise stimulates this nerve pathway better? The answer is "more challenging sports". Experiments show that compared with the constant speed rotating treadmill, the movement on the variable speed equipment with higher requirements for overall coordination makes the hypothalamic neurons participate more significantly, and the anxiolytic effect is more obvious.
Based on these findings, the study authors suggest the development of more effective anti-anxiety "exercise prescriptions" such as high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or daily intermittent strenuous physical activity (VILPA), such as a sprint in a car or a wheezing run after a child, are beneficial forms of physical activity.
That said, even if you don't have a lot of time to go to the gym or sports field, using everyday situations to get your heart pumping can relieve symptoms of tension and anxiety.