- Mental health is a critical component of
well-being, and research is ongoing about how people can best support
their mental wellness.
- Data shows that practicing mindfulness and
exercising regularly can benefit mental health.
- Results from a recent review suggest that
combining mindfulness with exercise may be most effective for improving
psychological well-being.
The body and the mind
impact each other, which means maintaining both physical and mental health is
essential for a person’s overall well-being.
Researchers are still
investigating the nuanced relationship between physical and mental health and
interventions to help people optimize both.
A systematic review
recently published in Mental Health and Physical
Activity analyzed the
results of 35 studies to look at the combined effects of mindfulness and
exercise.
The results
suggest that when combined, mindfulness and exercise might offer the most
benefits for mental health.
However, more research
is needed to understand the full effects of mindful exercise and what level of
intervention is most effective.
How do
mindfulness and exercise improve mental health?
Evidence supports
the idea that exercising can help improve mental health.
Exercising may help
prevent mental illness and help people manage certain mental health conditions.
For example, exercise offers certain benefits for people who have anxiety or depression.
Practicing mindfulness
may also have particular benefits for mental well-being.
Mindfulness is a broad
term, and these days, a buzzword, but the practice is rooted in traditions that
date back thousands of years.
Renowned meditation
expert Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, defines mindfulness as “The awareness that emerges by way of paying
attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the
unfolding of experience moment by moment.”
People can practice mindfulness using several methods, such as meditating or finding a
specific time to focus on increasing their awareness.
Evidence also
supports the benefits of mindfulness for mental health. For example,
mindfulness-based interventions may help with mental health conditions such as:
However, this does not mean practicing mindfulness
will always be helpful for all individuals or populations. Some evidence even supports that mindfulness-based
interventions could increase distress in some people, particularly those prone
to anxiety.
How can
mindfulness help with exercise?
Authors of the current
review note that little research has focused on the combined intervention of
exercise and mindfulness to improve mental well-being.
The authors used six
databases to find clinical trials that met their inclusion criteria. They
included studies written in English that were published in peer-reviewed
journals and involved adult participants.
The study had to report
longitudinal interventions for physical activity and mindfulness and have some
component of mental well-being as an outcome.
Researchers excluded
studies based on several components, such as when physical activity and
mindfulness were not the primary interventions or when they could not determine
if mindfulness teaching was part of the intervention.
The review ultimately
included 35 trials in its analysis. There was great variation in the
interventions and their intensity among the included trials. Some trials also
included additional interventions.
Their analysis showed
that combining physical activity with mindfulness training may improve
psychological health.
They also found
that in comparison to passive controls, combined physical activity and
mindfulness training may help improve depression, anxiety, and stress.
However, the effect may
be similar to physical activity intervention alone when considering active
controls.
“Both physical activity
and mindfulness practice have well established psychological benefits,” study
author Masha Remskar,
a behavioral scientist based at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom,
explained to Medical News Today.
“However, by reviewing
existing research studies, our study is one of the first to show how the
positive effects can be increased when the two are combined. Its findings
suggest that mindfulness can help to unlock the benefits of exercise by
‘training up’ the psychological strengths required to exercise regularly (e.g.,
helping to motivate people to start in the first place whilst overcoming minor
pain, discomfort, or feelings of failure when exercising gets hard).”
Non-study author Ryan Glatt, senior brain health coach and director of the
FitBrain Program at Pacific Neuroscience Institute in Santa Monica, CA, offered
speculation as to the reasons why this combined intervention is particularly
effective:
“There are likely various, and perhaps complex, mechanisms underlying the combined benefits of mindfulness and physical exercise. Many of the benefits between mindfulness and physical activity may overlap, such as potential improvements in biomarkers related to neuroinflammation, beneficial changes to regional brain activity, and improvements in mood states. It is also possible that there may be unique benefits from both mindfulness and physical activity, respectively.”
More
research on the benefits of mindfulness and exercise needed
While promising, this
review does have limitations. The sample sizes and nature of the studies
indicate the need for more research in this area. Many of the studies analyzed
included mostly female participants, which could mean the need for more
balanced studies in the future.
All of the studies
included in the review have at least some limitations, which is important to
remember when researchers review such data.
Researchers also noted
that it was difficult to determine what studies to include, meaning they could
have excluded certain data that may have been helpful to include.
They also excluded
studies that examined other mindfulness practices like yoga and tai chi when they
couldn’t confirm that the intervention truly involved teaching mindfulness.
More research is
needed to understand the underlying mechanisms of combining mindfulness with
exercise and how these interventions can be most effective.
The group that conducted
this review has received assistance from the Medito Foundation and
will be assisting the Medito Foundation with developing components of a
meditation app, which could introduce bias.
How to get
started with mindfulness and exercise
The review points to the
promising benefits of combining mindfulness and exercise.
People seeking to
incorporate new exercise or mindfulness practices can do so in safe ways, consulting with professionals
when appropriate.
Non-study author Dr. Alex Dimitriu, double
board certified in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine and founder of Menlo Park
Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, noted to MNT:
“Both exercise and
mindfulness separately have been shown to improve mental well-being, so it is
no surprise that the combination of the two is effective. I often tell my
patients, especially those with depression, to remember and care for their
basic ‘animal needs,’ among these are always sleep, diet, exercise,
meditation/mindfulness, time in nature, and time with friends and family.”
Dr. Dimitriu said that
combining any of the aforementioned positive behaviors could improve mental
health outcomes even more.
“For exercise, a
personal trainer or coach may help, and for mindfulness, speaking to a
therapist, attending a meditation workshop, or using an app may offer additional guidance and, in turn,
benefit,” Dr. Dimitriu concluded.
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