Want to Be Happy? Train Like an Athlete

Levels of anxiety, depression and hopelessness have been rising steadily for years. In 2011, 28% of high school students experienced “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.” By 2021, that rate had risen by 42%. Among the broader population, about 10% of Americans were receiving treatment for depression in 2015. By 2023, that rate had risen to 17.8%.

There are many things you can do to improve your mental health, and one of the things I talk about most with my loved ones is exercise. We all know that exercise is good for your heart, muscles, bones, blood pressure, and balance. But being physically active is also one of the best things you can do for your mental health.

Nearly 2,400 years ago, Hippocrates reportedly said, “If you’re in a bad mood, go for a walk. If you’re still in a bad mood, go for another walk.” Scientists such as John Ratey have confirmed that exercise promotes the release of important neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, which are essential for mood regulation, focus, and overall cognitive function. Moving your body through dance and play triggers these and other chemical reactions, promoting brain health and enhancing learning, memory, mood, and stress reduction. Ratey argues that some of the greatest benefits of exercise occur “above the neck.”

But even though I read the research, experiencing these effects firsthand is somehow surprising. Within 10 minutes of starting to exercise, any stress or sadness I was feeling is gone. Of course, the source of my tension is still there, but I’m more equipped to deal with them. When I feel too overwhelmed to exercise, that’s usually a sure sign it’s time to do so.

Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, who runs and swims daily, talks about the sudden mood changes he experiences while exercising: “I run to find emptiness,” he says.

Physical activity gets us into this space where we can change our mood almost instantly, but making exercise a habit has considerable, lasting benefits to our mental health. Murakami trains like an athlete, sitting with focus for hours each day to build the mental and physical stamina needed to write a full-length novel. This is why Murakami says, “Writing a full-length novel is like survival training. Physical strength is as necessary as artistic sensitivity.”

Chess grandmasters can burn up to 6,000 calories a day during tournaments, but they also understand the importance of physical training to fuel their extreme mental stamina: champions such as Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana are known for their intense training routines.

Novelists and grandmasters aren’t the only people who require high levels of mental and physical strength. What about the teacher who must stand for eight hours after staying up late grading homework and responding to parental requests, tending to a classroom full of kids, each with their own interests, distractions, and needs? There’s the salesperson who must remain optimistic and positive despite repeated rejections, or the factory manager whose process improvements are constantly underestimated. There are restaurant servers and assembly-floor workers. There are truck drivers who spend hours navigating traffic jams that would elicit road rage in us. And there are social workers who, despite low wages and high bureaucratic hurdles, remain compassionate, attentive, and kind to the people we love most.

Of course, some lawyers have to deal with uncomfortable topics that no one wants to talk about. The stress, conflict and boredom of the legal profession cause the highest levels of heart disease, depression and job dissatisfaction of any profession.

We should train like athletes. We may not see many of us on the podium at the Paris Olympics, but it is our mental health that will win us the gold medal. We should all act as if we need this kind of survival training in our lives, because we do. And if poet Charles Wright was right when he said, “The supernatural travels through the void,” then we can use exercise as a way to go in search of the supernatural.

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