According to a 2012 study by kinesiology researchers, moderate exercise can help you cope with anxiety and stress and the beneficial effect is retained for an extended period of time after workout.
According to a study published in the journal ‘Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise’, exercise helps to buffer the effects of emotional exposure. If you exercise, you’ll not only reduce your anxiety, but you’ll be better able to maintain that reduced anxiety when confronted with emotional events.
In this study, researchers from the University of Maryland School of Public Health compared how moderate intensity cycling versus a period of quiet rest (both for 30 minutes) affected anxiety levels in a group of healthy young adults.
They found that while both exercise and quiet rest were equally effective at reducing stress levels initially, once people were emotionally stimulated for 20 minutes, the stress levels varied.
Those who had simply rested experienced stress fully, up to their initial levels. On the other hand, those who had exercised maintained their reduced stress levels. The study says that exercise may play an important role in helping people to better endure life’s daily anxieties and tressors.