Keywords
regular physical activity
young adults
anxiety
mental health
How to Cite
Abstract
Introduction: Anxiety is a prevalent disorder among young adults, negatively impacting quality of life and functional performance. In this context, physical exercise has been widely investigated as a non-pharmacological strategy for reducing anxiety symptoms.
Objective: To identify and synthesize the available scientific evidence on the effects of physical activity/exercise training on anxiety symptoms present in the literature, especially in the post-pandemic context of CoViD-19.
Method: This is a narrative literature review. conducted from a search in electronic databases, including PubMed, SciELO, and LILACS, from 2020 to 2025. Descriptors related to anxiety and physical exercise were used. The inclusion criteria involved original studies, available in full, published in Portuguese and English. Duplicate studies, reviews, and articles that did not directly address the topic were excluded.
Results and Discussion: The analyzed studies demonstrated that the regular practice of physical exercise is associated with a significant reduction in anxiety levels, with emphasis on aerobic exercises and structured programs. Improvement in psychological and physiological parameters was observed, with a positive impact on mental health.
Conclusion: Physical exercise proved to be an effective strategy in reducing anxiety in young adults and can be used as a complementary approach in the clinical management of these patients.
References
Lenhardtk G, Calvetti PÜ. Quando a ansie-dade vira doença?: Como tratar transtornos ansiosos sob a perspectiva cogntivo-comportamental. Aletheia. 2017;50(1–2): 111–122.
Robinson OJ, Charney DR, Overstreet C, Vytal K, Grillon C. The adaptive threat bias in anxiety: amygdala- dorsomedial prefron-tal cortex coupling and aversive amplifica-tion. Neuroimage. 2012;60(1): 523–529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.11.096.
Gutiérrez-García AG, Contreras CM. Anxi-ety: An Adaptive Emotion. In: Durbano F (ed.) New Insights into Anxiety Disorders. InTech; 2013. https://doi.org/10.5772/53223. [Accessed 26th May 2026].
American Psychiatric Association. Manual Diagnóstico e Estatístico de Transtornos Mentais - DSM-5-TR: Texto Revisado.. 5a edição. Porto Alegre, RS: Artmed; 2023.
Chand SP, Marwaha R. Anxiety. In: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470361/ [Accessed 26th May 2026].
World Health Organization. Depression and other common mental disorders: global health estimates. Geneva: WHO; 2017. https://iris.who.int/items/239e3fdc-80f0-460b-bd78-8ea512e8cbb4 [Accessed 26th May 2026].
Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatísti-ca. PNS – Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde. 2021 [Accessed 26th May 2026]. https://www.pns.icict.fiocruz.br/ [Accessed 26th May 2026].
Ding W, Zhang Y, Wang MZ, Wang S. Post-pandemic mental health: Understand-ing the global psychological burden and charting future research priorities. World Journal of Psychiatry. 2025;15(10): 109502. https://doi.org/10.5498/wjp.v15.i10.109502.
Xiong J, Lipsitz O, Nasri F, Lui LMW, Gill H, Phan L, et al. Impact of COVID-19 pan-demic on mental health in the general popu-lation: A systematic review. Journal of Af-fective Disorders. 2020;277: 55–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.08.001.
Barros MBDA, Lima MG, Malta DC, Szwarcwald CL, Azevedo RCSD, Romero D, et al. Relato de tristeza/depressão, nervo-sismo/ansiedade e problemas de sono na população adulta brasileira durante a pan-demia de COVID-19. Epidemiologia e Ser-viços de Saúde. 2020;29(4): e2020427. https://doi.org/10.1590/s1679-49742020000400018.
Martins L, Soeiro R. Exercise and CoViD-19: A Brief Narrative Review on Immunol-ogy, Prevention and Recovery. Revista de Educação Física / Journal of Physical Edu-cation. 2021;90(3): 253–263. https://doi.org/10.37310/ref.v90i3.2804.
Stonerock GL, Hoffman BM, Smith PJ, Blumenthal JA. Exercise as Treatment for Anxiety: Systematic Review and Analysis. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2015;49(4): 542–556. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-014-9685-9.
Bandelow B, Michaelis S, Wedekind D. Treatment of anxiety disorders. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience. 2017;19(2): 93–107. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2017.19.2/bbandelow.
Mahindru A, Patil P, Agrawal V. Role of Physical Activity on Mental Health and Well-Being: A Review. Cureus. 15(1): e33475. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.33475.
Zamani Sani SH, Fathirezaie Z, Brand S, Pühse U, Holsboer-Trachsler E, Gerber M, et al. Physical activity and self-esteem: test-ing direct and indirect relationships associ-ated with psychological and physical mech-anisms. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 2016;12: 2617–2625. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S116811.
Mochcovitch MD, Deslandes AC, Freire RC, Garcia RF, Nardi AE. The effects of regular physical activity on anxiety symp-toms in healthy older adults: a systematic review. Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria. 2016;38(3): 255–261. https://doi.org/10.1590/1516-4446-2015-1893.
Meng Y, Wang Y, Liu Q, Liang C, Yang S. The relationship between physical activi-ty, sleep, and negative emotions in physical-ly weak college students. Frontiers in Pub-lic Health. 2025;13: 1530988. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1530988.
Mahindru A, Patil P, Agrawal V. Role of Physical Activity on Mental Health and Well-Being: A Review. Cureus. 15(1): e33475. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.33475.
Hamer M, Stamatakis E, Steptoe A. Dose-response relationship between physical ac-tivity and mental health: the Scottish Health Survey. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2009;43(14): 1111–1114. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2008.046243.
Mummery K, Schofield G, Caperchione C. Physical activity: Physical activity dose-response effects on mental health status in older adults. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health. 2004;28(2): 188–192. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-842X.2004.tb00934.x.
Camargo EMD, López Gil JF, Costa CG, Tárraga López PJ, Campos WD, Silva SGDS. Physical activity as a mediator of the association of body mass index change with anxiety/depression symptoms in Bra-zilian adults during COVID-19. Nutrición Hospitalaria. 2023; https://doi.org/10.20960/nh.04716.
Schuch FB, Bulzing RA, Meyer J, Van-campfort D, Firth J, Stubbs B, et al. Associ-ations of moderate to vigorous physical ac-tivity and sedentary behavior with depres-sive and anxiety symptoms in self-isolating people during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey in Brazil. Psychiatry Research. 2020;292: 113339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113339.
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses - PRISMA 2020 flow diagram. PRISMA statement. https://www.prisma-statement.org/prisma-2020-flow-diagram [Accessed 27th May 2026].
Gordon BR, McDowell CP, Lyons M, Herring MP. Resistance exercise training for anxiety and worry symptoms among young adults: a randomized controlled trial. Scientific Reports. 2020;10(1): 17548. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-74608-6.
O’Sullivan D, Gordon BR, Lyons M, Meyer JD, Herring MP. Effects of re-sistance exercise training on depressive symptoms among young adults: A random-ized controlled trial. Psychiatry Research. 2023;326: 115322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115322.
Gordon BR, McDowell CP, Lyons M, Herring MP. Resistance exercise training among young adults with analogue general-ized anxiety disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2021;281: 153–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2020.12.020.
O’Sullivan D, Rice JM, Lyons M, Herring MP. Acute and chronic effects of guide-lines-based progressive resistance exercise training compared to a low-intensity sham attention-control on signs and symptoms among young adult women with analogue generalized anxiety disorder: Design and methods of a randomized controlled trial. Psychology of Sport and Exercise. 2025;80: 102902. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2025.102902.
Wall A, Henriksson M, Nyberg J, Holmgren K, Isgaard J, Lennartsson AK, et al. Exercise and health-related quality of life and work-related outcomes in primary care patients with anxiety disorders – A random-ized controlled study. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2024;360: 5–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2024.05.092.
Rice JM, Gordon BR, Lindheimer JB, Lyons M, Herring MP. Associations be-tween expected and observed psychological responses to acute resistance exercise in an-alogue generalized anxiety disorder. Scien-tific Reports. 2025;15(1): 11378. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-96156-7.
Higham SM, Mendham AE, Rosenbaum S, Allen NG, Smith G, Duffield R. Effect of Concurrent Exercise Training on Stress, Depression and Anxiety in Inactive Aca-demics: Secondary Analysis of a Random-ized Controlled Trial. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport. 2025;96(3): 563–572. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2025.2461322.
He M, Guo J, Yu S, Lian H, Zhan R, Luo R, et al. The effects of aerobic exercise on goal-directed attention and inhibitory con-trol in individuals with high trait anxiety: an EEG study. BMC Psychology. 2025;13(1): 86. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-02376-x.
Barbosa BCR, De Menezes-Júnior LAA, Fróis LF, Vidigal MCA, De Paula W, Cha-gas CMDS, et al. Replacing sedentary be-havior with physical activity reduces symp-toms of anxiety and depression: a study with young adults. BMC Public Health. 2025;25(1): 2971. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-23523-4.
Martinez VML, Martins MDS, Capra F, Schuch FB, Wearick-Silva LE, Feoli AMP. The Impact of Physical Activity and Life-style on Mental Health: A Network Analy-sis. Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 2024;21(12): 1330–1340. https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2024-0198.
Brito ATDS, Pereira DSP, Cirilo-Sousa MDS, Esmeraldo APISR, Loiola ML, Vic-tor NP. Associação entre atividade física e saúde mental durante a pandemia COVID-19: um estudo transversal. Revista Brasilei-ra de Atividade Física & Saúde. 2023;28: 1–8. https://doi.org/10.12820/rbafs.27e0298.
Camargo EMD, López Gil JF, Costa CG, Tárraga López PJ, Campos WD, Silva SGDS. Physical activity as a mediator of the association of body mass index change with anxiety/depression symptoms in Bra-zilian adults during COVID-19. Nutrición Hospitalaria. 2023; https://doi.org/10.20960/nh.04716.
Carpenter JK, Andrews LA, Witcraft SM, Powers MB, Smits JAJ, Hofmann SG. Cog-nitive behavioral therapy for anxiety and re-lated disorders: A meta‐analysis of random-ized placebo‐controlled trials. Depression and Anxiety. 2018;35(6): 502–514. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22728.
Stonerock GL, Hoffman BM, Smith PJ, Blumenthal JA. Exercise as Treatment for Anxiety: Systematic Review and Analysis. Annals of Behavioral Medicine. 2015;49(4): 542–556. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-014-9685-9.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Journal of Physical Education