A recent study suggests that people with higher levels of physical fitness are better able to manage stress and negative emotions.
Researchers at the Federal University of Goias in Brazil examined how cardiorespiratory fitness—the body’s ability to deliver oxygen during exercise—affects emotional resilience. They discovered that participants with greater fitness levels experienced lower anxiety and anger when faced with stressful stimuli.
The experiment involved 40 healthy young adults, split into two groups based on their fitness levels. Participants were shown sets of images during two sessions: neutral images like everyday objects, and unpleasant images depicting injuries or threatening situations, designed to elicit stress.
Results revealed clear differences in how the groups responded. While all participants reported increased tension after viewing the unpleasant images, the fitter group remained considerably calmer. In contrast, those in the less fit group were 775 per cent more likely to experience a spike in anxiety and anger, and were more prone to acting on their emotions.
Published in Acta Psychologica, the study highlights the link between physical fitness and emotional health. Lead author Dr Thalles Guilarducci Costa explained, “Our findings indicate that individuals with higher cardiorespiratory fitness tend to exhibit lower trait anxiety and greater resilience when exposed to emotionally stressful stimuli, reinforcing the growing evidence that physical activity plays an important role in emotional health.”
This research adds to a growing body of evidence that staying physically active not only benefits the body but also strengthens the mind against stress.
