social benefits of exercise essay

The Surprising Element You Need To Add to Your Exercise Routine for a Longer Life

But there’s a case for incorporating some socialization into your fitness routine: Moving with others could enhance your well-being and longevity in the long run.

In a 25-year observational study of more than 8,500 people in Mayo Clinic Proceedings , researchers found that leisure-time sports that were inherently more social were linked with the best longevity. Study participants who played tennis, for instance, increased life expectancy by 9.7 years on average compared to sedentary individuals, while solo jogging enhanced life expectancy by just 2.3 years.

• Megan E. Pietrucha, PsyD , a licensed clinical psychologist and sport psychologist in Chicago
• Rochelle Eime, PhD , a professor of sport science at Federation University in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia
• Tony Kemmochi, PsyD , a licensed clinical sports psychologist with Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City

What’s more, researchers have shown that participating in regular group fitness classes for 12 weeks significantly reduced perceived stress and increased physical, mental, and emotional quality of life, according to a 2017 study of medical students in the Journal of Osteopathic Medicine . The participants who exercised solo, however, saw improvements only in mental quality of life.

And a 2023 review of 29 articles in Systematic Reviews showed evidence that participating in sports is linked with improved psychological well-being and social outcomes. Adults who participated in team sports had more favorable health outcomes than those who engaged in individual sports.

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So how exactly does social-focused physical activity affect well-being—and potentially help you live a longer life? Here are the elements at play.

• 01 Advantages of Social Exercise
• 02 How To Reap the Benefits

How social exercise can enhance your well-being

As with any wellness practice, highly social physical activities may not be the best fit for everyone, says Tony Kemmochi, PsyD , a licensed clinical sports psychologist with Intermountain Health in Salt Lake City. Folks who lean more introverted may thrive more in solo exercise settings, for instance.

“There are people who would benefit more from being in the group and environment, but there are also people who may actually feel more comfortable exercising alone,” Kemmochi explains.

Still, it’s not one-size-fits-all. So even if you’re shy or prefer solitude, give a more community-based movement practice a shot—you might just see some of the social benefits of exercise.

1. It increases accountability

When you have others relying on you to attend a pickleball match or a run club meet-up, you’re more likely to show up—even when your motivation is running low, says Megan E. Pietrucha, PsyD , a licensed clinical psychologist and sport psychologist in Chicago.

“It helps us feel like if our friend is going then we have to go, because we told them we were going to,” she explains. “We're not going to flake out on our friend.”

With that added accountability, there’s a higher chance you’ll stick with the activity over time—meaning you’ll continue to get the mental and physical health benefits that come with movement for months or years to come.

“That team aspect to that can actually help with retention,” says Rochelle Eime, PhD , a professor of sport science at Federation University in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. “So if you're just going to go out for a run by yourself, you might go, ‘It's a bit cold today,’ or, ‘It's a bit windy today,’ or ‘I don't feel like it today.’ Sometimes you can feel like that playing a sport, too. But you're committed to that team, so you rock up and you make an effort, and then you feel better—because you're communicating with them, and you're generally having a good time. It's much easier to just say no if you're doing things individually.”

“Depression, anxiety, all of those things are correlated with isolation and loneliness. Being able to buffer against those things with a social aspect to exercise, I think people gain a lot from being able to work out with other people.” —Megan E. Pietrucha, PsyD

2. It makes movement more enjoyable

Moving with others is linked with 4 more pleasurable exercise experiences, and some research 5 even suggests training in a group creates a “heightened endorphin surge” compared to training alone.

“There's also a neurobiological piece to it…[but] when you're working out or participating with other people, it doesn't feel strenuous on your body,” Pietrucha says. “You're kind of distracted from the miserable aspects of it.”

Incorporating social elements into your fitness routine can also shift your perspective on exercise; it goes from being a chore to a rich activity you truly look forward to, Kemmochi says.

“When somebody's taking up exercise more as a way to become healthy, they get trapped in this mindset that, ‘This is a task and I have to do it,’ and that becomes miserable,” he explains. “But to shift away from that, [toward], ‘Oh, this is a fun thing that we all do together,’ would just make it easier to engage.”

Just like the accountability piece, that joy of movement can make you more motivated to come back time and again.

3. It promotes learning

When you’re working out solo, you’re your own reference point, Kemmochi says. If you’re cycling with your bike seat adjusted incorrectly, there’s no one there to point out and help you correct the mistake, which could ultimately boost your performance and enjoyment.

But with a riding buddy or two, you can exchange notes and tips; maybe they tried something different and it ends up working better for you than your original set-up, Kemmochi says.

“We have blind spots. Maybe I notice things that they’re not aware of, and they notice things I’m not aware of,” he explains. “We can help each other learn more about ourselves, and from a skills acquisition point, it can also be helpful to have an opportunity to trace somebody. If you know there's somebody on a team or group that's really good at something, and you're able to actually see it in person, it does make it easier for you to acquire the same skill if you're there to observe and watch.”

4. It creates a community and instills a sense of belonging

Fundamentally, exercising with others gives you the opportunity to form a community and lasting social connections that can help protect mental health. Case in point: Findings from a 2021 study in Social Science & Medicine suggest that belonging to groups that engage in physical activity can protect against depression.

“We know that loneliness and isolation are highly correlated with other mental health conditions,” Pietrucha says. “We saw this during the pandemic: When people were really isolated, mental health issues were at a peak. Depression, anxiety, all of those things are correlated with isolation and loneliness. Being able to buffer against those things with a social aspect to exercise, I think people gain a lot from being able to work out with other people.”

These connections form not only between you and your peers or your coach but also the spectators, volunteers, and folks running the snack bar. The people on the sidelines may also experience the same sense of belonging, identity, and purpose as the athletes—even though they’re not getting active, Eime says. The more opportunities you have to engage with the world around you, the more you’ll feel certain about your identity, self-worth, and sense of belonging, Kemmochi adds.

5. It improves interpersonal relationships and emotional well-being

Participating in sports—and having positive experiences in them—at a young age can teach valuable life skills such as teamwork, cooperation, communication, and conflict resolution, Eime says.

In her 7 research 3 over the years, Eime has also seen personal benefits to participating in sports for children, such as emotional control, prosocial behavior, and a sense of belonging, she says. And those learnings can likely occur even when you’re playing in a rec soccer league or tennis club as an adult, Pietrucha says.

The boost in mental and emotional well-being can, in part, be attributed to the community you develop in social exercise settings.

“In general, a lot of psychological distress is harder to cope with when you feel like you're alone in it, like, ‘Nobody else gets this,’ or ‘I don't talk to anybody, I'm just left with this weight alone,’ Kemmochi says. “But when you connect with other people and have a chance to talk about it, and you find out that, ‘Oh, I'm not alone. Somebody else feels the same way.’ Even if the pain or issue isn't resolved, just knowing that you're not alone can be a powerful experience.”

Any social opportunities that validate your emotional needs can increase motivation, Kemmochi notes. And they also provide opportunities to quash your inner self-critic, especially if you’re a high-achieving, perfection-seeking individual, he explains.

“[These types of people] often focus on what they feel like they are lacking: ‘I'm not fit enough,’ ‘I'm not fun enough,’ or ‘I'm not outgoing enough,’ and so they create those conditional beliefs around whether or not they're welcome,” he says. “Diving into more of a social environment helps you disconfirm those fears because people will tell you otherwise…There is nothing more powerful than actual life experience than just talking about it or rationalizing it.”

How to nab the social benefits of exercise

There’s no single activity that’s the best for gaining the benefits of social movement. Really, the only requirement is to pick something that you enjoy, understand, and are reasonably good at, Eime says. (If you really can’t hit a return in tennis, you’re probably not going to have fun on the court.)

To feel a sense of belonging, though, the folks you’re playing or exercising with should make you feel safe, welcome, and included, she adds.

New moms, for instance, might try a weekly workout group for parents that meets in a park so you can bring your kids along, Pietrucha says. Because the activity is adapted for your needs (e.g., a child in tow), you’re more likely to come back week after week, she explains.

If you have a competitive side, sign up for a rec sports league (tennis, badminton , and soccer have been linked 1 with the greatest increases in life expectancies) for some friendly rivalry.

Your activity of choice doesn’t need to fit the conventional mold of “exercise,” either, Kemmochi says. Be creative—take dance lessons , join a dog-walking group, or participate in a local garden club to get your fill.

“For the most part, people are really just wanting to support each other and cheer each other on. Showing up is the biggest hurdle. People are just happy that you're there.” —Megan E. Pietrucha, PsyD

It’s normal to feel a bit anxious or self-conscious when you first join in on a new group activity—but you shouldn’t let that stop you from trying. For many individuals, those initial worries die down pretty quickly, so long as you’re being met with a positive community and beneficial feedback, Pietrucha says.

“The more that it's a positive experience, the quicker I would assume that they are probably able to get over that anxious hump, because then the enjoyment and the benefits begin to outweigh some of the potential anxieties,” she adds.

It’s helpful to remember that your fear of being rejected is not a prediction of the future, Kemmochi says. Instead of working against your fear, work with it, he recommends. Acknowledge that your feelings are valid and accept them. Then, think of what you can do to reduce that potential risk of rejection; maybe you bring a friend with you to the meet-up, you reach out to the volleyball league in advance and try to get to know someone before the season starts, or you try to learn more about the sport so you show up confident in your skillset.

“By doing so, you're turning your anxiety or fear into more of like an advisor that's actually enabling you to be more proactive,” he explains.

Still, some people may find comfort in exercising solo—and that’s okay. You can still create community and nab some of the benefits of social movement, according to the experts. If you go to a yoga class twice a week, you could ask a fellow regular to go out for coffee after each class.

“[That method] is obviously going to take a little bit longer,” Pietrucha says. “[So] if you're really looking to maximize the benefits, I would think joining something where that group aspect is already built in might be best.”

The bottom line: Focus on an activity you enjoy, find ways to involve the folks around you who are also participating, and don’t overthink it.

“I think usually what people find is that within exercise communities, it's kind of a ‘we welcome all’ mentality,” Pietrucha says. “For the most part, people are really just wanting to support each other and cheer each other on. Showing up is the biggest hurdle. People are just happy that you're there.”

• Schnohr P, O’Keefe JH, Holtermann A, Lavie CJ, Lange P, Jensen GB, Marott JL. Various Leisure-Time Physical Activities Associated With Widely Divergent Life Expectancies: The Copenhagen City Heart Study. Mayo Clin Proc. 2018 Dec;93(12):1775-1785. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2018.06.025. Epub 2018 Sep 4. PMID: 30193744.
• Yorks DM, Frothingham CA, Schuenke MD. Effects of Group Fitness Classes on Stress and Quality of Life of Medical Students. J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2017 Nov 1;117(11):e17-e25. doi: 10.7556/jaoa.2017.140. PMID: 29084328.
• Eather N, Wade L, Pankowiak A, Eime R. The impact of sports participation on mental health and social outcomes in adults: a systematic review and the ‘Mental Health through Sport’ conceptual model. Syst Rev. 2023 Jun 21;12(1):102. doi: 10.1186/s13643-023-02264-8. PMID: 37344901; PMCID: PMC10286465.
• Graupensperger S, Gottschall JS, Benson AJ, Eys M, Hastings B, Evans MB. Perceptions of groupness during fitness classes positively predict recalled perceptions of exertion, enjoyment, and affective valence: An intensive longitudinal investigation. Sport Exerc Perform Psychol. 2019 Aug;8(3):290-304. doi: 10.1037/spy0000157. PMID: 31548915; PMCID: PMC6756792.
• Cohen EE, Ejsmond-Frey R, Knight N, Dunbar RI. Rowers’ high: behavioural synchrony is correlated with elevated pain thresholds. Biol Lett. 2010 Feb 23;6(1):106-8. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2009.0670. Epub 2009 Sep 15. PMID: 19755532; PMCID: PMC2817271.
• Stevens M, Lieschke J, Cruwys T, Cárdenas D, Platow MJ, Reynolds KJ. Better together: How group-based physical activity protects against depression. Soc Sci Med. 2021 Oct;286:114337. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114337. Epub 2021 Aug 21. PMID: 34450391.
• Eime, R.M., Young, J.A., Harvey, J.T.  et al.  A systematic review of the psychological and social benefits of participation in sport for children and adolescents: informing development of a conceptual model of health through sport.  Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act   10 , 98 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1186/1479-5868-10-98

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Importance of Exercise Essay

500 words essay on exercise essay.

Exercise is basically any physical activity that we perform on a repetitive basis for relaxing our body and taking away all the mental stress. It is important to do regular exercise. When you do this on a daily basis, you become fit both physically and mentally. Moreover, not exercising daily can make a person susceptible to different diseases. Thus, just like eating food daily, we must also exercise daily. The importance of exercise essay will throw more light on it.

Importance of Exercise

Exercising is most essential for proper health and fitness. Moreover, it is essential for every sphere of life. Especially today’s youth need to exercise more than ever. It is because the junk food they consume every day can hamper their quality of life.

If you are not healthy, you cannot lead a happy life and won’t be able to contribute to the expansion of society. Thus, one needs to exercise to beat all these problems. But, it is not just about the youth but also about every member of the society.

These days, physical activities take places in colleges more than often. The professionals are called to the campus for organizing physical exercises. Thus, it is a great opportunity for everyone who wishes to do it.

Just like exercise is important for college kids, it is also essential for office workers. The desk job requires the person to sit at the desk for long hours without breaks. This gives rise to a very unhealthy lifestyle.

They get a limited amount of exercise as they just sit all day then come back home and sleep. Therefore, it is essential to exercise to adopt a healthy lifestyle that can also prevent any damaging diseases .

Benefits of Exercise

Exercise has a lot of benefits in today’s world. First of all, it helps in maintaining your weight. Moreover, it also helps you reduce weight if you are overweight. It is because you burn calories when you exercise.

Further, it helps in developing your muscles. Thus, the rate of your body will increases which helps to burn calories. Moreover, it also helps in improving the oxygen level and blood flow of the body.

When you exercise daily, your brain cells will release frequently. This helps in producing cells in the hippocampus. Moreover, it is the part of the brain which helps to learn and control memory.

The concentration level in your body will improve which will ultimately lower the danger of disease like Alzheimer’s. In addition, you can also reduce the strain on your heart through exercise. Finally, it controls the blood sugar levels of your body so it helps to prevent or delay diabetes.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Conclusion of Importance of Exercise Essay

In order to live life healthily, it is essential to exercise for mental and physical development. Thus, exercise is important for the overall growth of a person. It is essential to maintain a balance between work, rest and activities. So, make sure to exercise daily.

FAQ of Importance of Exercise Essay

Question 1: What is the importance of exercise?

Answer 1: Exercise helps people lose weight and lower the risk of some diseases. When you exercise daily, you lower the risk of developing some diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and more. It also helps to keep your body at a healthy weight.

Question 2: Why is exercising important for students?

Answer 2: Exercising is important for students because it helps students to enhance their cardiorespiratory fitness and build strong bones and muscles. In addition, it also controls weight and reduces the symptoms of anxiety and depression. Further, it can also reduce the risk of health conditions like heart diseases and more.

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• Importance Of Exercises Essay

Importance of Exercise Essay

500+ words essay on the importance of exercise.

We all know that exercise is extremely important in our daily lives, but we may not know why or what exercise can do. It’s important to remember that we have evolved from nomadic ancestors who spent all their time moving around in search of food and shelter, travelling large distances on a daily basis. Our bodies are designed and have evolved to be regularly active. Over time, people may come across problems if they sit down all day at a desk or in front of the TV and minimise the amount of exercise they do. Exercise is a bodily movement performed in order to develop or maintain physical fitness and good health overall. Exercise leads to the physical exertion of sufficient intensity, duration and frequency to achieve or maintain vigour and health. This essay on the importance of exercise will help students become familiar with the several benefits of doing exercise regularly. They must go through this essay so as to get an idea of how to write essays on similar topics.

Need of Exercise

The human body is like a complex and delicate machine which comprises several small parts. A slight malfunction of one part leads to the breakdown of the machine. In a similar way, if such a situation arises in the human body, it also leads to malfunctioning of the body. Exercise is one of the healthy lifestyles which contributes to optimum health and quality of life. People who exercise regularly can reduce their risk of death. By doing exercise, active people increase their life expectancy by two years compared to inactive people. Regular exercise and good physical fitness enhance the quality of life in many ways. Physical fitness and exercise can help us to look good, feel good, and enjoy life. Moreover, exercise provides an enjoyable way to spend leisure time.

Exercise helps a person develop emotional balance and maintain a strong self-image. As people get older, exercise becomes more important. This is because, after the age of 30, the heart’s blood pumping capacity declines at a rate of about 8 per cent each decade. Exercise is also vital for a child’s overall development. Exercising helps to maintain a healthy weight by stoking our metabolism, utilizing and burning the extra calories.

Types of Exercise

There are three broad intensities of exercise:

1) Light exercise – Going for a walk is an example of light exercise. In this, the exerciser is able to talk while exercising.

2) Moderate exercise – Here, the exerciser feels slightly out of breath during the session. Examples could be walking briskly, cycling moderately or walking up a hill.

3) Vigorous exercise – While performing this exercise, the exerciser is panting during the activity. The exerciser feels his/her body being pushed much nearer its limit compared to the other two intensities. This could include running, cycling fast, and heavy-weight training.

Importance of Exercise

Regular exercise increases our fitness level and physical stamina. It plays a crucial role in the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. It can help with blood lipid abnormalities, diabetes and obesity. Moreover, it can help to reduce blood pressure. Regular exercise substantially reduces the risk of dying of coronary heart disease and eases the risk of stroke and colon cancer. People of all age groups benefit from exercising.

Exercise can be effective in improving the mental well-being of human beings. It relieves human stress and anxiety. When we come back from work or school, we feel exhausted after a whole day of work. If we can go out to have a walk or jog for at least 30 minutes, it makes us feel happy and relaxed. A number of studies have found that a lifestyle that includes exercise helps alleviate depression. Those who can maintain regular exercise will also reduce their chances of seeing a doctor. Without physical activity, the body’s muscles lose their strength, endurance and ability to function properly. Regular exercise keeps all parts of the body in continuous activity. It improves overall health and fitness, as well as decreases the risk of many chronic diseases. Therefore, physical exercise is very important in our life.

Exercise can play a significant role in keeping the individual, society, community and nation wealthy. If the citizens of a country are healthy, the country is sure to touch heights in every facet of life. The country’s healthy generation can achieve the highest marks in various fields and thereby enable their country to win laurels and glory at the international level. The first step is always the hardest. However, if we can overcome it, and exercise for 21 days continuously, it will be a new beginning for a healthy life.

Did you find the “Importance of Exercise essay” useful for improving your writing skills? Do let us know your view in the comment section. Keep Learning, and don’t forget to download the BYJU’S App for more interesting study videos.

Frequently Asked Questions on the Importance of Exercises Essay

What are the benefits of exercising regularly.

Regular exercise helps in the relaxation of the mind and body and keeps the body fit. It improves flexibility and blood circulation.

Which are some of the easy exercises that can be done at home?

Sit-ups, bicycle crunches, squats, lunges and planks are examples of easy exercises which can be done at home without the help of costly equipment.

Is cycling an effective form of exercise?

Cycling is a low-impact exercise and acts as a good muscle workout.

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Social reward and support effects on exercise experiences and performance: Evidence from parkrun

Arran j. davis.

1 Social Body Lab, Institute of Human Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom

Pádraig MacCarron

2 Mathematics Applications Consortium for Science and Industry, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

3 Wadham College, Oxford, United Kingdom

Associated Data

The dataset generated during the current study and all code are available on GitHub, https://github.com/arranjdavis/parkrun_survey_analyses_sociality_and_exercise_performance .

There is growing academic, civic and policy interest in the public health benefits of community-based exercise events. Shifting the emphasis from competitive sport to communal activity, these events have wide appeal. In addition to physical health benefits, regular participation can reduce social isolation and loneliness through opportunities for social connection. Taking a broad evolutionary and social psychological perspective, we suggest that social factors warrant more attention in current approaches to physical (in)activity and exercise behavior. We develop and test the hypothesis that social reward and support in exercise are associated with positive exercise experiences and greater performance outputs. Using a repeated-measures design, we examine the influence of social perceptions and behavior on subjective enjoyment, energy, fatigue, effort, and objective performance (run times) among a UK sample of parkrun participants. Social factors were associated with greater subjective enjoyment and energy. Higher subjective energy, in turn, was associated with faster run times, without any corresponding increase in perceived effort. No significant main effects of social factors on fatigue, performance or effort were detected. The role of social structural factors has long been recognized in public health approaches to physical activity. Our results indicate that there should be greater research attention on how positive and rewarding social behaviors and experiences—particularly subjective enjoyment and energy, and perceptions of community social support and belonging—influence exercise-related behavior, psychology and physiology, and promote health through collective physical activity. The research also supplements traditional emphases on social facilitation and team sport that have dominated sport and exercise psychology and offers new avenues for understanding the deep connections among psychological, social and physical function in everyday health.

Introduction

Physical activity and social relationships are critical “flashpoints” for health policy [ 1 , 2 ]. Low levels of physical activity and high levels of loneliness have been independently associated with poorer mental and physical health outcomes and mortality [ 3 ]. Despite the established benefits of sufficient physical activity and secure social ties for mental and physical health, levels of physical inactivity are extremely high globally [e.g., 4 , 5 ]. Although evidence on the prevalence of loneliness is less well established, loneliness as the perception of social isolation (even when among other people), is also widely recognized as a “real mental health challenge for the nations” [ 6 ] and a growing problem worldwide [ 7 , 8 ].

Medicalist perspectives predominate in assessments of the negative effects of physical inactivity and loneliness (e.g., morbidity-mortality risks, “pandemic” terminology). Nevertheless, these are widely considered to be complex social issues that require collaborative, integrated and holistic public health approaches [ 9 ]. Evidence suggests that one problem compounds the other, with loneliness having been identified as a risk factor for physical inactivity [ 10 , 11 ] and physical inactivity as a risk factor for psychiatric and psychosocial health problems that are directly or indirectly associated with depression and loneliness [ 12 , 13 ]. Physical inactivity and loneliness can therefore be approached as interlinked problems that can be jointly addressed via independent interventions, but that can also benefit from integrated solutions. Toward this general aim, this paper contributes new theoretical and empirical perspectives on the behavioral and psychological synergies between physical exercise and social relationships.

Although considerable research attention has been directed at understanding how social-environmental factors influence physical activity behavior [e.g., 14 ], connections between the affective dimensions of physical activity, particularly exercise, and sociality remain underappreciated. Previous research offers some promising clues. For example, positive affect in exercise is a key determinant of adherence [ 15 ] and, in general, intense emotional experiences happen more often in the context of interdependent social connection and belonging than in independent situations [ 16 ]. This suggests a possibility for social enhancement of positive affect in physical exercise [ 17 – 20 ], with corresponding increases in motivation and adherence. In addition, there are links between collective physical activity in diverse forms, such as play, sport, dance, and exercise, and feelings of social bonding and belonging [e.g., 18 , 21 ], which in turn are associated with positive motivation and adherence [ 22 ]. Taken together, these links trace a virtuous circle between affectively rich, meaningful and rewarding social connections and intrinsically motivated engagement and enjoyment in collective physical activity.

Besides links to social-motivational psychology, there are effects of perceived social support on the homeostatic regulation of stress, fatigue and pain [e.g., 23 – 25 ]. Moreover, rewarding social experiences entail activation of endogenous neurobiological systems, such as the opioidergic and endocannabinoid systems [ 26 – 28 ], that are also involved in modulating responses to nociceptive stimuli and in sustaining endurance exercise [ 29 – 32 ]. Applying these insights, it can be hypothesized that social support and social reward buffer, or reduce, unpleasant exercise-induced affect, such as fatigue and pain [ 17 ], and boost feelings of enjoyment, thereby potentially increasing performance outputs, sense of achievement, and engagement in exercise. Performance improvements in this case are not necessarily a consequence of increased goal-directed motivation, but rather reduced subjective effort or increased subjective energy [ 33 ].

Despite the apparent connections among affective and behavioral dimensions of exercise and sociality, surprisingly little research has directly investigated the effects of either the rewarding or buffering aspects of social bonding and support on exercise experiences. Traditional social psychological approaches in sports and exercise science have focused on competitive and evaluative aspects of social presence and their facilitating effects on motivation, effort and performance across different types of task [for a review, see 34 ]. In a largely separate line of research, team cohesion has been studied as a predictor of effort and performance in sport. For example, group cohesion in sport settings—defined as “a group dynamic process that is reflected in the tendency of a group to stick together and remain united in the pursuit of instrumental objectives and/or for the satisfaction of member affective states” [ 35 ; p. 213]–positively predicts performance success [ 35 ], adherence to group exercise programs [ 36 ] and physical exertion in team sports [ 37 ]. Related research drawing inspiration from social identity theory has begun to identify the importance of social-group identities for promoting physical activity engagement, adherence, enjoyment and effort. For example, in a recent parkrun study, Stevens et al. [ 38 ] found that stronger identification with the parkrun running group positively predicted participation, life satisfaction, exercise-specific satisfaction, and group cohesion. These and other studies [ 39 , 40 ] offer support for the idea that individuals’ perceptions of the social group as cohesive and supportive, and with which they can strongly identify as group members, can promote positive affective exercise experiences, increase participation in physical activity, and facilitate performance via socially mediated mechanisms other than arousal, evaluation apprehension and distraction.

This literature has elucidated the types, causes and consequences of group cohesion in physical exercise, predominantly in team contexts. However, the affective and performance effects of social reward and support, particularly in transient collectives, virtual settings, and exercise groups without clearly defined boundaries, interdependent roles and shared goals, remain relatively unexplored, both theoretically and empirically, and little is known about the psychobiological pathways via which human sociality, psychology and biology co-regulate one another in exertive physical activity [ 17 , 19 ].

Preliminary experimental evidence suggests that exercising with others versus alone leads to significantly greater pain thresholds, and cues to social bonding prior to exercise improve subsequent performance outputs, with no corresponding increase in subjective fatigue [ 17 , 19 , 41 ]. Here, we build on these findings to investigate how social reward and perceived support modulate positive affect, feelings of energy and fatigue, and performance in the context of parkrun , a community-based organization that convenes free, weekly, timed 5 km runs in public parks and spaces. Parkrun offers a suitable naturalistic setting in which to study associations among social experiences and exercise. The aim of parkrun is to “promote physical activity and community spirit, by providing supportive opportunities to exercise” [ 42 ; p. 171]. According to a study conducted at one UK parkrun site, ‘social togetherness’ was the second most important aspect of parkrun among surveyed participants, following “getting exercise” [ 43 ]. Since its inception in 2004, parkrun has seen rapid and sustained international growth; at the time of writing, parkrun events occur in over 2,000 locations in 22 countries worldwide. Using ecologically valid measures in this naturalistic setting can provide much-needed insight into the appeal and public health value of such community-based initiatives [ 44 ].

In the current study, we used survey data to investigate effects of three predictor variables on feelings of enjoyment, fatigue, and energy as well as objective performance among parkrunners. The three predictor variables aimed to capture behaviors and subjective assessments associated with social reward, or positive and enjoyable social interactions [ 45 ], and support in an ecologically valid way: 1) whether participants attended with friends or family vs. attended alone; 2) whether or not participants interacted with others socially before the event; 3) the degree to which participants felt a) supported by, and b) integrated into the parkrun community. Hypotheses are summarized in Table 1 .

Materials and methods

Participants.

Participants were recruited in person and through parkrun event webpages from six parkrun sites in southern England. Sites were selected for their proximity to Oxford to enable us to recruit participants in person at the events and were agreed upon with the parkrun Research Board. Recruitment was on a rolling basis over approximately two months. Participants were required to be at least 18 years old. There were no other inclusion or exclusion criteria. See S1 SOM of 1 for further description of the parkrun research context.

Surveys were administered online via Qualtrics, and participants were given the option of receiving the link to the online survey by email, text or mail (no participants chose mail). All parkruns are held weekly, on Saturdays at 9:00am. Survey links were sent at 09:45 on every Saturday for the duration of the study and participants were requested to complete the survey as soon as possible after their run. Participants were encouraged to attend parkrun as usual during the study period and to respond to the survey when they did so, although it was made clear that they were not required to respond to the survey each time they attended a parkrun (this met the request of the parkrun Research Board that the study be minimally intrusive; see S1 SOM of 2 for more details on survey recruitment and study dates). In total, 188 parkrunners consented to take part; 144 participants completed the survey at least once and there were 734 usable surveys in total. This study was approved by the parkrun Research Board (UK) and the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography Departmental Research Ethics Committee, University of Oxford (reference number: SSH_SAME_C1A_15_084) and all participants gave prior informed consent. Data collection did not continue after data analysis.

Survey procedure

The survey consisted of 12 questions concerning participant motivations, perceptions of community support and integration and other social aspects of their run, and about fatigue, pain, and effort. Participants were first asked: “Besides other motivations you might have had for attending parkrun today, which of the following options best applies to you? I was motivated to… (a) improve my ranking; (b) improve my time; (c) run together with other people.” Only one response option was permitted. The remaining eleven questions were asked in a randomized order. On seven-point Likert Scales (1—not at all, 7—very much), participants responded to the questions: “How much did you feel supported by the parkrun community today?”, “How much did you feel you were a part of the parkrun community today?” These two questions were later combined using principal components analysis (PCA) in a single ‘parkrun community component’. These items were derived specifically for this survey.

Participants also used seven-point Likert Scales (1— not at all , 7— very much ) to respond to the questions: “How much did you enjoy your run today?”, “How energizing did it feel to be with the other parkrunners today?”, and “How physically fatigued did you feel during your run today?” (if participants answered with a 5 or greater on the seven-point Likert Scale for this question, they were immediately asked, using the same scale, “How physically painful did this fatigue feel?”). Questions about energy and fatigue levels were adapted from the Profile of Mood States items measuring ‘Vigor-Activity’ and ‘Fatigue-Inertia’ [ 47 , 48 ]. As a measure of their effort, participants were also asked: “Please rate your feeling of exertion (how much physical effort you felt you were giving) during your run today”, with response options following the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion scale [ 49 ] (see S1 SOM of S1 Fig).

Participants were also asked about social aspects of their run: “Please choose the answer that best describes your run today. Today I ran… (a) on my own; (b) alongside one or more acquaintances; (c) alongside one or more friends/family members; (d) alongside a mix of acquaintances and friends/family members”. Two questions asked participants about their sociality before the run: “Please choose the option that best describes what you were doing just before you went to the start line today; (a) Getting ready and hanging out on my own; (b) Getting ready and hanging out with others; (c) Something else (e.g., rushing to get the start line, chatting on my phone, etc.)”, and “Did you come along with, or meet up with, anyone else at parkrun today? Please choose the answer that best applies to you. Today I came/met up with… (a) nobody else; (b) one or more acquaintances; (c) one or more friends/family members or a mix of acquaintances and friends/family members.”

To assess the extent to which participants’ running pace was influenced by running with others, they were further asked: “Which of the following best applies to you? (a) Today I slowed down for my running partner(s); (b) Today I sped up for my running partner(s); (c) Today my natural pace was pretty much the same as the pace of my running partner(s); (d) Not applicable—I ran on my own.”

Additional data acquisition

Each parkrun event location has its own page within the parkrun website (e.g., https://www.parkrun.org.uk/abingdon/ ). These websites are used to communicate with participants and to report event results; the results of each parkrun event are posted on a ‘results’ page that contains information on event participants’ 5 km run time, ranking, gender, age category, and running club. Participants’ 5 km run times, gender, and age category were collected from these parkrun online databases for every run for which a survey response was recorded. Survey responses were linked to event data (run times) using the event date and parkrun ID numbers provided in each survey (see S1 SOM of 3 for full details on additional data acquisition).

Inferential statistical models

The survey data consisted of repeated measures nested within individuals—each participant had one or more survey responses. Multilevel modelling was thus required to analyze the data. All multilevel models included participant ID as the level-two grouping variable. When possible, maximal random effects structures were used. All models included random slopes for all predictor variables, unless the inclusion of a random slope caused the model to fail to converge, in which case the random slope term was removed from the model (see S1 SOM of 4).

For the multilevel models testing effects of social predictor variables on subjective fatigue, energy, and enjoyment (Hypotheses 1.1–3.3), there were no covariates. Models on 5 km run times (logged to improve model fit) and mediation analyses included a ‘pace influence’ covariate, which quantified the degree to which participants’ adjusted their running pace to running alongside others (i.e., faster, slower, no change). All direct, indirect, and total effects were calculated following the procedures of Tingely et al. [ 50 ]. Additional models examined effects of response frequency and response time on self-reported outcome variables and of social predictors on effort.

Statistical analyses were performed in R version 3.5.3. The R packages lme4 [ 51 ] and lmer [ 52 ] were used to perform the multilevel modelling. Marginal R 2 ( R m 2 and R c 2 ) for the multilevel models was calculated using functions from the piecewiseSEM package in R [ 53 ]. The R packages mediation [ 50 ] and lme4 [ 51 ] were used to perform the multilevel mediation analyses, which employed bias-corrected and accelerated (BCa) bootstrap-based confidence intervals.

Family-wise error rates

When testing families of comparisons, it is necessary to control for the increased probability of Type I error due to conducting multiple hypothesis tests [ 54 – 56 ]. The analyses reported below used the procedures of Benjamini and Hochberg [ 54 ] in determining more conservative critical values for the multiple comparisons over the three related tests in each of the six families of hypotheses in Table 1 . The full procedure used for controlling for multiple comparisons can be found in S1 SOM of 5.

For the mediation analyses, each type of effect (indirect, direct, and total) was treated as a sub-family of tests when accounting for multiple comparisons for Hypothesis 5.1—Hypothesis 5.3 and Hypothesis 6.1—Hypothesis 6.3.

Creation of social predictor variables

For the inferential analyses reported below, three social predictor variables were derived from the self-report survey items on participants’ sociality at parkrun. We created binary categories for the items on who participants came/met up with and pre-run sociality. Regarding who participants came or met up with, we combined responses into either (1) coming/meeting up with friends and/or family, or (2) coming/meeting up with one or more acquaintances or coming on their own. Regarding pre-run sociality we combined responses into either (1) being social before the run (‘getting ready and hanging out with others’), or (2) not being social before the run (‘getting ready and hanging out on my own’ or ‘something else’). Responses to the two questions on the parkrun community were highly correlated (“How much did you feel supported by the parkrun community today?” and “How much did you feel you were a part of the parkrun community today?”; r = .72). A PCA was used to test the relationship between these two variables, based on the expectation that the questions on support and inclusion would load onto a component related to social support from the parkrun community (see S1 SOM of 6 for a full summary of this analysis). The single component extracted from the two variables had a Kaiser’s criterion of 1.72, explained 86% of the variance in answers to the two questions, and had good reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = .840). The component (henceforth, the ‘parkrun community component’) was taken to represent the perceived strength of participants’ relationship with the parkrun community. These three predictor variables (co-participation, pre-run sociality, community) were used in the analyses described below.

Survey responses

In total, there were 765 survey responses. Some returns could not be matched to a particular parkrun ID and were excluded from analyses. If a participant responded more than once for a given event, their first response was retained for analysis, and all subsequent responses for that event were removed (see S1 SOM of 3 for full data cleaning procedures). After exclusions, there were 734 survey responses from 143 participants; 49% of participants were female ( n = 70), and females represented 46% of all surveys returns analyzed ( n = 341). Respondents were drawn from all age categories (18–20–75–79). The mean age of survey respondents (taking the midpoint of the age category as the respondent’s age) was 48.27 years (median = 47 years, SD = 11.90 years).

Participants responded to the survey an average of 5.09 times (median = 4, SD = 4.02, range = 1–17; see S1 SOM of S2 Fig for a histogram of participant’s total survey responses and S1 SOM of S3 Fig for histograms of survey return and completion times). Thirty-four participants (22%) were responsible for 50% of all survey responses (n = 369); see S1 SOM of 7 and S1 Table for summaries of differences between scores on the predictor, mediator, and outcome variables of interest for respondents with high and low response counts. The median survey response time (measured from the time participants clicked on the link to the survey to the time they submitted their final answer) was 4 hr 32 min. Survey response times did not affect responses to affect related questions; logged (to improve model fits) response times did not predict subjective fatigue, perceived energy, subjective enjoyment, or the parkrun community component (see S1 SOM of 8 and S2–S5 Tables).

Descriptive results

Descriptive results for survey and run time data are summarized in Table 2 . Participants were most often motivated to attend parkrun for social reasons, i.e., “to run together with other people” versus attending for reasons related to training (“to improve my time) or competition (“to improve my ranking”). Participants most often reported coming or meeting up with friends and family, or a mixture of friends, family, and acquaintances, and socializing with others before the run (versus being alone or doing something else). Perceived support and integration into the parkrun community was relatively high overall, as were mean enjoyment and energy.

Although attending or meeting up with others appears to be the norm for this sample, the majority of survey responses indicate that participants ran on their own. Regarding the question on who participants ran with (henceforth the ‘co-running’ variable), 67.71% of returns indicate that the participant ran alone. Regarding the question on whether participants changed their running pace to run with a running partner (henceforth the ‘pace influence’ variable), 74.25% of returns indicate that the participant ran alone. This difference in proportions likely results from the different phrasing of the two questions. For example, it is possible that some participants ran alongside multiple different others during the event (as captured by the co-running measure), but that they did not run together with (or therefore coordinate pace with) particular individuals (as captured by the pace influence measure).

Regarding subjective effort, the mean response on the perceived effort scale was 14.61, between “13—Somewhat hard” and “15—Hard (heavy)”. Subjective effort was highly correlated with subjective fatigue ( r = .706). The follow-up to the question on fatigue, on how physically painful the fatigue was, was only asked when participants’ reported level of fatigue was 5 or greater (64.17% of surveys; n = 471), and was slightly lower than the overall level of fatigue. Participants’ 5 km run times were positively skewed (skewness = 0.87; see S1 SOM of S4 Fig). Although informative of the survey results as a whole, this descriptive picture should be interpreted with caution as it is most heavily influenced by those participants who answered the survey the most times (see S1 SOM of S2 Fig).

Main effects of social predictor variables on subjective experiences and 5km run times

Main effects of social predictor variables on subjective fatigue (h1).

The parkrun community component and pre-run sociality did not significantly predict participants’ perceptions of fatigue (see S1 SOM of S5 and S6 Tables). There was an association between who participants came/met up and perceptions of fatigue; coming/meeting up with friends/family (vs. coming or meeting up with acquaintances or alone) predicted significantly lower perceptions of fatigue, b = −0.250, SE = 0.111, p = .027 (see S1 SOM of S8 Table), but this p -value was not significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons.

Main effects of social predictor variables on perceived energy (H2)

The parkrun community component positively predicted perceived energy, b = 0.559, SE = 0.034, p < .001, as did coming or meeting up with friends/family, b = 0.209, SE = 0.081, p = .009, and pre-run sociality, b = 0.310, SE = 0.092, p = .001 (see S1 SOM of S9–S11 Tables). All p -values were significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons.

Main effects of social predictor variables on subjective enjoyment (H3)

The parkrun community component positively predicted enjoyment, b = 0.439, SE = 0.039, p < .001, as did coming or meeting up with friends/family, b = 0.230 SE = 0.086, p = .008, and pre-run sociality, b = 0.346, p < .001 (see S1 SOM of S12–S14 Tables). All p -values were significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons.

Main effects of social predictor variables on 5 km run times (H4)

None of the social predictor variables predicted (logged) 5 km run times (see S1 SOM of S15–S17 Tables).

Perceived energy as a mediator of main effect of social predictors on 5 km run times (H5)

All three predictor variables had significant, ergogenic indirect effects on 5 km run times, with perceived energy as the mediating variable (H5.1–5.3; see Fig 1 and S1 SOM of S5 Fig).

Mediation diagram depicting the direct, indirect, and total effects of the social predictor variables—the parkrun community component (H5.1), whether or not participants came or met up with family and/or friends (H5.2), and their pre-run sociality (H5.3)–on 5 km run times, with participants’ perceived energy as a potential mediator.

The first mediation analysis tested whether participants’ perceived energy mediated the relationship between their scores on the parkrun community component and their (logged) 5 km run times (5.1). Analyses revealed a significant average indirect effect of −0.008 ( p < .001), a significant average direct effect of 0.015 ( p < .001), and a non-significant total effect of 0.007 ( p = .110): how energized participants felt mediated the relationship between the parkrun community component and participants’ 5 km run times. The average indirect effect was significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons (see S1 SOM of S18 and S19 Tables for model summaries and S1 SOM of S5a and S5d Fig for predictor, mediator, and outcome variable relationships).

The second mediation analysis tested whether participants’ perceived energy mediated the relationship between who participants came or met up with and their (logged) 5 km run times (H5.2). There was a significant average indirect effect of −0.002 ( p = .012), a non-significant average direct effect of 0.008 ( p = .338), and a non-significant total effect of −0.006 ( p = .468): the relationship between who participants came or met up with and logged run times was mediated by how energized they felt. The average indirect effect was significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons (see S1 SOM of S20 and S21 Tables for model summaries and S1 SOM of S5b and S5d Fig for predictor, mediator, and outcome variable relationships).

The third mediation analysis tested whether participants’ perceived energy mediated the relationship between their pre-run sociality and their (logged) 5 km run times (H5.3). Results showed a significant average indirect effect of −0.003 ( p = .006), a non-significant average direct effect of 0.012 ( p = .138), and a non-significant total effect of 0.010 ( p = .236): the relationship between participants’ pre-run sociality and logged 5 km run times was mediated by how energized they felt. The average indirect effect was significant after adjustment for multiple comparisons (see S1 SOM of S22 and S23 Tables for model summaries and S1 SOM of S5c and S5d Fig for predictor, mediator, and outcome variable relationships).

Subjective fatigue as a mediator of main effect of social predictors on 5 km run times (H6)

With subjective fatigue as the mediating variable (H6), none of the social predictor variables had significant direct, indirect, or total effects on 5 km run times. Mediation summaries can be found in S1 SOM of S6 Fig, and model summaries can be found in S1 SOM of S24–S29 Tables.

Main effects of social predictor variables on subjective effort

None of the social predictor variables significantly predicted subjective effort levels (see S1 SOM of S29–S32 Tables). This is consistent with the claim that the social predictor variable effects on participant experiences and performance are not confounded by social-motivational factors associated with competition or threat of evaluation.

Model assumption checks

Assumption checks were carried out in accordance with previously published methods [ 57 , 58 ]. Multilevel model assumptions include residual homoscedasticity, normality, and linearity (at both level-one and level-two of the model); the assumptions of multilevel mediation models are the same, but also include those of sequential ignorability [ 59 ]. Model assumption checks and are reported in S1 SOM of 9.

Community-based sports and exercise events, particularly those offered on a continuous and regular basis, have been identified as having significant but untapped public health benefits [ 60 ]. Existing evidence suggests that participation in collective exercise events, such as parkrun, can be encouraged not just for the physical and psychological benefits of physical activity and exercise, but also for the simultaneous wellbeing benefits of social connection, integration and support [ 22 , 61 ]. Although it has been shown that individuals often draw on existing connections to initiate their participation in parkrun [e.g., 62 ], and that stronger identification with the parkrun collective is associated with more frequent participation and higher life satisfaction [ 38 ], little is known about the effects of social reward and support on participants’ affective experiences of exercise, and related performance. Addressing this gap can begin to contribute valuable new data relevant to tackling pressing international public health challenges of physical inactivity and loneliness, while at the same time advancing our scientific understanding of the social modulation of homeostatic mechanisms that contribute to feelings of fatigue, energy, enjoyment and performance in exertive physical activity [ 63 ].

To investigate the social determinants of affective experiences and performance in exercise in a naturalistic group setting, we analyzed associations between a range of social variables and self-reported enjoyment, fatigue and energy, as well as recorded run times, in a sample of UK parkrunners. Results give partial support to our hypotheses and suggest a more nuanced account of how social environments affect experiences and outputs during physical exercise.

Survey responses confirmed previous findings of high levels of sociality at parkrun [ 42 , 43 , 64 ]: in the majority of surveys, participants reported coming or meeting up with friends and family, or a mixture of friends, family, and acquaintances. Running with others, rather than running to improve times or rankings, was the predominant motivation for attending. As participants primarily report running on their own, however, this motivation appears to relate more to the parkrun collective rather than specific running partners or groups. Perceived support from and integration within the parkrun community was high, as were subjective enjoyment, energy, effort and fatigue. Overall, the descriptive picture is of a positive and facilitative social context for invigorating and challenging self-paced exercise.

Social predictors (coming or meeting up with friends and/or family vs. coming alone; hanging out with others before the event vs. alone; feeling integrated into and supported by the parkrun community) had positive effects on subjective enjoyment and energy, and performance, in line with our hypotheses. The social predictor variables did not directly predict participants’ perceptions of fatigue, however, and it was only through indirect effects that they were associated with lower 5 km run times. Specifically, all of the social predictor variables had significant indirect negative effects on 5 km run times, via positive effects on subjective energy. A one unit increase in the social predictor variables led to a decrease between 0.17% and 0.74% (depending on the predictor variable) in 5 km run times, such that a one unit increase in the social predictor variables led to between 3.34 s and 11.70 s faster 5 km run times, on average [ 65 ]. Taken together, these results suggest that, even among those who generally run slower times, it is not social factors per se that lead to improved performance. Rather, social factors, on average, are positively associated with greater feelings of energy, and these predict faster 5 km run times. In fact, when controlling for subjective energy, there was a significant direct effect of the parkrun community factor on run times, but in the opposite direction predicted. This likely reflects the variable performance motivations represented across these participants; those with stronger motivations to improve their run times may be more likely to benefit from the energizing effects of social support and integration relative to those less concerned about their running performance.

Overall, these results point to potential beneficial effects of social reward and perceived social support on positive affect, including enjoyment and subjective energy, with potential regulatory effects on performance. As there is no indication that social predictors were associated with self-reported effort, it seems unlikely that the mediating effect of subjective energy on performance is attributable to motivations traditionally identified in social facilitation research (e.g., apprehension about being evaluated). Rather, we suggest that the felt energy and enjoyment associated with the social predictor variables can be explained, in part, by the intrinsic psychological reward of positive and supportive social engagement [ 66 , 67 ]. This interpretation is in line with observational research showing that perceptions of social support and cohesion at parkrun are associated with more positive experiences [ 68 ]. Although this study does not examine potential causal mechanisms, our interpretation is also corroborated by extensive neurobiological evidence that endogenous systems involved in sustaining physical exercise, such as the endocannabinoid and opioidergic systems, are also activated by positive social interactions [ 29 , 67 , 69 – 72 ]. Overall, we suggest that positive social engagement and perceptions of support modulate the balance of pleasure-displeasure that regulates self-selected exercise intensity and performance output, and that this could be instrumental in motivating adherence [ 15 , 63 , 73 ].

Although all of the social predictor variables were positively associated with participants’ subjective energy, there was no significant relationship detected between the social predictors and fatigue, nor any mediation effect of social predictors and fatigue on performance. These results suggest a qualification of our account. Fatigue and energy are both conceptualized in the literature as multidimensional states that concern ability to sustain voluntary activity. Whereas feelings of fatigue relate specifically to the perceived difficulty of maintaining task goals [ 74 ], feelings of energy relate to perceived ability to maintain task goals, captured in standard measures as “vigor” or “vitality”. Both reported fatigue and reported energy were relatively high ( M = 4.79, SD = 1.27 and M = 5.64, SD = 1.06, respectively, on a 1–7 scale). Our results suggest a distinction between “boosting” (i.e., energy-giving) and “buffering” (i.e., fatigue-reducing) mechanisms and effects on affect and related performance. All three social predictor variables showed similar effects on outcome variables. Future research could systematically manipulate those aspects of social behavior most directly associated with increasing pleasant affective states, such as laughter, behavioral synchrony [e.g., music, singing or dancing; 75 ] and those most directly associated decreasing unpleasant affective states [e.g., social cues of safety/support; 76 ], and measure effects on subjective energy and fatigue.

An alternative explanation for the significant mediation effect is that the presence of known social others increased levels of competition and motivation among parkrunners, and these effects were captured by the perceived energy variable. Motivation and felt energy are likely overlapping constructs, both leading to increased physical outputs [ 77 ]. It is possible that the presence of friends or family members increases competition levels at parkrun. However, it is unclear why socializing before the event or feeling more included and supported by the parkrun community would predict higher competition levels. Furthermore, contrary to the competitive-motivation account, we found no association between social predictor variables and subjective effort. Future studies could investigate relationships among social reward or support, felt energy and fatigue, and performance in a range of social exercise settings. Fatigue-buffering effects of perceived social support may be more likely in high-intensity exercise contexts characterized by both positive sociality, support or camaraderie and high-stakes performance near the limits of exercise tolerance [ 33 , 63 , 78 ].

The results of this study should be considered in light of its limitations. First, the study was observational in nature and causality can only be inferred. Many variables potentially associated with sociality, affect or performance were not controlled for in the study design or analyses but could potentially affect outcomes. Nutritional intake and previous exercise in the period prior to the event might have affected performance, for example, though it is less obvious that these would systematically covary with the study’s social predictor variables. Higher feelings of energy could be predictive of higher sociability and perceptions of social support generally, though we are not aware of any evidence directly supporting this conjecture. More plausibly, higher performance outputs could prompt reports of higher subjective energy, via positive feedback mechanisms. Although some parkrunners track their times on personal watches, not all participants would have been aware of their objective performance during or immediately after the event. Surveys were sent out 45 min after the beginning of each parkrun. The median time taken to return the survey was approximately 4.5 hours, and 20% of surveys were returned over 24 hours after they were received (see S1 SOM of S3a Fig). As all returned surveys were included in analyses, it is likely that some participants would have accessed their 5 km run times before completing the survey. Post-hoc appraisals of subjective energy could therefore have been informed by knowledge of objective run time data. However, analyses show no effect of response time on variables related to participants’ affective experiences (i.e., their self-reports of fatigue, energy, or enjoyment) or their scores on the parkrun community component (see S1 SOM of 5 and S2–S5 Tables), and there is no theoretical reason to assume that this prior knowledge would affect reports of pre-run sociality or who participants reported coming or meeting up with at parkrun.

Previous qualitative research also offers some support for the hypothesized causality. Participants’ statements indicate awareness and appreciation of social support received from other parkrunners, including boosting effects on performance [ 42 , 43 ]: “When people come through the finish line, you know, there’s people there and they’re all cheering you on and… it just gives a real boost” [ 64 ; p. 10]. The link to adherence is also explicit in these reflections: “Running with others is a massive motivation. … I don’t think I would run 5 km every week if I didn’t have a group like this to run with” [ 43 ; p. 12]. Further research is required to examine this link further, and to assess whether post-event affective responses (as measured here) influence or are otherwise related to pre-event and in-task responses. In this study, measures were not assessed during the event to minimize intrusiveness and influence on participants’ experiences [ 46 ].

Second, although our primary statistical analyses accounted for the repeated measures design, multilevel model results are influenced most by those participants with relatively high numbers of survey responses [ 79 ]. However, there are few significant differences between participants with high survey response counts (nine or more responses) and those with low survey response counts (fewer than nine responses; see S1 SOM of 5 and S1 Table). Nevertheless, future studies should strive for larger samples and for a higher median survey response number, where possible, to assess the replicability of results.

Third, the study does not investigate factors predicting variation in perceptions of social support, or in the association between social predictors and positive experiences or performance outcomes. It is important to note that the presence of others, even family and friends, does not always serve as a cue of social reward or social support. Furthermore, being the recipient of support is not always a positive experience. For example, highly neurotic individuals might tend to focus on the interpersonal costs of receiving social support while highly independent individuals can react to social support with feelings of compromised independence [ 80 ]. These responses have been theorized to reduce (or even abolish) the positive effects of social support on coping with stressors [ 80 , 81 ]. Future research could examine effects of relationship quality and personality on experiences in exercise, as well as the effects of different exercise contexts (e.g., primarily competitive or primarily cooperative) on the quality of participants’ social connections and relationships and on subjective energy and self-efficacy levels. This could inform a broader understanding of how these variables relate to exercise experiences and adherence [ 82 – 84 ]. Interventions could better leverage and target the potential of social connection, reward and support to benefit the exercise experiences and health outcomes of individuals across a wider range of personality traits and socio-cultural backgrounds [ 85 ].

Finally, this study was limited to just six neighboring parkrun venues. Testing the hypotheses across a larger number of venues and in geographically and culturally diverse settings, could offer greater confidence in the generalizability of results.

Conclusions

Affective dimensions of physical exercise and social integration and belonging are fundamental to addressing global public health challenges of physical inactivity and social isolation or loneliness. Traditionally, physical (in)activity research and social psychological research on these issues have proceeded in parallel, occupying distinct academic domains. Despite promising recent examples [ 38 , 60 , 62 , 86 ], cross-fertilization between domains is historically limited by parochial emphases on the social factors that influence either health and wellbeing or performance in physical activity and exercise. Whereas social-environmental approaches to physical inactivity have focused primarily on social-ecological conditions that promote or inhibit health-beneficial exercise behavior, social psychological approaches to exercise adherence and performance have focused overwhelmingly on social facilitation effects engendered via stress (at worst) or distraction (at best), or on the benefits of cohesion for adherence, performance and health in team or group settings with clearly defined boundaries.

Here, we suggest that these issues do not belong in any single discipline, and that approaches need to draw from traditionally disparate areas of science (e.g., sports science, evolutionary anthropology, social psychology) to effectively inform public policy and civic engagement [ 85 ]. The research here takes a broad interdisciplinary, evolutionary and psychological approach to human social behavior, drawing from an extensive literature demonstrating that humans derive intrinsic pleasure from connecting, coordinating and cooperating together, and that our cooperative sociality profoundly influences homeostatic function, wellbeing and health [ 87 ]. The findings motivate new orientations on old questions about the social determinants of engagement and performance in exercise, offer novel directions for research into the public health value of community-led sports and exercise initiatives, and contribute to our nascent understanding of the synergistic interdependencies between social, psychological and biological factors in homeostatic self-regulation in exercise.

Supporting information

Acknowledgments.

Thanks to parkrun for supporting and facilitating the research, especially the local organizing volunteers at the Abingdon, Didcot, Fulham Place, Harcourt Hill, Oxford, and Reading event locations, particularly, Mike Shepherd; to Nadia Kaan for research assistance; and to Chris Beedie, Jacob Taylor, Megan Jefferies, and Bronwyn Tarr for valuable suggestions.

Funding Statement

AD: Clarendon Scholarship, University of Oxford; https://www.ox.ac.uk/clarendon EC: British Academy Fellowship (ref: MD130076). The British Academy. ( www.britishacademy.ac.uk ) PMC: Science Foundation Ireland, grant number 16/IA/4470 The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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Emotional and social benefits of physical activity.

You know exercise is good for you. You’ve heard it time and time again from doctors, teachers, coaches, friends, television programs, magazines, and more for as long as you can remember.

Of course, moving more helps keep our bodies in tip-top shape, from our muscles to our joints to our heart and lungs. But did you know that regular physical activity plays a significant role in our emotional and social health?

This guide explains everything you need to know about the social benefits of exercise at every stage of your life.

Table of Contents

How does physical activity benefit your social health.

• Top 5 Emotional and Social Benefits of Exercise

Social Benefits of Exercise for Children

Social benefits of exercise for teenagers, social benefits of exercise for adults.

• Social Benefits of Exercise for the Elderly
• Want to Learn More About The Social Benefits of Exercise?  Connect With One of In Motion O.C’s Fitness Experts

Whether you get your sweat on with a fitness coach, with a friend or family member, or in a group fitness class, there are several benefits to working out with others . These include:

• Maintaining proper form
• A competitive push
• Staying accountable

When looking for a person or group of people to work out with, ideal qualities include:

• A positive attitude
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Top 5 Emotional and Social Benefits of Regular Exercise

Working out has several benefits. Controlling weight or building muscle may be two benefits that immediately come to mind.

Additional physical benefits of working out regularly include:

• Improved sleep
• Increased muscle and bone density
• Metabolic syndrome
• High blood pressure
• Type 2 diabetes
• Many types of cancer

But maybe you haven’t thought about what else moving regularly can do to positively impact your life.

Let’s focus on the emotional and social benefits of physical activity. From neighborhood walks to yoga classes to strength training , working out helps you with:

• Building relationships
• Increasing energy levels
• Boosting your mood
• Discipline and accountability
• Improved cognitive function.

#1: Builds Relationships

Whether in person or virtually, working out with friends, a personal trainer, or in a class is a great way to build relationships with others.

Maybe you’ve moved to a new city, joining a gym or attending a regular workout class is a great way to meet people. After all, you’ll know you already share an interest. Workout classes and camaraderie often go hand-in-hand.

Or, maybe work and life has been extra busy, leaving little quality time to spend with a good friend or significant other.

Carving out an hour a few times each week for a walk, run, or bike ride with that person allows you time for uninterrupted conversation and an opportunity to get moving.

#2: Increased Energy

Do you find you’re worn out after running around after your toddler or winded after taking the stairs? You may think an afternoon nap or a jolt of caffeine may help with that exhaustion, but a better bet may be adding regular exercise into your daily routine.

Physical activity helps build our muscles and increases our endurance when it comes to completing everyday tasks.

On top of that, exercise improves heart and lung health , increasing energy levels.

#3: Mood Boosts

You may have friends or family who hit the gym when they’re feeling upset or go for a long run to blow off some steam. There’s a scientific reason for that.

You’ve likely heard of endorphins. Endorphins are the body’s “feel-good” neurotransmitters.

Physical activity increases endorphin levels, which in turn boosts your mood and decreases depression and anxiety.

If you’re feeling stressed out or down in the dumps, regular exercise may be just what the doctor ordered!

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends getting at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity each week.

#4: Discipline

Think about this.

Are you one of those people who say they’re going to work out each morning?

You lay out your workout gear, prep your water bottle, and set your alarm to go off well before the sun rises.

You’ve got the best of intentions, but hours later, when that alarm starts beeping, you start making excuses:

• “ I didn’t get enough sleep .” 
• “ I’m not feeling well .” 
• “I’ll hit the gym early tomorrow morning instead.”

If you find you’re making excuses, hitting snooze, and going back to sleep more often than sweating before sunrise, having an accountability partner may be exactly what you need.

After all, you’re less likely to blow off that morning workout if a friend or fitness coach is waiting on you.

Having an accountability partner encourages healthy habits and discipline.

#5: Improved Cognitive Function

You may have heard people complain of “brain fog” or say they’re going to hit the treadmill to “clear their head.”

That’s because there’s a correlation between regular exercise and improved cognitive function.

Studies have shown that aerobic exercise boosts the size of the brain area associated with verbal memory and learning .

What Are the Social Benefits of Exercise By Age Group?

No matter if you’re…

• Learning Tae Kwon Do as a six-year-old
• Playing high school soccer 
• Training for a marathon with your best friend in your 30s, or
• Strength training with your significant other so you can keep up with your grandkids

…regular exercise provides social benefits at every age.

If you invest in yourself by working out, you can expect positive impacts from increased confidence to lower stress to a group of friends to socialize with and who support your fitness goals.

Physical play isn’t just enjoyable for kids; it’s essential for their wellbeing, both cognitively and socially.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily for children six years and older.

This activity helps kids:

• Develop social skills
• Encourages team-building
• Improve self-esteem
• Boosts academic performance

The teenage years aren’t easy. Teens deal with changing bodies, increased responsibilities, and a host of social stressors.

Besides managing weight and keeping young adults healthy, exercise helps teens:

• Manage stress levels
• Process difficult emotions
• Build confidence

Whether it’s getting involved in a team sport at school, going on hikes or bike rides with a friend, routine activity needs to be a priority for adolescents.

As we move into adulthood, exercise remains essential for both our physical and social health. It also becomes more challenging to make regular exercise a priority in this season of life.

After all, as adults, we’re often responsible for more than just ourselves. We may be responsible for:

• Young children
• Aging parents
• Managing colleagues and co-workers
• Managing finances
• And much more

Despite all of the things that demand our time and energy, making time for regular exercise provides a host of benefits:

• Improved self-esteem
• Stress relief
• Increased energy
• Improved quality of life
• Longer life expectancy

Social Benefits of Exercise for Elderly Individuals

Regular exercise is vital for older adults.

Not only does it improve overall health and fitness, but increased physical activity also reduces your risk of chronic conditions.

Strength training is a great place to start because muscle mass naturally diminishes with age. Strength training can help you preserve and enhance that muscle mass.

Regular exercise, specifically strength training and high impact cardio, can also slow the loss of bone density that often comes with age.

In addition to:

• Preventing disease
• Preserving muscle mass
• Increasing bone density

Regular exercise is key to improving mental health and wellbeing. One way to feel happy and confident as we age is by maintaining our physical and psychological independence.

Increased Independence

Getting older comes with its own challenges. It can be downright frustrating when our bodies can’t do the things they were once able to.

At In Motion O.C., our clients want to feel good when they play with their kids or grandkids.

They want to work out in such a way as to maximize their health and wellbeing, not just their biceps. That’s why our fitness coaches focus on functional strength training .

Functional strength training may be especially beneficial as part of a comprehensive program for older adults to:

• Improve balance
• Improve agility
• Increase muscle strength
• Reduce the risk of falls

Many older adults hope to continue to live in their own homes as long as possible, as opposed to moving to an assisted living center or other care facility.

If maintaining that independence is important to you, now is the time to get moving.

Regular exercise helps seniors stay mobile , increasing their ability to complete everyday tasks and live independently.

Want to Learn More About The Social Benefits of Exercise? Connect With One of In Motion O.C’s Fitness Experts

Do you want to experience the many emotional and social benefits of exercise firsthand?

Start your journey to better physical, mental, and social health with a free consultation.

In Motion O.C. isn’t just a physical therapy clinic. It isn’t just a gym.

When you become part of the In Motion O.C. family, you’re welcomed into a community of like-minded individuals. When you walk through the doors of this state-of-the-art facility, you’ll know you’re in a place where your health is our #1 priority.

In Motion O.C. is your alternative to large, impersonal gyms.

That’s because, at In Motion O.C., we focus on real relationships with our members. Our team of fitness professionals will get to know your personal goals and help you reach and exceed them.

Whether you’re beginning your fitness journey or you’re a seasoned athlete, when you join the In Motion O.C. family, you’re getting:

• A top-level fitness coach
• A workout program co-designed by physical therapists, postural specialists, and fitness coaches
• Free consultations with physical therapists whenever needed

Make a commitment to your physical, mental, and social wellness with a fitness program and wellness community today. In Motion O.C. will be with you every step of the way.

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2.1 An Introduction to the Benefits of Physical Activity

Regular participation in exercise may improve an individual’s physiological, cognitive, and psychological health. Many decades of research illustrate the positive effect physical activity has on the body and mind. When practiced across the lifespan, physical activity may result in greater overall health, and a reduced risk for many chronic diseases.

Despite the aforementioned benefits, many Americans do not currently meet national recommendations for physical activity participation. College students in particular may face unique challenges to participating in regular physical activity, often due to perceived and environmental barriers. However, many college students report a deep desire to maintain physical fitness and wellness in the midst of hectic academic schedules.

Chapter 2 will present an overview of the numerous benefits incurred from physical activity participation, after which the underlying factors influencing participation in exercise (or lack thereof) in college-aged populations will be reviewed. Finally, several behavioral strategies which may aid an individual’s initiation and maintenance of a physical activity regimen will be explored.

A Guide to Physical Activity Copyright © 2019 by Eydie Kramer is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Real-Life Benefits of Exercise and Physical Activity

On this page:

Why is physical activity important?

Emotional benefits of exercise.

Exercise and physical activity are good for just about everyone, including older adults. No matter your health and physical abilities, you can gain a lot by staying active. In fact, studies show that “taking it easy” is risky. Often, inactivity is more to blame than age when older people lose the ability to do things on their own. Lack of physical activity also can lead to more visits to the doctor, more hospitalizations, and more use of medicines for a variety of illnesses.

Including all 4 types of exercise can benefit a wide range of areas of your life. Staying active can help you:

• Keep and improve your strength so you can stay independent
• Have more energy to do the things you want to do and reduce fatigue
• Improve your balance and lower risk of falls and injuries from falls
• Manage and prevent some diseases like arthritis, heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and 8 types of cancer, including breast and colon cancer
• Sleep better at home
• Reduce levels of stress and anxiety
• Reach or maintain a healthy weight and reduce risk of excessive weight gain
• Control your blood pressure
• Possibly improve or maintain some aspects of cognitive function , such as your ability to shift quickly between tasks or plan an activity
• Perk up your mood and reduce feelings of depression

Research has shown that exercise is not only good for your physical health, it also supports emotional and mental health. You can exercise with a friend and get the added benefit of emotional support. So, next time you’re feeling down, anxious, or stressed, try to get up and start moving!

Physical activity can help:

• Reduce feelings of depression and stress, while improving your mood and overall emotional well-being
• Increase your energy level
• Improve sleep
• Empower you to feel more in control

In addition, exercise and physical activity may possibly improve or maintain some aspects of cognitive function , such as your ability to shift quickly between tasks, plan an activity, and ignore irrelevant information.

Here are some exercise ideas to help you lift your mood:

• Walking, bicycling, or dancing. Endurance activities increase your breathing, get your heart pumping, and boost chemicals in your body that may improve mood.
• Yoga. This mind and body practice typically combines physical postures, breathing exercises, and relaxation.
• Tai Chi. This "moving meditation" involves shifting the body slowly, gently, and precisely, while breathing deeply.
• Activities you enjoy. Whether it’s gardening, playing tennis, kicking around a soccer ball with your grandchildren, or something else, choose an activity you want to do, not one you have to do.

You may also be interested in

• Finding tips to help stay motivated to exercise
• Exploring safety tips for exercising outdoors
• Reading about the four types of exercise

Sign up for e-alerts about healthy aging

For more information.

YMCA 800-872-9622 [email protected] www.ymca.net

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 800-232-4636 888-232-6348 (TTY) [email protected] www.cdc.gov

MedlinePlus National Library of Medicine       www.medlineplus.gov

This content is provided by the NIH National Institute on Aging (NIA). NIA scientists and other experts review this content to ensure it is accurate and up to date.

Content reviewed: April 3, 2020

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An official website of the National Institutes of Health

Benefits of Exercise and Importance of Overall Fitness Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

The Body Composition Benchmark

This paper clarifies the concepts of health and fitness, briefly explains why attaining both is essential for all ages, and imparts a beginning program for those who are truly motivated. Being in the best of health means more than the absence of illness.

Beyond avoiding the sickbed, being healthy and fit has immense physiological, cosmetic, and psychological value. Since keeping fit means staying active and engaging in a program of exercise, one gets improved muscle strength, bone density/durability, and cardiovascular tone.

In turn, better circulation improves skin tone and appearance. If your preferred exercise is playing a competitive sport, so much the better.

Stress recedes and the pleasant feeling of exhaustion afterward calms your nerves and helps you sleep better (WebMD LLC, 2009). Given these physiological benefits, exercise is great for helping prevent or delay the onset of osteoporosis, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease (Atwal, Porter, and MacDonald, 2002).

Exercise can take many forms. Start with a program of brisk walking on the treadmill at home. Or walk several laps around the track at school. Sign up for an aerobics dance class at one of many gyms around town. Or go biking around the park or forest trails and marvel at the sights you used to miss.

Since it is good to engage in exercise for the long term even if improvements in physique and health are subtle at first, it is good to have a reliable benchmark. The American Heart Association (2009) recommends keeping track of body composition: how much of your body are fat, bone, and muscle. Typically, an inactive but reasonably slender adult female may have 20-25% body fat. A nurse can measure how thick the fat layer under the skin is with calipers or run one through a bioelectrical impedance analysis device that measures resistance encountered by a low-voltage electrical current to assess body fat. After a period of exercise at some vigorous sport (multi-lap swimming or distance running), one can get fat down to as little as 10% of body mass (National Institutes of Health, 2007).

American Heart Association (2009). Body composition tests . Web.

Atwal, S., Porter, J. & MacDonald, P. (2002). Cardiovascular effect of strenuous exercise in adult recreational hockey: The Hockey Heart Study. Canadian Medical Association Journal, 166 (3); 303-307 (5 pages).

National Institutes of Health (2007). Weight management . Web.

WebMD LLC (2009). The incredible benefits of regular exercise . Web.

• Health Benefits of Yoga and Pilates
• Importance of Physical Fitness
• T. Veblen’s Theory of the Leisure Class
• Annotated Bibliography: Sport Cycling
• Bahrain and Qatar Races Completion
• The Importance of Physical Exercises for Adults
• Fitness Trends: Group Exercising Provides Better Results
• Weight Training: Principles and Recommendations
• Why Do People Exercise
• Team Sports: Benefit of Playing for Children
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2022, March 8). Benefits of Exercise and Importance of Overall Fitness. https://ivypanda.com/essays/benefits-of-exercise-and-importance-of-overall-fitness/

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IvyPanda . 2022. "Benefits of Exercise and Importance of Overall Fitness." March 8, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/benefits-of-exercise-and-importance-of-overall-fitness/.

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11 Social Benefits of Exercise to Boost your Motivation

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34.3 minutes

Erin McDonough

Verified By

Luke Hughes

We’ve all heard about the physical benefits of regular exercise, but what about the social benefits of exercise? A trip to the gym can lead to better heart health, lower blood pressure, stronger, more toned muscles, as well as an array of mental benefits.

There are many physical, mental, and social benefits of exercise, but you don’t often hear about the social aspects, such as what meeting new people and learning new skills together can do for you. So, what are the social benefits of exercise? Let’s dive in!

The Social Benefits of Exercise

• How To Reap The Social Benefits Of Exercise

Frequently Asked Questions

• Our Conclusions

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#1 – Boosts Your Motivation

One of the most obvious social benefits of physical activity is having others to help push you to your limits, and reach new all-time bests. Exercise can be a lonely experience, especially when all you can listen to is the voice in your head telling you to stop and give up. But having a friend say ‘you’ve got this’ can be all you need to keep going.

For those who struggle with exercise, this is incredibly important. Whether it’s to do with a physical impairment or simply not feeling comfortable at the gym, a boost of energy from a friend can give you that extra push to reach your goals. One group that may struggle with exercise is older adults, where exercise still plays an important part in health.

A recent study looked at a group with an average age of 85, and they found that when they exercised in a group setting, self-efficacy (your belief in your ability to execute a behaviour) and outcome expectations massively improved. This proved conclusively that workout regimes for older adults should always include a social element where possible.

In fact, this additional level of motivation is one of the largest benefits of group exercise , and isn’t exclusive to the older generation – people of all ages can thrive on the motivation that others provide.

Being a part of a community can provide you with the physical, mental, and social benefits of exercise, and give a huge boost to your motivation beyond the one that comes with the physical benefits of a workout, which can be handy for those finding it hard to stay committed.

If you’ve ever taken a class, you’ll know that the positivity is infectious and spreads through the class like wildfire, creating an incredibly upbeat environment for the whole class.

The social benefit of having all those shouts to push yourself, to just do one more, or simply to keep going creates amazing positive feedback loops, and this triggers the release of hormones that make you feel good.

#2 – Creates Accountability

One of the most difficult things about exercising regularly is keeping it consistent, especially if you’re new to fitness, or you’re struggling to maintain a regular schedule of visiting the gym, going out for a run, or even loading up your best fitness DVD for a living room workout .

But arranging to exercise with a friend means you’ll be keeping each other in check, with the social obligation being another reason to get out of the house and get active. Nobody wants their friends to think they’re lazy or leave them high and dry when they’re trying to do their best too.

If you create a goal and follow it up with a commitment to your friends or a local class, you’re more likely to hit your targets. Your peers will help you to stay focused and motivated, and cheer on your every accomplishment!

The social benefits of exercise and the support of a workout partner cannot be underestimated – people who ride bikes in a group tend to pedal twice the distance of single bikers, and people who joined a group fitness class reported 10% more activity only one month later.

This social impact has not gone unnoticed by gyms – you have probably noticed an abundance of group classes and sessions for any activity you can think of, from yoga to aerobics. Even if you’re doing it with strangers rather than friends, that group mentality of feeling like you have to keep going, even if it’s becoming a bit of a struggle.

As a result, you are less likely to justify skipping a day or doing a few less reps than you would if you were alone. You’re also more likely to continue with the workouts you and your partner have set up, as these will likely be more tailored towards your individual aspirations.

#3 – Develop Teamwork Skills

A great social health benefit of exercise is that it can encourage development of your teamwork skills. Being able to work in a team is a key skill that helps us to communicate effectively with people, but it can be something people struggle with.

Maybe you feel overwhelmed in a group and end up not participating, or you always want to take the leadership role instead of learning to take a step back. Naturally, team sports can build these skills in a low-pressure, relaxed environment.

The idea of wanting to be strong for your team, be that an indoor cycling class or a dedicated running group, will always push you to go that little bit further, push that little bit harder.

Before you realise it, you’ll be putting in twice the effort to not only get fitter but also to show conscientiousness for others on your team.

This shows the physical, mental, and social benefits of exercise, as you will learn collaborative, synergistic teamwork, as well as gaining an identity as part of a team, a cohesive group atmosphere, and a positive team culture. Over time, this will boost the pride you feel for the team itself, and encourage working hard to see others succeed.

A knock-on effect of developing your teamwork skills is all around better communication ability, leading to increased productivity in every aspect of your life – by working towards a common goal you’ll experience less resistance, and therefore see a better output.

#4 – Enhances Your Cognitive Function

Apart from the physiological benefits that come from exercising, another social benefit of exercise is its ability to improve your cognitive functions. Consistent exercise boosts your memory and thinking skills in both a direct and an indirect way.

All forms of physical exercise act directly on the body, and trigger changes in insulin levels, reduction of inflammation, and releasing of endorphins. It can also promote the production of certain growth factors, too.

These chemicals affect the growth rate of new brain cells, impacting the health of the brain overall, and preventing age-related decline such as memory loss. These are especially effective when combined with the benefits a healthy diet can bring, and can have a far-reaching, positive impact on your overall quality of life.

Exercise prevents mild cognitive impairment by improving blood flow. Your heart pumping faster sends blood flowing around your body, increasing the amount of oxygen reaching your brain. As you get older, it takes longer to learn and recall information, so keeping your brain as healthy as possible is important.

In a comprehensive scientific study , it was found that aerobic exercise that gets your body sweating, and heart pumping boosts the size of the hippocampus, the part of the brain involved with verbal learning and memory. This demonstrates not only the physical, but the mental and social benefits of exercise as well.

The indirect effect of exercise comes from its impact on sleep, stress, mood, and anxiety. Improvements in these areas can lead to better cognitive function and concentration on daily tasks.

Another social benefit of exercise is that the parts of the brain that control memory and thinking are larger in those who exercise; numerous studies have found that poor physical fitness in middle age may be associated with smaller brain size in later life.

#5 – Promotes Healthy Competition

If you’re still wondering about the social benefits of physical activity, this point should inspire you to get out there and get working; healthy competition improves every aspect of your workout routine, and has some fantastic real-world applications outside of fitness as well.

When you frame your workout as a competition, you can create positive social norms for exercising, and can provide yourself with additional, more tangible motivation in that you want to beat those you’re competing against..

In a competitive setting, every person’s activity raises the bar for everyone else in the group, inspiring others to do at least as well as them, if not better. Pushing yourself to achieve that little more to compete alongside your peers is a fantastic social benefit of exercise, and one that’s often used in competitive formats, such as virtual running races and competitions.

Competition being a social benefit of exercise is fantastic as it can be applied outside of fitness as well. It teaches us to take risks and deal with our failures in a healthy way, helping us develop key skills such as humility and acceptance.

Once you realise that you can make mistakes and learn from them, you’ll realise that failure is a natural part of life, and necessary to make progress in whatever endeavour you’re doing, regardless of whether it is fitness-based or not.

You will also learn how to cope when things don’t go how you expect. Sometimes, you work really hard and still lose, and sometimes you win but don’t perform as well as you would have liked. In these moments you’ll learn resilience and grit, two traits that are essential in daily life.

#6 – Boosts Confidence And Self-Esteem

Time and time again researchers have shown that exercise can significantly improve both our confidence and self-esteem, providing more than just physical benefits of exercise.

Most of us have experienced low-self esteem or confidence in our lives at least once, through unconsciously using negative self-talk, comparing yourself to others, and focusing on the negatives in your life while ignoring the positives.

Self-esteem and self-confidence can sometimes be elusive emotions, but thankfully due to the social health benefits of exercise, you’ll see a profoundly positive effect on both of these things.

There are a number of ways by which exercise increases our own self-image. Firstly, in the short-term, exercise enhances your mood and changes the state of your mind to a more positive one. Secondly, in the long-term, exercise makes you feel really good about your physical self, your abilities, and your physique.

And last, both in the short and long-term, completing workouts and reaching fitness goals gives you a sense of accomplishment and pride that boosts your confidence even further. Establishing the right targets is crucial with exercise, and learning how to use SMART goals is an ideal skill to develop.

A knock-on effect of boosting your confidence is that you’ll feel better all around; exercise can help you break out of bad habits like poor diet choices, being sedentary, or over-eating.

When you feel better in your body, you feel better mentally, and so you’ll be more interested in exploring new places, meeting new people, and you’ll even have more energy to take on new and exciting challenges.

Another social benefit of exercise is that you’ll gain a sense of accomplishment that will shine through with your confidence; the success of creating a great workout routine and then sticking to it can bring an amazing sense of achievement.

When you hit these goals, you gain emotional stamina to take on even bigger goals, until you feel like there’s nothing you won’t be able to do.

To discover potential career paths, explore the best-paying fitness jobs that are currently open.

#7 – Helps You Deal With Negative Emotions

If you’re still wondering ‘what are the social benefits of exercise?’, this point can really show you the impact it can have. Dealing with unwanted or negative emotions is a common problem for many people, and it can be a struggle determining how to deal with these emotions.

Ignoring or repressing these anxieties and stresses is not the healthiest way to deal with them, but luckily another social health benefit of exercise is that it can improve the control that you have over those emotions.

It’s absolutely vital that we’re able to alter our mindset to gain more from our everyday actions as well as our fitness mindset. If we are unwilling or unable to think in a positive way, we only bring negativity to ourselves, instead of reaping the physical, mental, and social benefits of exercise.

One study that investigated the impact of exercise of emotion regulation ability found that after 8 weeks of intervention, implicit emotion regulation, mindfulness, and aerobic fitness level were improved.

However, only aerobic fitness mediated the intervention effect on implicit emotion regulation ability, meaning that the only way you will see results for emotional control is with fitness in conjunction with mindfulness practices.

Ultimately though, combining an element of fitness with your normal mindfulness and relaxation activities is a fantastic way to compound the effects this would normally have, and help bring back some emotional stability and balance.

#8 – Builds Your Community Involvement

Joining a new team sport or group session is an excellent way of meeting new people, or growing your current circle of friends. One of the best social health benefits of exercise is that you’re all feeling the same burn, the same exhaustion, and the same endorphin rush at the end. This common ground is all that is needed to make many meaningful relationships.

This can be particularly important for those who have a very small or no social circle at all. Loneliness is a horrible condition to live with, and has many physical symptoms including cardiovascular issues, early onset of Alzheimer’s disease, increased stress, and an increased likelihood to abuse addictive substances, such as alcohol and drugs.

While these are all serious issues, the cure is simple: find an exercise or activity that you enjoy and share it with other people in a class or team.

You don’t have to join a team sport to see the social health benefits of exercise, either, as there are groups for just about any activity you can think of. Searching through social media will help you to locate your local groups and give you a better idea of what they do. It might even be worth chatting to current members before attending to confirm the environment appeals to you.

A sense of community is an important trait for people to have as it can greatly improve our contentment in day-to-day life and benefit our wellbeing. Whether large or small, a community offers countless opportunities for growth, learning, and experience.

The environment should make you feel safe and secure enough to put your full effort into whatever you are doing, with the knowledge that your team will support you even if you fail.

#9 – Improves Mood And Mental Health

One of the best social benefits of exercise is an improved mood, as well as much better overall mental health. For common issues such as depression and anxiety, exercise can be incredibly beneficial.

It’s long been proven that, immediately after periods of physical activity (like going for a walk or run) and periods of inactivity (such as watching TV), physical exercise causes more feelings of contentedness, more energy, and an overall better mood compared to not exercising.

Regular exercise can help chronic depression by increasing serotonin levels, which regulate your mood, sleep, and appetite, as well as increasing your brain-derived neurotrophic factor (this helps neurons to grow in the brain). Serotonin also helps to reduce immune system chemicals that can make depression worse.

Moderate intensity exercise can actually be an effective treatment on its own for mild-to-moderate depression, and 16 weeks of regular exercise is just as effective as antidepressant medication in treating older individuals who did not exercise previously.

Regular exercise can also alleviate symptoms of anxiety as it diverts your attention from the thing you were worrying about, and forces your body to move, decreasing muscle tension and lowering the body’s levels of anxiety.

Another social health benefit of exercise is that your sleep pattern as well as quality of sleep will be much better; we know that getting enough sleep can protect the brain from damage.

Exercise activates the frontal regions of the brain responsible for executive function, such as the amygdala. The amygdala is our reacting system to real or imagined threats to our survival (fight or flight response) and exercising regularly will bolster the amygdala’s resistance to those negative emotions.

#10 – Increases Concentration

If you’re looking to improve your concentration, you’ve probably heard that exercise can help you focus and stay on task. It can help us to burn off excess energy, and provide our brain with additional blood flow and oxygen, enhancing our creativity and critical thinking.

Even acute bouts of physical activity, such as a 20-minute walk or jog, can enhance concentration and boost physical, mental and social benefits of exercise for up to one hour afterwards.

Even taking a brief break during your workday for some exercise can improve your concentration and mood, both of which lead to improved productivity. Alternatively, walking to work can provide a significant boost to your concentration levels in the morning.

In order to have a good level of concentration, you need two important aspects of cognitive function to be working at their best: first is the sustained attention, where you are able to focus on a piece of information for long periods of time.

Second is executive function, which is your ability to think about and make decisions at a more complex level. The social benefit of physical activity is that both of these will improve with regular exercise, providing a release valve for stress and pressure.

As previously mentioned, a fantastic social health benefit of exercise is that it makes a great defence against some of the most common mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. This can, in turn, help lead to an increased ability to concentrate, as you’ll have a much clearer mind.

#11 – Boosts Energy Levels For Socialisation

Our final social benefit of exercise is that you will have much more energy for socialisation purposes – so you can combine your confidence, communication skills, and positive mood to become much more sociable.

Regular exercise increases your endorphin levels. Endorphins are the body’s natural hormones that are released when we are doing something that requires a burst of energy. They are what helps us to move. This rush of endorphins can also help to improve your sleep quality, meaning you will feel more refreshed throughout the day.

Another social health benefit of this is an increased production of vital hormones within the body. These hormones, such as testosterone, growth hormones, and catecholamines (hormones that the brain, nerve tissue, and adrenal glands produce) help increase your metabolism and grant you more energy.

Regular physical activity increases the blood flow around your body and improves your cardiovascular health and fitness. This means more blood and oxygen will provide more energy for you.

It will also make you more efficient at utilising your body’s stores of sugar and fat as fuel for your workouts, allowing you to burn them for energy as well as regulating blood sugar levels so you won’t have to deal with the peaks and troughs that cause fatigue. All of this will help you see a big increase in energy once you start doing it regularly.

How to Reap the Social Benefits of Exercise

In order to see the social benefits of physical activity, the first step is to choose your form of exercise. Luckily for you, there is an abundance of options to choose from.

Whether you’re a keen swimmer, a mountaineer who loves rock climbing, or prefer to keep your feet firmly planted on the ground running, there is always a team or group available to join.

#1 – Fitness Bootcamp

A fantastic way to see the social benefits of physical activity is by signing up to a fitness bootcamp. These generally include an intense mixture of aerobic, strength training, and speed elements within each section of the class.

In the vast majority of cases, you should expect to be doing calisthenics such as pushups, pullups, lunges, squats, and crunches, as well as sprints and drills. Boot camp workouts basically consist of high intensity interval training (HIIT), which alternate between bursts of intense activity and lighter activity.

If you’re looking for a whole-body workout that targets both aerobic endurance and strength building, a fitness bootcamp might be perfect for you! They offer a more challenging, varied, and fun workout that doesn’t require any special equipment, which means anyone can join in at any point of fitness.

You’ll meet lots of different people to learn and grow with, creating a strong sense of camaraderie throughout the entire bootcamp, as well as instilling an element of healthy competition, which we mentioned earlier in this article.

As an added bonus, because bootcamp workouts are done at a higher intensity than moderate aerobic activity, you will see the same benefits, like a lowered risk for heart disease, in less time than if you were performing a moderate exercise such as walking.

#2 – Rock Climbing

Another way to reap the social benefits of exercise is through rock climbing. Rock climbing is one of the best total body workouts available as it develops lean endurance muscles – the same used by marathon runners. Rock climbing focuses on strengthening the core muscles, which stabilise the body, and lead to a stronger, less injury-prone body.

Climbing can positively affect the vast majority of your muscles, but it predominantly strengthens your hands, forearms, biceps, shoulders, abs, glutes, thighs, and calves. Your entire body benefits from rock climbing, including your cardiovascular system.

While rock climbing is essentially an individual pursuit, it can still be regarded as a team sport as you’re never alone. You might be climbing with friends, colleagues, family, or a local team. Learning to put your trust in the person holding your support rope fosters positive, trusting relationships really quickly.

Because you cannot always be the climber, you have to learn to play different roles which help build character and leadership skills. Each climber gets the chance to be the student and learn from those around them, as well as the teacher to others.

One minute you’ll be the climber being supported by the encouragement and advice of those below you, and other times you’ll be the person holding the guide ropes, or part of the group shouting encouragement. Every achievement is celebrated in the climbing community.

#3 – Hiking

Taking a walk in the great outdoors has been a widely accepted cure for all kinds of issues, from stress and anxiety to simply feeling sluggish after a few days of no exercising. The fresh air can also help improve airflow to the lungs, and natural beauty can provide inspiration for our creative hobbies.

And walking outside does actually benefit us – like many forms of exercise, hiking can hugely improve your cardiovascular health and physical strength. So, what makes the social health benefits of exercise via hiking so good?

First of all, one of the best things about hiking is that there are essentially no restrictions on who can take part. Calling up a friend to go out on a hike for the day gives you the precious gift of face-to-face contact, and you might even choose to add an element of competition by utilising one of the many free hiking apps on the market .

Exploring nature is its own reward, and being able to get out there with a couple of friends and find areas of natural beauty is incredibly satisfying. If you don’t have any hiking buddies, there’s a wide variety of social media groups and sites dedicated to finding people with similar interests.

There are few better ways to experience the social health benefits of exercise than in the company of friends, loved ones, and even strangers, while engaging in a hike together. Chat about anything and everything that comes to mind – it’s inherently a social activity, and by inviting the people close to you, you can engage in some real quality time together.

#4 – Running

While running is often considered to be more of an independent sport, when done in a social environment with a friend or group, it actually has many social benefits.

It improves our ability to hold ourselves and others accountable for their actions (or lack of actions if you’re missing an activity), because when we set up a meeting with others, we are much more likely to show up and get in the miles we need to.

Another social benefit of this exercise is a boost to your motivation. Essentially, when we run with others, we can run much further distances at a faster pace much more easily. One reason for this is that we, as humans, are naturally motivated by social connections.

We bond through conversations that occur over the miles we run, and distract ourselves from the ‘how much longer?’ thoughts that can cause us to put less effort in. We often provide motivation to each other, and this can be through specific running motivation quotes, or simply by sharing the experience with others.

There are many physical, mental, and social benefits of this exercise, one of the best being its ability to pull you out of a running funk or low mood, and inspire you to try competing in new events, as well as gain confidence by helping others. Fitness is contagious, and when running socially we gain an instant source of motivation to push that little bit more.

Most running groups are led and taught by seasoned coaches who can answer any questions you may have and give advice along the way.

Sometimes it’s the smallest of tips that can propel you into improvement, and other times you will learn from other’s mistakes to avoid them yourself. This means you can reap all the social benefits of exercise in a safe, community-driven environment.

#5 – Yoga

Our next way to experience the social benefits of physical activity is through yoga. Yoga is a form of exercise involving breath control, simple meditations, and various bodily positions. The physical benefits include strength building, increasing your flexibility, and improved cognition, all of which are particularly useful to older people who may struggle with mobility.

However, the social benefits of yoga are as plentiful as the physical benefits, as long as you practice regularly.

Participating in a yoga class is a great way to meet new like-minded friends and is associated with improvements in mental health, both of which help to make you more socially functional in various areas of your life, including profession, personal, and community-oriented areas.

People who regularly enjoy yoga classes report social anxiety being lessened, as well as lower stress levels in general. This can make you better able to communicate and positively interact with friends, family, and co-workers.

A recent study tested the effect of Kundalini yoga on children in care, as well as the staff of children’s care homes. The program lasted for 20 weeks, and found that the regular practice of Kundalini yoga was a plausible intervention that led to both individual and social benefits.

This research, coupled with the previous social benefits of exercise that we’ve examined, ensures that many forms of yoga can be effective ways to provide a much-needed boost when you’re struggling.

If you’re enjoying this article, why don’t you give these a read?

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#6 – Martial Arts

Martial arts provide a number of excellent physical, mental, and social benefits, including improved cardiovascular health, weight loss, and better muscle tone. But we’re looking at the social benefits of this physical activity.

Martial arts schools are a very diverse and interesting option if you’re looking to maximise the social health benefits of exercise, offering new friendships and friendly rivalries between members of all ages, races, creeds, and personal backgrounds.

Another social benefit of this exercise is that martial arts have a fantastic ability for building confidence which flows through to all areas of your life. Setting and achieving goals in your martial arts class instils this confidence, while exposing us to performing in the presence of others.

You’ll find that stepping out of your comfort zone in class will help you feel prepared to meet challenges head-on in the rest of your life, as well as boosting your levels of self-confidence in other areas of your life.

Two crucial social skills you’ll learn via martial arts are teamwork and respect. The first comes from partnering with your classmates to practice various kicks and punches, as well as working towards a common goal in your martial arts journey.

Secondly, respect; the study of martial arts has always been tied to the concept of respect and is one of the core values to be found in any class. Respect is taught by requiring eye contact, obedience, and the trademark martial arts bow.

By stressing the importance of respect within your team, you will learn to transfer this to everyday life, and treat your friends, family, and co-workers with more respect and kindness.

#7 – Dance Classes

Another way to reap the social benefits of exercise is through dancing, arguably one of the most popular ways to get fit. Dancing has a number of health benefits that include everything from weight loss to self-confidence, to improved body strength.

Taking dance group lessons offers social benefits of exercise that will help you meet new and interesting people and learn social skills. Dance not only provides a good workout for your entire body, but also boosts your confidence to interact in social settings with other people.

Plus, with the interactive nature of these classes, you have a roadmap for meeting others. It’s so easy to chat in an environment based around a mutual interest and being a part of a weekly class allows individuals who are shy or uncomfortable in large groups to find a comfort level.

As one of the top physical activities, you will also see an improvement in your flexibility, stamina, and cardiovascular system. You can even sharpen your memory skills by remembering movements and increase agility and balance if dancing is made a part of your routine.

Another social benefit of this exercise is an overall improved outlook: dancers simply feel better. Dancing busts stress from your body, builds physical strength, and can even help to combat feelings of loneliness.

You will also build your confidence by learning a new skill: a feeling of command on the dance floor can translate to the rest of a person’s life, and others will begin to respond to the confidence you express on the dance floor.

#8 – Swimming

Group swimming lessons are often something we think of introducing to children to encourage both the development of a new skill and social skills with their peers.

From a social development standpoint, group swimming lessons are fantastic for children as they learn how to interact and be confident around many different personalities. Group lessons are also ideal for reinforcing key principles such as sportsmanship, self-discipline, teamwork, and fair play.

In swimming lessons, children are constantly interacting with the swimming coach, who holds a position of authority and leadership in the pool. This allows children to practice conversing with adults, and this skill may transfer over into how children cooperate with their parents or teachers.

It is important to note that all of these social benefits of exercise can be achieved by adults in swimming groups as well – it’s never too late to learn a skill. If you’re just getting started, though, we’d advise wearing a swimming tracker to keep a record of how well you’re progressing.

Swimming gives both children and adults something to strive for. Whether it is kicking a kickboard across the pool, improving a lap time, or recovering from an injury with water rehabilitation, setting goals and achieving them is key.

This leads children and adults to become more goal-oriented in their personal and professional life. Swimmers also need to learn to work together, to encourage each other, to communicate effectively, and to become leaders. All of these skills translate cleanly into adulthood and encourage further team building skills such as strategy development and collaboration.

#9 – Cycling

Our final way to reap the social benefits of exercise is through cycling. Cycling is mainly an aerobic activity, meaning your heart, blood vessels and lungs will all get a workout. Regular cycling can also increase muscle strength and flexibility, decrease stress levels, strengthen bones, decrease body fat levels, and reduce the effects of anxiety and depression.

On average, it takes 2-4 hours per week to achieve a general improvement to your health from cycling, and because it’s low impact you’ll cause less strain on your joints than most other forms of exercise.

Most people know how to ride a bike, so it’s not too hard to start exercising in this way, and it can be as intense as you want it to be, as you can start at low intensity and build up to a more demanding workout, such as cycling uphill, or endurance racing.

It’s common knowledge at this point that physical exercise improves your mental health, and some of the mental health benefits of cycling include decreased stress and anxiety, the release of ‘feel good’ chemicals in your brain that boost your mood, a decreased risk of depression, better sleep quality, and boosted creativity and productivity.

As well as these social health benefits of exercise, regular cycling with a group can also lead to greater levels of attention and concentration, the ability to take turns and share with peers, emotionally regulate when losing a race or competition, the ability to create and maintain friendships, and understanding the consequences of your own actions.

Does Exercise Improve Social Skills?

An improved social life is arguably one of the biggest social benefits of exercise. With group classes, social media groups for those with a shared interest, and clubs to join, there’s numerous opportunities to improve your social life, and develop new bonds.

Consistently engaging with people from a variety of backgrounds and abilities can significantly help you to communicate more effectively, boosting your social skills over time and leading to increased confidence for both social situations and daily life.

Exercising with others can also be incredibly beneficial if you’re struggling to find others to communicate with, or you’re not a particularly social person. You’ll immediately have a shared interest with everyone there, and have a topic of conversation you can talk about, even if you’re unsure of the other person’s interests.

Can Exercise Change Your Personality?

While this may seem like an unusual question, especially as our personality is something that’s incredibly personal and unique to us, exercise can actually have a substantial effect on it.

Previous research has documented the effects of a sedentary lifestyle over periods of four to ten years, and further research has extended this study, finding that greater physical inactivity is associated with deterioration in personality two decades later.

This not only means that you can lose some sense of what makes you “you” when you don’t get involved with your favourite activities and hobbies, but you’ll also lose some of the ability to communicate effectively.

Essentially, whilst exercise won’t necessarily change your personality in the short term, it will help you to keep your fantastic personality around for longer, and therefore mean you can keep doing the things you love, whether that’s a gentle yoga session or an intense run in the rain.

Does Exercise Help With Social Anxiety?

One of the best social benefits of physical activity is that exercising regularly builds up your resilience against troubling emotions such as anxiety, depression, and self-confidence issues. Exercise triggers the release of chemicals in the body that can help combat these feelings at their root cause, and help you build up more resistance to them in the future.

Plus, the movement of your body reduces the more physical symptoms of these mental health problems, decreasing muscle tension, and lowering the body’s contribution to feeling anxious.

If you’re engaging in a team sport, you will need to communicate effectively with your teammates, which can help to improve any social anxieties or worries that you might experience. This can act as a sort of exposure therapy for those with extreme social anxiety, as they will see the performance of their team change depending on their social input.

Before You Go!

Hopefully, you’ve seen that you don’t have to be a fitness fanatic to reap the social benefits of exercise – even exercising once per week is useful. But whether you’re looking for more motivation or just to make new friends, there is definitely a social side to sports and exercise that can have a positive impact on you.

Exercise should be a choice for those focused on their mental health as well as those conscious of their physical health, and is a crucial part of a well-balanced life. So, the next time you need motivation to go for a run or a bike ride, remember that the short-term investment of time and energy will provide significant returns in the long run.

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References :

• McAuley E, Szabo A, Gothe N, Olson EA. Self-efficacy: Implications for Physical Activity, Function, and Functional Limitations in Older Adults. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2011;5(4):10.1177/1559827610392704. doi:10.1177/1559827610392704
• ten Brinke LF, Bolandzadeh N, Nagamatsu LS, et alAerobic exercise increases hippocampal volume in older women with probable mild cognitive impairment: a 6-month randomised controlled trialBritish Journal of Sports Medicine 2015;49:248-254.
• Zhang Y, Fu R, Sun L, Gong Y, Tang D. How Does Exercise Improve Implicit Emotion Regulation Ability: Preliminary Evidence of Mind-Body Exercise Intervention Combined With Aerobic Jogging and Mindfulness-Based Yoga. Front Psychol. 2019;10:1888. Published 2019 Aug 27. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01888
• University of Nottingham. “Yoga can have social benefits for children in care, says a new study.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 13 December 2016.
• Yannick Stephan, Angelina R. Sutin, Martina Luchetti, Grégoire Bosselut, Antonio Terracciano, Physical activity and personality development over twenty years: Evidence from three longitudinal samples, Journal of Research in Personality, Volume 73, 2018, Pages 173-179, ISSN 0092-6566, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2018.02.005.

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Essay on Exercise

Students are often asked to write an essay on Exercise in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Exercise

Introduction.

Exercise is a vital part of our daily routine. It keeps us fit, healthy, and energetic. It’s not just for adults, but equally important for children too.

Benefits of Exercise

Exercise strengthens our body, improves our mental health, and boosts our immune system. It helps us maintain a healthy weight and reduces the risk of diseases.

Types of Exercise

There are various types of exercises like jogging, swimming, cycling, and yoga. Choose the one you enjoy the most and make it a part of your routine.

Exercise is not a choice, but a necessity. So, make sure to exercise daily and live a healthy life.

250 Words Essay on Exercise

Introduction to exercise.

Exercise, a crucial component of a healthy lifestyle, is often overlooked in today’s fast-paced world. It is an effective tool to combat various health-related issues, enhance mental well-being, and promote overall vitality.

Physical Benefits of Exercise

Exercise is a powerful weapon against chronic diseases. Regular physical activity can help manage weight, reduce the risk of heart disease, and strengthen bones and muscles. It also improves cardiovascular health, enhancing the body’s ability to transport and utilize oxygen, thus increasing energy levels.

Mental and Emotional Benefits

Exercise’s impact extends beyond the physical. It releases endorphins, the body’s natural mood elevators, thereby reducing stress and anxiety. Regular physical activity can also improve sleep quality, boost self-esteem, and enhance cognitive function.

The Importance of Regular Exercise

Consistency is key in reaping the benefits of exercise. Regularity, rather than intensity, ensures long-term health benefits. It is advisable to incorporate different forms of exercise such as aerobics, strength training, and flexibility exercises for a balanced regimen.

In conclusion, exercise is a vital aspect of maintaining optimal health and well-being. It fosters physical health, promotes mental wellness, and enhances quality of life. As college students, adopting a regular exercise routine can help manage academic stress and promote overall productivity. Hence, it is essential to prioritize exercise in our daily lives.

500 Words Essay on Exercise

The multifaceted benefits of exercise.

Exercise is a cornerstone of physical health. Regular physical activity strengthens the heart and cardiovascular system, reduces the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure, and boosts metabolic functions. It also improves muscular strength and endurance, contributing to better body composition and bone health. Exercise can help manage weight, reducing the risk of obesity and associated health conditions. Importantly, it also enhances flexibility and coordination, which can reduce the risk of injuries.

Mental Health and Exercise

Beyond physical health, exercise significantly impacts mental wellbeing. Regular physical activity has been linked to reductions in symptoms of depression and anxiety. It stimulates the release of endorphins, chemicals in the brain that act as natural painkillers and mood elevators. Exercise can also improve sleep, which is often disrupted by stress, depression, and anxiety. These benefits can be especially salient for college students, who often grapple with stress and mental health issues.

Exercise and Cognitive Function

Social benefits of exercise.

Exercise also offers social benefits. Participating in sports, joining a gym, or attending a group fitness class can help forge new friendships and foster a sense of community. These social interactions can enhance self-esteem and provide a supportive environment to share common interests and goals. For college students, this can be an effective way to combat feelings of isolation or homesickness.

In conclusion, exercise is not just about improving physical fitness or losing weight—it is a comprehensive tool for enhancing overall wellbeing. It benefits the body, mind, and social life, making it an essential component of a balanced lifestyle. As college students, incorporating regular exercise into our routine can help us manage academic pressures, maintain mental health, and foster meaningful social connections. The importance of exercise cannot be overstated, and understanding its multifaceted benefits is the first step towards a healthier, happier life.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

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Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Physical Exercise — The Effects Of Regular Exercising On Everyday Life

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The benefits of laughter

What are the physical, mental, and social benefits of laughter, laughter helps you stay mentally healthy, laughter brings people together and strengthens relationships, how to bring more laughter into your life, tips for developing your sense of humor, using humor to overcome challenges and enhance your life, laughter is the best medicine.

It’s fun to share a good laugh, but did you know it can actually improve your health? Learn how to harness the powerful benefits of laughter and humor.

It’s true: laughter is strong medicine. It draws people together in ways that trigger healthy physical and emotional changes in the body. Laughter strengthens your immune system, boosts mood, diminishes pain, and protects you from the damaging effects of stress. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hope, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert. It also helps you release anger and forgive sooner.

With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use.

As children, we used to laugh hundreds of times a day, but as adults, life tends to be more serious and laughter more infrequent. But by seeking out more opportunities for humor and laughter, you can improve your emotional health, strengthen your relationships, find greater happiness—and even add years to your life.

Laughter is good for your health

Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.

Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.

Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.

Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.

Laughter burns calories. Okay, so it’s no replacement for going to the gym, but one study found that laughing for 10 to 15 minutes a day can burn approximately 40 calories—which could be enough to lose three or four pounds over the course of a year.

Laughter lightens anger’s heavy load . Nothing diffuses anger and conflict faster than a shared laugh. Looking at the funny side can put problems into perspective and enable you to move on from confrontations without holding onto bitterness or resentment.

Laughter may even help you to live longer. A study in Norway found that people with a strong sense of humor outlived those who don’t laugh as much. The difference was particularly notable for those battling cancer.

Physical health benefits

• Boosts immunity
• Lowers stress hormones
• Decreases pain
• Relaxes your muscles
• Prevents heart disease

Mental health benefits

• Adds joy and zest to life
• Eases anxiety and tension
• Relieves stress
• Improves mood
• Strengthens resilience

Social benefits

• Strengthens relationships
• Attracts others to us
• Enhances teamwork
• Helps defuse conflict
• Promotes group bonding

Laughter makes you feel good. And this positive feeling remains with you even after the laughter subsides. Humor helps you keep a positive, optimistic outlook through difficult situations, disappointments, and loss.

[Read: Cultivating Happiness]

More than just a respite from sadness and pain, laughter gives you the courage and strength to find new sources of meaning and hope. Even in the most difficult of times, a laugh–or even simply a smile–can go a long way toward making you feel better. And laughter really is contagious—just hearing laughter primes your brain and readies you to smile and join in the fun.

The link between laughter and mental health

Laughter stops distressing emotions. You can’t feel anxious, angry, or sad when you’re laughing.

Laughter helps you relax and recharge. It reduces stress and increases energy, enabling you to stay focused and accomplish more.

Laughter shifts perspective , allowing you to see situations in a more realistic, less threatening light. A humorous perspective creates psychological distance, which can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed and diffuse conflict.

Laughter draws you closer to others, which can have a profound effect on all aspects of your mental and emotional health.

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There’s a good reason why TV sitcoms use laugh tracks: laughter is contagious. You’re many times more likely to laugh around other people than when you’re alone. And the more laughter you bring into your own life, the happier you and those around you will feel.

Sharing humor is half the fun—in fact, most laughter doesn’t come from hearing jokes, but rather simply from spending time with friends and family. And it’s this social aspect that plays such an important role in the health benefits of laughter. You can’t enjoy a laugh with other people unless you take the time to really engage with them. When you care about someone enough to switch off your phone and really connect face to face, you’re engaging in a process that rebalances the nervous system and puts the brakes on defensive stress responses like “fight or flight.” And if you share a laugh as well, you’ll both feel happier, more positive, and more relaxed—even if you’re unable to alter a stressful situation.

How laughing together can strengthen relationships

Shared laughter is one of the most effective tools for keeping relationships fresh and exciting. All emotional sharing builds strong and lasting relationship bonds, but sharing laughter also adds joy, vitality, and resilience. And humor is a powerful and effective way to heal resentments, disagreements, and hurts. Laughter unites people during difficult times.

Humor and playful communication strengthen our relationships by triggering positive feelings and fostering emotional connection. When we laugh with one another, a positive bond is created. This bond acts as a strong buffer against stress, disagreements, and disappointment. Humor and laughter in relationships allows you to:

Be more spontaneous. Humor gets you out of your head and away from your troubles.

Let go of defensiveness. Laughter helps you forget resentments, judgments, criticisms, and doubts.

Release inhibitions. Your fear of holding back is pushed aside.

Express your true feelings. Deeply felt emotions are allowed to rise to the surface.

Use humor to resolve disagreements and tension in your relationship

Laughter is an especially powerful tool for managing conflict and reducing tension when emotions are running high. Whether with romantic partners, friends and family, or co-workers, you can learn to use humor to smooth over disagreements , lower everyone’s stress level, and communicate in a way that builds up your relationships rather than breaking them down.

Laughter is your birthright, a natural part of life that is innate and inborn. Infants begin smiling during the first weeks of life and laugh out loud within months of being born. Even if you did not grow up in a household where laughter was a common sound, you can learn to laugh at any stage of life.

Begin by setting aside special times to seek out humor and laughter, as you might with exercising, and build from there. Eventually, you’ll want to incorporate humor and laughter into the fabric of your life, finding it naturally in everything.

Here are some ways to start:

Smile. Smiling is the beginning of laughter, and like laughter, it’s contagious. When you look at someone or see something even mildly pleasing, practice smiling. Instead of looking down at your phone, look up and smile at people you pass in the street, the person serving you a morning coffee, or the co-workers you share an elevator with. Notice the effect on others.

Count your blessings. Literally make a list. The simple act of considering the positive aspects of your life will distance you from negative thoughts that block humor and laughter. When you’re in a state of sadness, you have further to travel to reach humor and laughter.

[Listen: Gratitude in Difficult Times]

When you hear laughter, move toward it. Sometimes humor and laughter are private, a shared joke among a small group, but usually not. More often, people are very happy to share something funny because it gives them an opportunity to laugh again and feed off the humor you find in it. When you hear laughter, seek it out and ask, “What’s funny?”

Spend time with fun, playful people. These are people who laugh easily–both at themselves and at life’s absurdities–and who routinely find the humor in everyday events. Their playful point of view and laughter are contagious. Even if you don’t consider yourself a lighthearted, humorous person, you can still seek out people who like to laugh and make others laugh. Every comedian appreciates an audience.

Bring humor into conversations. Ask people, “What’s the funniest thing that happened to you today? This week? In your life?”

Simulated laughter

So, what if you really can’t “find the funny?” Believe it or not, it’s possible to laugh without experiencing a funny event—and simulated laughter can be just as beneficial as the real thing. It can even make exercise more fun and productive. A Georgia State University study found that incorporating bouts of simulated laughter into an exercise program helped improve older adults’ mental health as well as their aerobic endurance. Plus, hearing others laugh, even for no apparent reason, can often trigger genuine laughter.

To add simulated laughter into your own life, search for laugh yoga or laugh therapy groups. Or you can start simply by laughing at other people’s jokes, even if you don’t find them funny. Both you and the other person will feel good, it will draw you closer together, and who knows, it may even lead to some spontaneous laughter.

Creating opportunities to laugh

• Watch a funny movie, TV show, or YouTube video.
• Invite friends or co-workers out to a comedy club.
• Read the funny pages.
• Seek out funny people.
• Share a good joke or a funny story.
• Check out your bookstore’s humor section.
• Host game night with friends.
• Play with a pet.
• Go to a “laughter yoga” class.
• Goof around with children.
• Do something silly.
• Make time for fun activities (e.g. bowling, miniature golfing, karaoke).

An essential ingredient for developing your sense of humor is to learn not to take yourself too seriously and laugh at your own mistakes and foibles. As much as we’d like to believe otherwise, we all do foolish things from time to time. Instead of feeling embarrassed or defensive, embrace your imperfections. While some events in life are clearly sad and not opportunities for laughter, most don’t carry an overwhelming sense of either sadness or delight. They fall into the gray zone of ordinary life—giving you the choice to laugh or not. So, choose to laugh whenever you can.

How to develop your sense of humor

Laugh at yourself. Share your embarrassing moments. The best way to take yourself less seriously is to talk about times when you took yourself too seriously.

Attempt to laugh at situations rather than bemoan them. Look for the humor in a bad situation, and uncover the irony and absurdity of life. When something negative happens, try to make it a humorous anecdote that will make others laugh.

Surround yourself with reminders to lighten up. Keep a toy on your desk or in your car. Put up a funny poster in your office. Choose a computer screensaver that makes you laugh. Frame photos of you and your family or friends having fun.

Remember funny things that happen. If something amusing happens or you hear a joke or funny story you really like, write it down or tell it to someone to help you remember it.

Don’t dwell on the negative. Try to avoid negative people and don’t dwell on news stories, entertainment, or conversations that make you sad or unhappy. Many things in life are beyond your control—particularly the behavior of other people. While you might view carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders as admirable, in the long run it’s unrealistic and unhealthy.

Find your inner child. Pay attention to children and try to emulate them—after all, they are the experts on playing, taking life lightly, and laughing at ordinary things.

Deal with stress. Stress can be a major impediment to humor and laughter, so it’s important to keep your stress levels in check. One great technique to relieve stress in the moment is to draw upon a favorite memory that always makes you smile—something your kids did, for example, or something funny a friend told you.

Don’t go a day without laughing. Think of it like exercise or breakfast and make a conscious effort to find something each day that makes you laugh. Set aside 10 to 15 minutes and do something that amuses you. The more you get used to laughing each day, the less effort you’ll have to make.

The ability to laugh, play, and have fun not only makes life more enjoyable but also helps you solve problems, connect with others, and think more creatively. People who incorporate humor and play into their daily lives find that it renews them and all of their relationships.

Life brings challenges that can either get the best of you or become playthings for your imagination. When you “become the problem” and take yourself too seriously, it can be hard to think outside the box and find new solutions. But when you play with the problem, you can often transform it into an opportunity for creative learning.

[Read: Managing Conflict with Humor]

Playing with problems seems to come naturally to children. When they are confused or afraid, they make their problems into a game, giving them a sense of control and an opportunity to experiment with new solutions. Interacting with others in playful ways helps you retain this creative ability.

Here are two examples of people who took everyday problems and turned them around through laughter and play:

• Roy , a semi-retired businessman, was excited to finally have time to devote to golf, his favorite sport. But the more he played, the less he enjoyed himself. Although his game had improved dramatically, he got angry with himself over every mistake. Roy wisely realized that his golfing buddies affected his attitude, so he stopped playing with people who took the game too seriously. When he played with friends who focused more on having fun than on their scores, he was less critical of himself. Now golfing was as enjoyable as Roy had envisioned. He scored better without working harder. And the brighter outlook he was gaining from his companions and the game spread to other parts of his life.
• Jane worked at home designing greeting cards, a job she used to love but now felt had become routine. Two little girls who loved to draw and paint lived next door. Eventually, Jane invited the girls over to play with all of her art supplies. At first, she just watched, but in time she joined in. Laughing, coloring, and playing pretend with the little girls transformed Jane’s life. Not only did it end her loneliness and boredom, but it sparked her imagination and helped her artwork flourish. Best of all, it rekindled the playfulness in Jane’s relationship with her husband.

As laughter, humor, and play become integrated into your life, your creativity will flourish and new opportunities for laughing with friends, coworkers, acquaintances, and loved ones will occur to you daily. Laughter takes you to a higher place where you can view the world from a more relaxed, positive, and joyful perspective.

More Information

• Buchowski, M. S., Majchrzak, K. M., Blomquist, K., Chen, K. Y., Byrne, D. W., & Bachorowski, J.-A. (2007). Energy expenditure of genuine laughter. International Journal of Obesity , 31(1), 131–137. Link
• Laugh and be thankful—It’s good for the heart—Harvard Health . (n.d.). Retrieved May 25, 2022, from Link
• Manninen, S., Tuominen, L., Dunbar, R. I., Karjalainen, T., Hirvonen, J., Arponen, E., Hari, R., Jääskeläinen, I. P., Sams, M., & Nummenmaa, L. (2017). Social Laughter Triggers Endogenous Opioid Release in Humans. The Journal of Neuroscience , 37(25), 6125–6131. Link
• Miller, M., & Fry, W. F. (2009). The effect of mirthful laughter on the human cardiovascular system. Medical Hypotheses , 73(5), 636–639. /p> Link
• Romundstad, S., Svebak, S., Holen, A., & Holmen, J. (2016). A 15-Year Follow-Up Study of Sense of Humor and Causes of Mortality: The Nord-Trøndelag Health Study. Psychosomatic Medicine , 78(3), 345–353. Link
• Speer, M. E., & Delgado, M. R. (2017). Reminiscing about positive memories buffers acute stress responses. Nature Human Behaviour , 1(5), 0093. Link
• Yim, J. (2016). Therapeutic Benefits of Laughter in Mental Health: A Theoretical Review. The Tohoku Journal of Experimental Medicine , 239(3), 243–249. Link

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