Many people experience “movement” — or physical exercise in general — as “exhausting”, and as a result they end up in a bad mood while doing it. As an athlete, I find that puzzling, because for me it’s deeply relaxing. I feel genuinely at ease when I’m physically active. I experience physical exertion — for example, grinding my way up the forested hills of Hesse on a mountain bike — as incredibly liberating. Afterwards, I feel calm, grounded, and truly good in my body. Further down in the text, I’ll explain what hormones have to do with all of this — so it’s well worth reading to the end!

Yours,
Gregor

4 reasons why exercise helps against stress better than your sofa

Movement releases built-up tension and pent-up energy — we all know that. But why is exercise the number one success factor when it comes to dealing with stress? Here are a few examples:

1. Running makes you happy

Studies show that moderate endurance exercise lasting between 30 and 60 minutes triggers the release of mood-enhancing messengers such as endorphins and serotonin. These very stress-reducing hormones are responsible for the relaxed, content feeling after an intense workout. Endorphins lift your mood and make you feel happier — so what’s left to argue against a dose of happiness hormones?

2. A natural energy boost for greater creativity at work

Regular exercise stimulates blood flow and oxygen supply to the brain. Your “mental fitness” improves, refreshing and activating the grey matter. So get off the office chair, lace up your running shoes, and clear your head for new, inspiring ideas.

3. Exercise as a lightning rod for everyday stress

Whether it’s work pressure or conflicts with friends or colleagues — during exercise, your focus shifts entirely to the movement itself. Concentrating on proper technique creates healthy distraction. Problems that once felt heavy often appear in a more positive light after intense physical effort.

4. Exercise makes you more resilient to stress

Regular movement helps regulate the body’s stress levels. The metabolism activated through exercise trains the release of stress hormones. The result is a greater resistance to stress — allowing you to face future stressful moments with more calm and composure.

Suitable types of exercise for reducing stress

I found the following text online and have copied it:

Source: https://www.foodspring.de/magazine/warum-sport-gegen-stress-hilft?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=170916-fb-fs-Stress-de

Whether it’s going for a run or clearing your head in a spinning class — movement is an effective and healthy way to manage stress. Which type of exercise works best against stress varies from person to person and is something everyone needs to discover for themselves. The following activities can help reduce stress actively:

Inner strength through calm and relaxation: Yoga or Qi Gong encourage conscious slowing down. Deliberate muscle engagement combined with breathing-based exercises helps relax both body and mind. By focusing inward, your own needs become more visible — and gain importance.

Active as part of a team: Sitting at a desk all day and keeping frustration to yourself can be isolating and draining. Team sports, in particular, are twice as enjoyable and help nurture social connections. Whether it’s playing football in a club or jogging together through the park — exercising together is motivating and helps overcome inner resistance. Shared strain is half the strain.

Dance the stress away: Dancing as a stress reliever combines pleasure with purpose. It’s physically demanding, burns calories, and — with the right music — is simply great fun. One step after another centres the mind and provides distraction. At the same time, the flowing, aesthetic movements feel soothing and strengthen your sense of body awareness.

Couch vs exercise — the key difference

When we look for relaxation after a turbulent working day by sinking into the sofa and letting the television wash over us, the body does experience a certain sense of relief and relaxation. However, the crucial difference lies in the extent and the speed at which stress hormones are broken down.

Even on the couch, breathing, blood pressure and heart rate slow down — but the muscles often remain tense, and the stress hormones released earlier continue to circulate in the body.

It is only through movement that the body produces increased levels of hormones such as endorphins and serotonin, which actively neutralise stress hormones.

“If the body continuously produces stress hormones and cannot release the built-up inner tension through movement, it enters a permanent state of alarm.”

If stress hormones are not neutralised by stress-reducing hormones such as endorphins, they suppress the production of other hormones that are essential for wellbeing.

Over time, pent-up energy and the accumulation of stress hormones place a heavy burden on the body. This constant state of alert — the signal that energy is continually required — eventually leads to exhaustion. The result can be physical and psychological symptoms such as difficulty concentrating, sleep disturbances, or digestive problems.

After a stressful day, should you drop onto the sofa and relax — or would it be better to clear your head through exercise? We’ll tell you why swapping the couch for the treadmill is the better choice.

Always in the fast lane. Full throttle from one appointment to the next. Keeping up with colleagues and friends. The pressure you put on yourself keeps rising. “Faster. Better. Further.” To shake off this stress, surely the answer is to sit down, put your feet up and relax on the sofa — wrong! Exercise is the decisive factor when it comes to dealing with long-term stress.

What is stress?

Stress is a healthy “alarm” response of the body. A deeply ingrained primal instinct signals that the body is being threatened by internal or external factors and needs to react quickly. Within seconds, stress hormones such as adrenaline, insulin, cortisol and noradrenaline are released.

Your pulse rises and your muscles tense. Breathing becomes faster. The cardiovascular system shifts into high gear. From an evolutionary perspective, it was vital for our ancestors to respond to danger and challenges with either flight or fight. When we’re under stress, the body is on full alert — ready to give everything it has.

Stress factor: neither fight nor flight

In modern life, it’s rare for us to engage in a sweat-dripping fight or to escape danger by sprinting away. Quite the opposite: most of the time, we fail to release tension, pent-up energy and stress hormones through movement. Instead, we move too little — or not at all — and force our bodies into stillness.

This behaviour runs directly counter to what the body expects. And from that mismatch arises a classic problem of our time: the tension and mobilised energy can’t discharge properly, and the stress hormones that were released are broken down only poorly.