The Effectiveness of Exercise Interventions on Coping with Stress: Research Synthesis

Stress‐related health issues are associated with mental and physical health decrements, and poor well-being. One intervention that may be useful for stress reduction is exercise. However, the research on exercise-interventions to reduce stress among non-clinical population is scarce. The purpose of the present paper was to systematically review the empirical work on the effectiveness of exercise as a treatment strategy for coping with stress. First, stress definitions and a stress-coping model are presented. Then, findings regarding the influence of exercise-interventions on stress among healthy populations are summarized. In the second half, the psycho-physiological mechanisms which underline the association between exercise and stress are reviewed. Finally, limitations, implications, and overall conclusion are presented. Altogether, the findings suggest that exercise-interventions may be effective in coping with everyday stress among non-clinical population. However, the role of the psycho-physiological mechanisms in the exercise-stress link and their interactions are yet to be established.