Research shows that exercise reduces stress-related brain activity, which may lead to a reduced risk of heart disease.

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It’s common knowledge that exercise is good for your mental health and heart health – and now new research shows that all three work together.

In addition to the physical benefits of exercise, exercise is also associated with a reduction in stress signals in the brain, leading to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, according to the study.

Researchers analyzed data from more than 50,000 adults aged about 60 from the Mass General Brigham Biobank, according to a study published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The study looked at asking participants about their physical activity, imaging their brains to track stress-related activity, and digital recordings of cardiovascular events.

“People who exercise more have a gradual reduction in stress-related signals in the brain,” said lead study author Dr. Ahmed Tawakol, a cardiologist at Mass General Hospital and assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston.

“We found good associations that exercise partly reduces the risk of heart disease by reducing stress-related signaling,” he added.

“Everyone should pay attention whenever studies come out that show this type of improvement as a result of lifestyle changes,” said Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular disease prevention and health at National Jewish Health in Denver. Freeman was not involved in this study.

“It’s incredibly cost-effective, the scale the improvements are amazing—often better than many drugs—and we need to add these tools to our arsenal for rapid use,” he said.

Tavakol and his team also wanted to know whether people with more stress-related brain signals would benefit more from exercise, he said.

“Unexpectedly, we also found a more than twofold increase in the benefits of exercise among people with depression compared with people who were not depressed or had no history of depression,” Tavakol said.

The relationship between the amount of exercise and reduced cardiovascular risk also varied depending on whether the person suffered from depression, he added.

For people without depression, the benefits of exercise in reducing cardiovascular disease stabilized after about 300 minutes of moderate physical activity per week. But for people with depression, the benefits continue with more time, Tavakol says.

These benefits are in addition to the psychological benefits of exercise that researchers already know, he added.

“We know that depression is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease and is also one of the most common stress-related conditions,” said study co-author Dr. Carmel Choi, a clinical psychologist and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital.

“While some people may be more susceptible to stress and its health effects, we see that they can also benefit from it. more from physical exercise and its stress-modulating effects. This is encouraging,” she added in an email.

According to Tavakola, exercise reduces stress signals and increases signals from the prefrontal cortex.

“Both are attractive changes in the brain,” he said.

According to Tavakola, the prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain responsible for executive functions, which are the cognitive processes that control behavior.

And stress signals in the brain are associated with things like inflammation, Higher sympathetic nervous system activity, higher blood pressure and diseases that thicken or harden the arteries, he added.

Part of the way exercise reduces the risk of heart disease is by reducing stress signals, Tavakola says.

However, these results are just associations. Because the researchers observed participants rather than conducting a randomized control trial, they can’t say with certainty whether exercise caused the decline or what mechanisms underlie it, he said.

“You don’t have to be a professional athlete to train well, and it can help you get ahead,” Freeman said.

“It turns out that humans are designed to move and move a lot, and when we do that—especially when we’re outside and among trees—there’s evidence to suggest that it all has a very significant stress-relieving effect.”

Freeman recommends checking with your doctor first and trying to get 30 minutes a day of physical activity without breathing—no matter what kind of activity it is.

“If you don’t like walking, cycling, swimming or anything else, don’t do it. But find a way to get physical activity that you actually enjoy,” he said.

“Just make sure it’s challenging no matter your fitness level,” Freeman added. If you can speak in full sentences during practice, it might be time to step up the challenge, he said.