The United States is in the midst of a loneliness epidemic. Feeling lonely and isolated increases the risk of developing depression and anxiety.
Moving our bodies, it turns out, is a powerful antidote.
“Exercise raises oxytocin, which is the bonding and love hormone,” explains John Ratey, MD, associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. Moreover, exercise can keep depression and anxiety at bay. When you feel better, you may be more eager to socialize, which helps combat loneliness.
Movement can be a bonding experience that spans ages and abilities. For many of us, the social aspect of exercise is what attracts us. We join sports teams, running clubs, and group fitness classes to get in shape and nurture relationships. Often, it’s those social networks that motivate us to show up and exercise even on our worst days.
Scott Strode, author of Rise. Recover. Thrive. How I Got Strong, Got Sober, and Built a Movement of Hope, discovered the power of community firsthand when he traded shots at the bar for boxing gloves, running shoes, and an ice-climbing pick.
“You can find a meditative state in endurance activities and find your inner strength in strength training. But there’s a special beauty in doing them alongside other people,” he says. “You can find awe on a mountaintop. You can also find it by witnessing other people accomplishing hard things.”
You’ll reap the benefits of exercise even if you work out solo. Research has found that older adults with high physical activity levels are 35 percent less likely to self-isolate and 30 percent less likely to feel lonely compared with those with low activity levels. Active older adults also report having more purpose in life and tend to be more resilient to setbacks.
Learn More
For more on the health effects of loneliness, see
“The Health Effects of Loneliness and Isolation.”
For simple ways to improve social connections, go to
“7 Simple Ways to Improve Social Connection.”
Moving for Mental Health
Exercise is a powerful tool for improving mental health: It can reduce stress, relieve depression and anxiety, and be a salve for loneliness, to name a few of its benefits. Delve into the many ways movement can serve as medicine for the mind at “7 Ways Movement Benefits Mental Health,” from which this article was excerpted.
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