{"id":912163,"date":"2026-10-01T11:10:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T11:10:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/912163\/"},"modified":"2026-10-01T11:10:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T11:10:16","slug":"scientists-find-unexpected-mental-health-benefit-of-lifting-weights-and-you-dont-have-to-go-heavy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/912163\/","title":{"rendered":"Scientists find unexpected mental health benefit of lifting weights \u2013\u00a0and you don’t have to go heavy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Looking after your mental health often requires a 360-degree approach, with everything from nutrition, exercise and sleep<\/a> to therapy<\/a> and medication, where appropriate.<\/p>\n

When it comes to exercise, cardio tends to dominate the conversation around mental wellbeing. But new research suggests that strength training<\/a> may also have an important role to play.<\/p>\n

The study, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders<\/a>, found that several forms of resistance training were associated with fewer symptoms of depression in women with anxiety disorders.<\/p>\n

While the findings don’t prove that lifting weights alone can improve your mental health, they do suggest it could be a valuable addition to a wider mental health plan.<\/p>\n

Meet the experts: Darragh O’Sullivan, PhD<\/a>, lead study author and health researcher at the University of Limerick; and Thea Gallagher, PsyD<\/a>, clinical associate professor of psychology at NYU Langone Health.<\/p>\n

What did the study find?<\/p>\n

Researchers recruited 49 women with symptoms of anxiety<\/a> who weren’t currently doing regular strength training.<\/p>\n

Participants were randomly assigned to one of two supervised lifting programmes lasting eight weeks. One group completed moderate-to-high intensity resistance training, lifting weights at 70-80% of their maximum capacity, while the other completed much lighter sessions at around 20% of their maximum.<\/p>\n

The women completed questionnaires assessing symptoms of depression throughout the study and again one month after the programme finished.<\/p>\n

Both groups reported substantial reductions in depressive symptoms.<\/p>\n

Women in the higher-intensity group saw depression scores fall by 54%, while those in the lower-intensity group experienced a 43% reduction. However, because the study was relatively small, the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant.<\/p>\n

The researchers concluded that both traditional resistance training and low-intensity lifting ‘can induce large antidepressant benefits’.<\/p>\n

Why might strength training help?<\/p>\n

The findings are ‘encouraging’, says Thea Gallagher, PsyD<\/a>, clinical associate professor of psychology at NYU Langone Health.<\/p>\n

Among other things, she says exercise acts as a form of behavioural activation.<\/p>\n

‘It gets people out of avoidance, gives structure to the week and creates a concrete activity to show up for, even when motivation is low,’ she explains.<\/p>\n

Having a scheduled workout can also reduce the daily internal debate over whether or not to exercise.<\/p>\n

‘The plan is already made,’ Gallagher says.<\/p>\n

However, she believes the benefits may extend beyond the exercise itself.<\/p>\n

The participants all attended structured, supervised sessions, meaning they also received regular social contact and support.<\/p>\n

‘A scheduled session with a trainer, class or workout partner creates accountability and human contact, both of which can be protective when someone is feeling depressed or isolated,’ she says.<\/p>\n

‘The benefit may come from a combination of movement, routine, mastery, connection and simply having somewhere to be.’<\/p>\n

The fact that both the low- and high-intensity groups experienced similar improvements also suggests you don’t necessarily have to train at maximum effort to experience psychological benefits.<\/p>\n

Would men experience similar benefits?<\/p>\n

Possibly.<\/p>\n

‘In our previous trial, guidelines-based resistance exercise training resulted in larger-than-expected antidepressant effects among both young men and women, suggesting benefits regardless of sex or gender,’ says Darragh O’Sullivan, PhD<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He notes that this particular study focused on women because they are around twice as likely as men to experience anxiety and depression.<\/p>\n

How to exercise for your mental health<\/p>\n

Strength training isn’t the only type of exercise linked to better mental wellbeing.<\/p>\n

‘Many types of exercise have demonstrated antidepressant effects, including resistance training, aerobic exercise and yoga<\/a>,’ O’Sullivan says.<\/p>\n

‘Any exercise is better than none for mental health, but exercising consistently is likely to provide additional mental and physical health benefits.’<\/p>\n

If strength training appeals, he recommends focusing on eight to 10 compound exercises that work all the major muscle groups, completing two to three sets of eight to 12 repetitions at least twice a week.<\/p>\n

‘We do recommend gradually progressing towards higher intensities for additional health benefits,’ he says.<\/p>\n

Gallagher also emphasises the importance of choosing exercise you genuinely enjoy.<\/p>\n

‘One of the most useful takeaways from this study is that you may not have to crush yourself in the gym to get a psychological benefit,’ she says.<\/p>\n

‘Start with something that feels manageable enough that you’re actually likely to keep doing it.’<\/p>\n

Finally, she stresses that exercise should be viewed as one part of mental healthcare rather than a replacement for professional treatment.<\/p>\n

‘I would never want someone to hear this research and think, “If I’m still depressed, I just need to exercise more,”‘ she says.<\/p>\n

‘Exercise can be a really valuable component of mental healthcare, but significant or persistent depression and anxiety may still require evidence-based psychotherapy, medication or other professional support.’<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Korin\u00a0Miller\u00a0is a seasoned freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, with work appearing in Men\u2019s Health, Women\u2019s Health, Everyday Health, Food & Wine, and more. She has a master\u2019s degree from American University and lives by the beach.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Carina Hsieh, MPH, is the deputy features editor of Women\u2019s Health. She has more than a decade\u2019s worth of experience working in media and has covered everything from beauty, fashion, travel, lifestyle, pets, to health.<\/p>\n

She began her career as an intern in the fashion closet at Cosmopolitan where she worked her way up to Senior Sex & Relationships Editor. While covering women\u2019s health there, she discovered her passion for health service journalism and took a break to get her Masters in Public Health. Post-grad school, she worked as a freelance writer and as The Daily Beast\u2019s first Beauty, Health, and Wellness Reporter.<\/p>\n

Carina is an alum of the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Yale School of Public Health. She and her French Bulldog, Bao Bao, split their time between Brooklyn and Connecticut. She enjoys reformer Pilates, (slow) running, and smelling the fancy toiletries in boutique fitness class locker rooms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Looking after your mental health often requires a 360-degree approach, with everything from nutrition, exercise and sleep to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":912164,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[64,63,229867,428,479690,430,538,137,310278,429,479689,366213,336033],"class_list":["post-912163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-collection-fitness-app","tag-content-type-news","tag-contentid-0634a9e3-8617-499d-bd8c-db87c0fc2705","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-issyndicated-true","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-new-mental-health-benefit-of-lifting-weights","tag-sponsored-false","tag-subsection-mental-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=912163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/912163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/912164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=912163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=912163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=912163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}