Does moving more help your body handle stress better?
Physical Activity and Cortisol Regulation: A Meta-Analysis.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Physical activity doesn’t affect the cortisol awakening response — not even in highly active people.
Most assume regular exercise leads to lower overall stress reactivity, including in the morning. But this study shows CAR is unchanged regardless of activity level.
Practical Takeaways
Stay active to support long-term stress resilience, even if you don’t feel calmer immediately.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Physical activity doesn’t affect the cortisol awakening response — not even in highly active people.
Most assume regular exercise leads to lower overall stress reactivity, including in the morning. But this study shows CAR is unchanged regardless of activity level.
Practical Takeaways
Stay active to support long-term stress resilience, even if you don’t feel calmer immediately.
Publication
Journal
Biological psychology
Year
2023
Authors
Susette A. Moyers, M. Hagger
Related Content
Claims (6)
Exercise can change how your body handles stress by rewiring the system that controls cortisol, the stress hormone.
Exercise might help your body handle stress better, especially when studied in controlled trials, but the effect isn't huge and varies a lot between people.
Exercise and your daily stress hormone pattern are only slightly linked, but that link stays pretty much the same no matter the person’s age, sex, weight, or how researchers measure things.
People who move more during the day tend to have healthier stress hormone patterns, with cortisol dropping more naturally as the day goes on — a sign their body handles stress better.
Working out more or less doesn’t seem to change how your body’s stress hormone, cortisol, spikes when you wake up — it’s about the same no matter how active you are.