Hormonal
Regular physical fitness and exercise confer resilience by blunting and optimizing neuroendocrine stress responses (HPA axis and sympathetic nervous system), reducing inflammatory markers, and enhancing neuroplasticity.
Engage in regular physical activity or structured exercise to build resilience against stress and chronic disease. This can be achieved through planned exercise or spontaneous physical activity. The key is consistency and maintaining fitness levels, as withdrawal from exercise can lead to negative mood and increased stress reactivity.
Physical fitness, achieved through regular exercise and/or spontaneous physical activity, confers resilience by inducing positive psychological and physiological benefits, blunting stress reactivity, protecting against potentially adverse behavioural and metabolic consequences of stressful events and preventing many chronic diseases.
Why this rating
The paper is a comprehensive review citing numerous meta-analyses and longitudinal studies, though it acknowledges variability in individual responses.
Source
Biological mechanisms underlying the role of physical fitness in health and resilience
Marni N. Silverman et al. · Interface Focus · 2014
DOI 10.1098/rsfs.2014.0040
More from this paper
- High aerobic fitness blunts the physiological stress response (cortisol, heart rate) to both physical and psychosocial stressors compared to low fitness levels.Good
- Regular exercise promotes an anti-inflammatory state by reducing visceral adipose tissue and releasing anti-inflammatory myokines (e.g., IL-6 from skeletal muscle).Good
- Regular exercise enhances neuroplasticity and growth factor expression (e.g., BDNF), which improves cognitive function, mood, and protects against stress-related brain changes.Good
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