brain gains

exercise is fantastic for your mental health

“If you only looked at the short-term effects of exercise, you might think it’s harmful. Heart rate spikes, blood pressure rises, muscles break down, and inflammation increases—it can resemble stress or even illness.”

Layne Norton, PHD in Nutritional Science:

You’re not crazy if you don’t want to get your body moving. After all, it’s not easy. It’s hard to believe that something so difficult is actually good for you.

The world is becoming increasingly sedentary and the data that follow that trend look grim. 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 31% of adults are physically inactive which equates to 1.8 billion adults globally. That’s a lot. 

It’s sad that a core aspect of our evolution is so out of balance. We’ve strayed far from what we were designed for, and it’s clear our biology isn’t happy about it.

We didn’t evolve from tadpoles to sit on the couch and eat Doritos. 

Physical inactivity is a hidden danger to global health, largely fueling the rise of chronic disease. But there’s more to it than that.

According to a study cited by Reuters, individuals with the highest levels of sedentary behavior are 25% more likely to experience depression and anxiety compared to those with the lowest levels. 

Yes, obesity rates are skyrocketing in both adults and children, but if you didn’t notice, mental health issues are following suit. 

Based on a study from the WHO, one in eight people worldwide live with a mental disorder, totaling approximately 970 million individuals. That’s a lot of individuals. 

In any case, you don’t need stats to see it—just think about the people in your life. How many are sedentary? How many are struggling mentally or on SSRIs? If it’s not you, you probably know a few.

For the record, I was one of those people.

Me Before Consistent Exercise (Sad)

It’s becoming apparent that the world needs to make a change. There is clearly “a comfort crisis” (One of my favorite books, by Michael Easter). 

The message — If you do what’s easy, your life will be HARD.

Everyone is looking for a magic pill. Everyone wants to take something that makes them feel better, today. In my personal experience, the pill is right in front of you and it has a 100% success rate. If you want a magic potion that will improve your mood and boost your confidence (physical benefits aside) — It’s literally right in front of you. And guess what, it’s not $600 a month. 

Find me a person who doesn’t feel better about themselves after improving their physical health. 

In my opinion, exercise is the catalyst that will help you regain control of your life. 

A study published in JAMA Psychiatry found that increasing daily steps by just 1,000 was associated with a 13% lower risk of depression.

There’s no diet, supplement, or bio-hack that is even close to this powerful. 

That’s less than 10 minutes.

You wait on hold with customer service for 10 minutes.

You sit in the dentist’s waiting room for 10 minutes.

You untangle a mess of cords for 10 minutes.

You can walk for 10 minutes, and enjoy it. 

13% reduction… 13%. 

Exercise is the magic pill. Exercise is the fountain of youth. Exercise is the elixir that will grant you health span and lifespan. Exercise will fix your head. 

Another statistic. 

In 2024, a meta-analysis of 14,000+ participants found that exercising 150 minutes per week (30 minutes, 5 times) reduced depressive symptoms by 30%, with benefits on par with psychotherapy and medication.

30%

30%

30%

It is right in front of you and it’s free. 

Studies aside, I used to be a mess. I contribute almost 100% of my self-improvement to regular exercise. As for why, there’s probably a ton of reasons, but I’ll speak from personal experience:

• Goals and Achievement

• Looking good

• Feeling good

• Hardens the mind

Goals and Achievement

If you take anything away from this letter, let it be this. If you’re feeling lost, start exercising—consistently. Confidence is key to achieving anything, and many who don’t train struggle with self belief—I did. We consume endless information but rarely take action. Where is the action? You don’t even believe in yourself to act, let alone to achieve. How can you expect success if you don’t believe in yourself? As Sahil Bloom says, “Rewire your brain to believe you can create an outcome.” When you trust yourself, you become unstoppable.

Exercise is the ultimate teacher here. Input = output. Lift more, get stronger; run faster, get faster. It’s simple, immediate, and tangible. Once you believe in yourself, once you start achieving your goals, no matter how small, your life will snowball. You’ll set bigger goals. You’ll do harder things. You’ll feel better. 

Looking Good

Seeing your abs for the first time will increase serotonin by a lot. If you feel like a sea cucumber, improving your physical appearance will boost your self esteem and confidence tenfold. Achieving and maintaining a fit body breeds a sense of confidence and self-discipline, which is a positive feedback loop. It will fuel your other dreams. Once you become someone who “takes care of themselves” you magically start to take care of everything else

Feeling Good

The first step is always the hardest. Without exercise, low energy makes it tough to get started. But once you begin, everything changes—more movement leads to more energy, making it easier to keep going. Feeling good is transformative: no afternoon crashes, no sad workouts, hormones optimized, firing on all cylinders. Exercise improves focus, memory, and cognitive health while reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Plus, it releases endorphins, reduces stress, and seeing progress reinforces these positive feelings, creating a cycle that fuels motivation and confidence. How can you possibly be sad when you’re a biological specimen. 

Hardens The Mind

This one is simple. I find that when I do hard shit, it makes the things that aren’t really that frustrating, not that frustrating. When I sucker punch my smoothie at 6AM, yeah I get mad, but it’s probably not as hard as my peak deadlift set was. Traffic sure is annoying, but it’s really an insignificant frustration compared to a 16 mile run. There’s always a bigger fish.

I promise, it’s hard to be upset when you have clear goals and purpose. When you look good and feel good. When you’re no longer bothered by the little things. 

Me After Consistent Exercise (Chad)

Yes exercise is hard, but it’s worth it. It’s always been worth it, you know it’s worth it, and you know you can do it. Stop compromising with yourself. No more negotiating. Procrastination is the devil. Defeat yourself. This is how you change your life. This is how you improve. This is the first step, the best step.

Earlier, I shared a quote that talks about how exercise resembles dying, well here’s the other half of the same quote, 

“But these are the body’s signals of adaptation and recovery. Over time, those same processes build resilience, improve cardiovascular health, strengthen muscles, and boost longevity. What looks like “dying” in the moment is actually the recipe for thriving in the long run.”

Layne Norton, PHD in Nutritional Science

The time is now. No more excuses.  

If you can’t do it for your body, do it for your brain. 

If you’d like to hear my story on how I got started, how I formed the habit when I was stuck, check out my previous newsletter, From Zero to One. 

Thank you for reading.

-Dante